Bratva Bride

Chapter Three

 Theodora Vatali; 

Father picked up his glass and took a long swig of his Vodka before beginning. 

"Our contacts in New York have reached out with a message. Alessandro Luciano, head of The Cosa Nostra requested a meet." 

Silence. Complete and utter silence. I mean, what other reaction was he expecting? It's not ever day an Italian family tries to establish some sort of an alliance with the Russians. We're not exactly enemies, but we're not really friends either. We co-exist with each other. We stay in Las Vegas, they stay in New York, end of discussion. We don't cross each other, we don't engage each other and we're all better off for it. So why change the status qo now? 

Aleksandr as always, is the first to break the silence. He leans forward, placing his elbows on knees, interlocking his fingers. 

"The Cosa Nostra? Are they sure?" 

"They are." Father replied, leaning back in his chair. "Vincenzo Luciano, Alessandro's son delivered the message in person to solidify its authenticity. He was adamant that the request was genuine, and would end in a mutually beneficial agreement between us both." 

"Mutually beneficial?" Lukyan scoffed, taking a puff of his cigar. 

The smoke swirled around in the air between us, the stench lingering and filling my nostrils. 

"What kind of agreement?" Aleksandr continued, as if Lukyan hadn't spoken at all. 

"Vincenzo didn't go into specifics. Merely requested a meet with us on neutral ground." Father replied. "Our contacts have been keeping an eye on New York and they've reported a lot c*****e between the Luciano’s and another Italian family, The Gambino's." 

"You think that's why they're requesting a meet? For help against The Gambino's?" I asked out loud, tilting my empty glass towards Father. 

He immediately lifted the large glass bottle holding the Vodka and poured me a shot. 

"Makes sense. What's the beef about?" Lukyan asked. 

"That, I do not know." Father replied. 

He looked around the room, taking his time and dragging his eyes over each of us. Making sure to maintain eye contact for a few seconds with us all. 

"But I will find out." 

Father's words left no debate about his intentions. "You've agreed to meet with them?" Aleksandr raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

"It has always been an unspoken agreement between us to steer clear of each other. If Alessandro is reaching out, I'm curious as to why." Father explained easily. "And it has been so boring here. Maybe a little war is just what the doctor ordered." He said, winking at me. I winked back, and took a sip of my drink. 

"When and where?" Aleksandr asked. 

"Kansas City, tomorrow. You, along with Maxim and your sister will accompany me." 

"Oh man! This f*****g blows. I always miss out on the fun shit." Lukyan hissed, slamming his foot on the ground. 

He always hated missing out. Such a spoilt brat. Father pinned him with his glare, letting the fury from his out burst show on his face. With his jaw and fists clenched, he looked like he was gonna blow any minute. One thing my Father HATED was when we disrespected him. 

"I mean. . . they're totally the better choice. Good choice, Father." Lukyan quickly interjected, lowering his head. 

Kiss ass. 

Father ignored Lukyan altogether, and opened his desk draw with his right hand, pulling out several folders. He flung them along his desk, letting them spread out in different directions. 

Lukyan jumped to his feet and grabbed them, handing them out to each of us. Clearly eager to try and get back in our Father's good graces. Pointless. If he felt like you disrespected him, there was no fixing it unless it was in the ring. 

I took a folder, making sure to scoff loud enough for Lukyan to hear me. He narrowed his eyes at me, but stayed quiet. He knew he was on thin ice as it is. 

As he moved to take Aleksandr and Nikolai their folders, I opened mine and was greeted with a family portrait of The Luciano Family. 

Standing square in the middle, was who I'm assuming where Mr and Mrs Luciano. Alessandro stood tall and proud, his left hand holding the middle of his tie, like the photo was captured as he was fixing it, and his right arm was bent 90 degree's, with MrsLuciano’s arm looped  through it. 

He was wearing an impeccable, grey, 3 piece suit. Clearly tailored to fit his build. He looked like he was in his late 50's to early 60's, with a fresh head of grey hair. His million dollar smile might fool others, but I knew better. I could see the evil in his eyes as clear as day. This man was manipulative, conniving, and ruthless. 

Mrs Luciano was about as much as I expected. Such a small little thing, with pale skin and long black hair. Her round face and doe-eyed expression showed her for what she was. Weak. Un-impressive. Docile. Her only outstanding feature was her entrancing green eyes. So vibrant, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. 

