Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I find Mischa at Kosmos, half-drunk with a stripper grinding on his lap. It’s not even ten a.m., and I’d be hard pressed to determine whether he’s been at it all night or he’s just getting started.
He lives the life of a perpetual bachelor, enjoying all the perks the brotherhood has to offer. Unlimited booze and women have satisfied many a Vor, myself included. But when I look at him this morning, it is not envy or amusement I feel. There is only pity.
Over the past few years, I have indulged my baser desires often and with whomever I please. But it has been a fleeting satisfaction. This morning, I am a changed man. I have tasted honey, and I can’t ever imagine settling for anything less again. Knowing that Nakya waits for me back at my home is a privilege unlike any other.
Considering the facts, it’s a foolish notion. Soon, I will be engaged to Ana, and Nakya will be returned to her father. It’s the only way this can work. The only way I can save her. Our paths were not meant to parallel forever. Logically, I know I’ll be forced to give her up, but it doesn’t make the decision easier to accept.
Like many of the Vor, marriage is a natural step for me. I have thought about it from time to time, believing it would happen on its own schedule. But I never imagined the face of my wife or my unborn children because there wasn’t an instinctive fit. The molds were empty, something yet to be determined. But now the pressure to fill them is bearing down on me, and it isn’t Ana’s face that I see as my wife or even the mother of my children.
The face that I see is sharper. High cheekbones and honeyed eyes. After this morning, how could I not imagine Nakya swollen with my children? They would have her tenacity. Mocha skin and my strong Russian genes. They would be unstoppable.
If it was meant to be.
Mischa opens his eyes at half-mast, a Cheshire grin spreading across his face. “Kolyan.” He makes a sloppy gesture with his hand. “Come and join us, won’t you?”
I look at the stripper. Bare tits bounce around as she grinds on Mischa’s lap, her tiny red thong swallowed up by her ass cheeks. She does nothing for me. In fact, when I look around at the variety of naked women ready and willing to please, none of them do anything for me. Brunettes, redheads, blondes. Women of all flavors and shapes. Natural or perfectly sculpted silicone. There isn’t a club in this city that boasts a better selection, yet not a single one of them inspires an erection. It only fuels my frustration as I snap my fingers at the stripper.
“Go away. We have business.”
She pouts but does as she’s told. Mischa grunts and pulls out his cigarettes, extending one in offer. I light up and allow the much-needed nicotine to soak into my lungs.
“You said you wanted to show me something.”
Mischa takes a long drag and nods, exhaling through his nose. “You still pissed at me?”
“I never was.”
He laughs, and I want to punch him. Of course, it’s a lie, but it’s better than the truth.
“You told me to have a go,” he says. “You said we needed to follow Viktor’s orders.”
“I know what I fucking said.”
“She’s trouble, Kolyan,” he slurs. “You should cut and run now while you still can. Before you get any more invested.”
“I’m not invested.”
Another lie, and a pointless one at that. Mischa can read me better than most.
“Have you spoken to Viktor?” I ask.
Mischa stubs out his cigarette and stands up, zipping up his jeans. “I need a fucking burger or something.”
I gesture to the back door, and we walk to my car in silence. I’m anxious to hear his response, and after last night, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sold me out. It’s what I deserve.
“I told him I got the job done,” Mischa says.
I look over at him, and I’m lost for words. He lied to the pakhan for me. If I go down, he’s going down with me, and the pressure I feel to protect him only adds to my current mental state.
“Thank you, Misch. I know I don’t deserve your loyalty, but I am grateful regardless.”
“It’s a loose end,” he answers. “The story might work for now … until he sees the girl and her feelings for you all over her face.”
If Nakya has any obvious feelings for me, I’m unable to see them myself. She is locked down tighter than a crypt, and like any thief worth his salt, I want to pry her open and uncover all her secrets.
“He won’t see her,” I assure him.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Mischa says. “Considering he told me to give you a message.”