Page 13 of Bratva Holiday

Somehow, against all odds, Autumn had managed to give me that moment back, and I was more grateful for that than she would ever know.

Unshed tears glistened in Tatiana’s eyes. “It was beautiful, seeing her holding them.”

“Yes, it was.” I couldn’t put into words how beautiful it truly was.

By some sort of unspoken communication, we both lowered our heads and closed our eyes, having a moment of silence for my mother. Tatiana softly kissed my cheek in a show of support, and I instantly turned my head to catch her mouth.

Like it always did whenever I kissed Tatiana, my heart pounded, the soft feel of her lips igniting a fire inside of me. Her tongue moved against mine in slow, languid strokes, and I quickly got…excited, my hunger for her turning ravenous.

“Line up!” My father’s voice boomed a short distance away.

I groaned, resting my forehead against hers. Tatiana’s soft chuckle pulled a smile from my lips, despite the fact that I wasn’t remotely happy about being interrupted. “Maybe we can just skip the games this year?” I asked, stepping closer, moving my body flush against hers.

Tatiana full-blown laughed, and apart from the sound of my children giggling, it was the best sound in the world. “We coulddddd,” she dragged out, dancing her fingers over my shoulders. “But that means letting Aleksandr win for the fifth year in a row. Do you really want him continuing his undefeated streak?”

Determination snapped my brows into a harsh line. “No. That fucker is already insufferable. If he wins again, he’ll be fucking unbearable.”

“Nikolai!”

Speak of the devil.

“Nikolai!” Aleksandr barked again.

“What?!” I snapped back.

“Hurry up! We’re waiting on you to start!”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m fucking coming.”

“You’re not coming fast enough! Move your ass!”

“Oh, oh, oh. There’s a joke in there somewhere,” Lukyan added, to which Aleksandr thumped him over the head for.

As hard as it was for me to do, I moved away from Tatiana, clutched her hand, and marched over to where my family had gathered, waiting to start the games.

The chalet we’d rented sat on 1,000 acres of land, which provided more than enough space for the chaos that was about to unfold.

On the back deck, everyone was standing in a line. Autumn was first, then Aleksandr and Drea. There was a gap in between them and Lukyan and Lyla, with Illayana and Arturo standing at the end. Oldest to youngest, like always.

Father stood on the grass in front of the porch, a new scoreboard at his side, feet shoulder-width apart and arms folded across his chest.

Without wasting any more time—the glare on my older brother’s face told me I had apparently wasted enough—Tatiana and I climbed the few porch steps and joined the line.

Father nodded once and cleared his throat. “This year, you will notice a few changes in the games. The first being, you will be working in teams of two with your partner instead of by yourself.”

Lukyan hollered a, “Woohoo, yeah!” into the silence, high-fiving Lyla, who was just as enthusiastic.

Father cleared his throat. “The second is there will now be a medical team on standby, due to what happened last year.” He looked pointedly at Aleksandr, and Tatiana, Lukyan, Illayana, and I followed, all of us staring at him.

He stood stiff as a board, spine straight, shoulders back, arms behind his back. Aleksandr didn’t acknowledge it at first, remaining quiet until he could no longer take all the eyes on him.

“What?” He grunted. “What are you all looking at me for?” he asked, his gaze moving between us.

“You did break Lukyan’s arm last year,” Illayana noted.

“Because he cheated in the ring toss!” Aleksandr blasted back.

“I didn’t cheat!” Lukyan instantly defended.