Standing beside Alessandro, was another man a few inches taller. His eyes hooked me in straight away. 

No. f*****g. Way. 

Another bi-eyed beauty! But this guy? Oh f**k. . .  this guy is leagues ahead of s*x Eyes. 

Even in his suit, you could tell his muscles had muscles. His suit bulged in all the right places, clearly tailored to perfection, like his Father's. A faint trace of ink peeked out at the neckline of his suit, and I was dying with curiosity to find out exactly what was lying beneath his damn clothing. 

My eyes went back to his face, and f**k me. His jaw was so incredibly defined. So chiseled. So perfect. So biteable. 

Wait, what? Focus Theo! 

His eyes, oh god his eyes. One green, the colour as captivating as the rarest Emerald in the world. One blue, so bright and arctic, reminding me of one of my Sapphire crystals upstairs. They were the most entrancing thing I'd ever seen in my life. 

His black hair was cut short, and styled neatly and he looked to be in his late 20's to early 30's. 

Next to Mrs Luciano was another man, just as tall as his Father and just as handsome as his brother. But he didn't capture my eye like the gorgeous specimen before him. 

His suit was nice and tailored to fit him to perfection. His black hair was styled messily, and his bright green eyes seemed to be the same shade as his mother's. His lips were curved up in a sly smile, like he knows exactly how good looking he is. This guy screams man w***e. 

Sitting on a couch directly in front of The Luciano adults, were 2 small children. A boy and girl, looked to be about 10 maybe? The little boy was dressed in a suit, matching his Father and brothers, and the little girl was wearing a white dress with a matching white hair bow in her hair. 

The photo captured them right in a moment where they seemed to be arguing. The little boy's face was scrunched up in anger. His tiny fist heading straight towards his sister. The little girl didn't look much happier either. Her foot was hanging in mid air, almost striking him. 

How, flipping, cute. 

After taking a good long look at The Luciano family, I raised my head and waited for Father to continue. Aleksandr, Nikolai and Lukyan were each studying their photograph as intensely as I was. Like they could get all the information they needed just from that one shot. Father cleared his throat, demanding our undivided attention and we all obliged. 

He held the photograph up in front of him so we could all see it. 

"Alessandro Luciano and his wife Isabella Luciano. Next to him is his eldest, Arturo Luciano and rumoured to be his Underboss. Vincenzo is the male next to Isabella. From what I can ascertain, he's an Enforcer for his Father." 

"I've heard of Arturo Luciano. They call him 'The Shadow' throughout the Vegas Underworld." Lukyan began. 

"It's said that he can get in and out of anywhere completely undetected. Apparently Alessandro paid 2 million a year to have him go to Switzerland to study under Elias Huber." 

"Elias Huber? The Assassin Trainer?" Aleksandr asked, surprised. 

"The one and only. He was there between the ages of 13-17." Lukyan pulled out his lighter, relighting his cigar that had gone out. "That's what I heard anyway." He finished, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Vincenzo is quite well known as well. Even a few of our own soldiers have heard of his brutality." Nikolai began. 

"Demyan said he heard Vincenzo had come across a rat within the family. Shortly after uncovering his identity, Vincenzo had his body dismembered and the pieces spread throughout New York as a warning to others." 

I whistled low and long. 

"Damnnnnnn. . . that's my kinda justice." I smiled. 

"f**k yeah!" Lukyan agreed, raising his hand and fist bumping me. I laughed and turned my attention back to my Father. 

"So, this is who we're meeting tomorrow?" I asked, trying to get my head back in the game and focus. 

"Da." Father replied as he poured yet another shot of Vodka. "Be prepared. I want you both armed, and wearing your Kevlar Vests. I doubt this is an ambush, but I won't take any chances." 

Aleksandr and I both nodded. In my mind I'm already ticking through all my weapons I'll be taking with me. My switchblade, my push dagger, as well as a couple of my favourite blades and some throwing knives. Can't forget my new Walther Q5 handgun, a recent gift from my God Father. Part of me hoped for a fight, it's been a long time since the Vatali’s have been at war. 

"Nikolai and Lukyan, I need you both to head to Russian Roulette and settle some discrepancies with our High Rollers." Father said, motioning his hands towards my older brothers. 

