Page 41 of Bratva Menace

He rolled his shoulder, stretching it out. It was no longer in a sling, even though I knew it probably should have been. There was no way he was going to arrive in Russia and see Sergei with it on, though. He wouldn’t want him to think he was hurt or weak. Easy pickings. He needed to appear strong. Unfathomable.

“The moment we land, you must be hypervigilant. Sergei will send a car to collect us. We will not get in it. I have organized our own transport that will pick us up from the airstrip and take us to the estate.”

“How do you know he will send a car?”

“Sergei tries to gain control over everything, no matter the situation. Something you and I view as small and insignificant, like a simple car ride from the airport, Sergei views as another attempt to exert his control over us. Now, your behavior plays a crucial part in making sure our plan is successful.”

“My behavior?” I frowned. He’d never mentioned anything about my behavior before. “Let me guess,” I blew out with a sigh. “You want me to tone it down, right? No stupid jokes. No sexual innuendos. No snarky comments.” Basically, be a big, boring dud.

Father smirked. “Actually, the complete opposite.”

My brows rose in slight surprise.

“I want more. More, Lukyan. Be your one hundred percent, crazy, carefree self, moy syn. Chem bezumneye, tem luchshe.” My son. The crazier, the better, in fact.

I chuckled, leaning back in my seat. “You’re gonna regret saying that to me.” He had no idea how crazy I could actually get.

No one was aware, but the Lukyan they knew was the mild, tamer version of me. A lot of the time, I had to hold myself back because I feared I was too much for them.

“In order for this to work, you need to play it up, and I’ll need to reprimand you and try to put you in your place. It has to look like you’re not a threat. That you’re just treating this entire thing like it is a fun vacation. We all have our parts to play. I want to tell you now that I do not mean anything I will say to you in Sergei’s presence. That, for this ruse to be believed, it has to look as though I am exasperated by your antics.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded.

“Once we get to the estate, he will separate us. Do not fight it. Go along with it,” Father continued, face calm. Focused. In the fucking zone. “It will be his attempt to get you alone to manipulate you. Let him think it’s working. When we land, it will be late. 9–10 p.m. From what I know, the wedding is the following day⁠—”

“So soon?”

“You, Autumn, and I are invariables. Think of Sergei like a grandmaster chess player. He prepares for every possible scenario, thinking five, ten, fifteen steps ahead. We’re unpredictable. He doesn’t know what we will do, but he’ll try his best to foresee our actions and plan accordingly. The best chance he has at making sure this wedding goes through without any complications is to have you at that altar as soon as possible. If he could, he’d have you there the second you stepped off the plane.”

I was well aware of the fact that the deal my grandfather had with the Tarasovs was important. But the more Father spoke, the more I really started to understand how desperate Sergei was to have everything go right.

It made that devil on my shoulder whisper a sinister plan to fuck it all up just for the sake of it.

I wasn’t going to listen. That bastard had gotten me into enough trouble to last me ten lifetimes.

Still, the idea was…interesting. Entertaining.

A stewardess came and stopped next to us. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

Father shook his head.

I leaned forward, staring intently at her chest that also happened to be where her name tag was. “Tahliaaaa,” I murmured, rolling the name off my tongue. “That’s a beautiful name.”

She giggled.

The plane suddenly veered to the side. Tahlia shrieked and lost her footing, falling back into one of the seats behind her. My heart leaped in my chest, and I grabbed onto my seat at the same time Father did, holding on for dear life.

The plane leveled out not even a second later. “Apologies, folks, we seemed to have just experienced a little bit of turbulence,” a female voice cut through the air.

“Jesus.” I chuckled, clutching my chest with one hand. “I thought this was gonna turn into a Yellowjackets situation.”

Autumn barked out a laugh. “Love that show.”

“D-drink?” Tahlia asked, her voice shaking as she got back onto her feet. The turbulence must have freaked her out.

I waved her away politely, the look on my father’s face drawing all of my attention. He looked tired. Exhausted not only physically, but also mentally. “You need to get some rest. All this shit with Grandfather…I’m guessing you’ve barely slept a wink.”

“You couldn’t be more right.” He got to his feet, laying a hand on my shoulder. “You get some rest, too. Trust me when I say, you’re going to need it for what’s to come next.”