Russian Roulette is one of the many casinos we own and operate within Las Vegas. We also own several high end strip clubs, a few commercial buildings and some 5 star restaurants. To be honest, we have enough businesses and revenue to get out of the mafia life and go legit, but where's the fun in that? 

"Yes!" Lukyan cheered, pulling out his gun and knife. "How would you like it settled Father?"

He tapped his fingers along his desk, pursing his lips. He flicked his head towards Lukyan's knife and smiled. 

"Don't make it too quick boys." He chuckled. 

Nikolai and Lukyan stood gracefully, buttoning up their suit jackets as they went. They went to stand in front of Father's desk and gave a small bow. With nothing further, they left Father's office. 

Aleksandr moved from the couch and came and sat in the chair Lukyan was just in. Father stood as well, moving to stand in front of his desk, leaning back up against it. He crossed his arms over his chest and pinned me with his hard gaze. 

"I'll need you to pay extra special attention at the meet tomorrow moya doch'." 

I raised an eyebrow but remained silent, because I knew he wasn't quite finished yet. 

"I have a feeling that the this mutually beneficial agreement will end in a marriage proposal. It's the only way to solidify a bond between our two families that can be trusted. We value the sanctity of marriage just as much as the Italian's, and neither of our people would disrespect such a union." 

Ah. That explains why he wants me to come tomorrow. Most likely, one of the Luciano men will be the one to engage in a marriage. 

"I would never force you to marry moya doch'. The choice will be yours and yours alone." Father continued, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I won't lie to you, we would benefit a lot from an alliance with The Luciano’s. New York will be open to us, and the amount of money and power to be had will make our family even stronger then it is now." 

I nodded, listening intently. 

"But the choice in the end is yours Theodora. Always." 

I smiled up at my Father. It's so rare to see this side of him. The  loving, caring side. When most of my life I've known the tough, badass, Russian mobster side. I took his hand from my shoulder and clasped it in mine. 

"I'm curious about the war between The Luciano’s and The Gambino's, Father. I'll pay close attention tomorrow and if a marriage is what they propose, I'll weigh all the pro's and con's before making a decision." 

Father chuckled, a small smile forming on his lips. 

"Those damn pro and con lists. Your Mother was always so good at those." His eyes glazed over, as if he was suddenly caught up in a memory of the past. 

I tried not to let the mention of my Mother bring me down, especially because I know how much it hurts Father to have her gone. 

Mother was killed at one of our down town casinos 10 years ago. Another Russian Family, The Voznesensky's, tried to overthrow us and take everything we have. They hit us simultaneously at our home, casinos, strip clubs, restaurants — any business we owned, they hit. We don't know how they pulled it off, but they did, hoping it would be enough to beat us. 

It wasn't. We lost a lot of good men, a lot of damage was done to our properties, but in the end The Vatali’s prevailed. Unfortunately, it wasn't all of us. 

Mother was enjoying drinks with her friends at one of our casinos when The Voznesensky's came crashing in, shooting up the place. She ended up with 4 bullets in the back, and 2 in the head. 

After finding her body, Father went into a rage unlike anything I'd ever seen before. He vowed justice. Revenge on The Voznesensky Family. He promised blood, and retribution. Which is exactly what he got. 

It took a few months, but Father hunted down every single member of the Voznesensky Family, here in America as well as in Russia. He slaughtered each and every single one of them. 

He didn't spare the women, or the children. No. He killed every single person with the last name Voznesensky. He completely obliterated their Family line. Word quickly spread throughout The Bratva, and now everyone knows that if you f**k with The Vatali’s, it's not just you who suffers. It's your entire f*****g family.

'She was.' I whisper. 

Father's eyes land on me and his face softens. For a moment, it's completely silent in his office. Father, Aleksandr and I all stuck in memories about the woman whose death shattered us all. 

Father quickly shook his head, like he was trying to banish his thoughts from his brain. His face returned to that hard, cold expression I've known for all my life. 

He points a finger at me and sternly says, 'Be ready in the morning Theodora. No f*****g around.' 

I nod but say nothing in return. 

'Good. Now go and enjoy your birthday.' Father waved his hand towards the door effectively dismissing me. 

I rise from my chair and lean forward, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Turning around, I slap Aleksandr on the shoulder. 

"Later big brother." I say with a cheeky smile on my face. 

"Later brat."