Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
One of the most notorious groups within the Brotherhood was the Solntsevskaya. They were named after the Solntsevo district of Moscow—a place where my mother had been born.
They formed in the 1980s by a group of former Soviet military officers and KGB agents. My mother’s father, Maxim had been part of the originals who had used his KGB training and connections to build a vast criminal empire.
Other notable groups within the Brotherhood included the Tambov Gang, the Orekhovskaya, and Izmaylovskaya Gang. Each had its own history, structure, and areas of operation.
The Izmaylovskaya gang had killed my grandfather and others in a war over territory.
My mother was a teen when it happened.
She did her best to follow in her father’s footsteps. Although the Solntsevskaya were not welcoming to women, they let my mother enter solely because of Maxim and his proven loyalty to them.
She’d ran with that brigade for many years—stealing and killing when necessary.
Later, the Solntsevskaya approved her marriage to my father and no longer expected her to serve them.
However, my father ran the Orekhovskaya brigade of the Brotherhood. Perhaps, they did not want to make an enemy of him.
Then many years later, my father died. As a single mother, she had no real protection or support in Siberia. It forced her to take Valentina and me to Moscow. There, she returned to the Solntsevskaya to earn money to take care of us.
Due to my mother’s beauty, her first duty was to get close to the King. He ran the Izmaylovskaya gang, and the Solntsevskaya had still not forgiven that crew for the wars from decades ago.
They wanted my mother to kill the King.
Instead, she fell in love and married him. And he raised Valentina and me like his own blood. At times, it seemed like he loved us more than his son, Sasha.
The Solntsevskaya never forgave her, but they could not touch her either. She became strong within the Izmaylovskaya, gaining the utmost respect from my Uncle Igor, Rolan, Timur, and many others.
When my mother passed decades later, many members of the Solntsevskaya came to her grave and urinated on it.
And I bombed their shitty little district and other territories. The group went from several thousand soldiers to now. . .only a few hundred.
All of Russia called those months the Season of Blood.
Hold on.
Tension gathered in my shoulders.
I stopped in the center of the staircase. “I have just thought of something.”
“Yes?”
“The person who hired the female assassins may be connected to Solntsevskaya.”
David widened his eyes. “You really think they could be involved?”
“It seems. . .petty for them to target a young kid, yet they are some unforgiving bastards. All know how important the Mouse is to me. To hurt her would be to break me.”
David frowned. “I will look into any recent activity or conflicts involving them.”
“Put Giorgio on it.”
David raised his eyebrows. “The Butler?”
“They will not spot him. They will be looking out for you and our people.”
David considered it. “I am not a fan of the idea, but it would be a good plan.”
“If they spot him, then. . . perhaps they will kill him.” I shrugged. “That leaves my hands clean and my mouse not mad with me. Yet, a Perfumed Pansy would be in the ground. This is good for us all.”
David grinned. “It appears the Solntsevskaya are not the only unforgiving bastards in Moscow.”
I began walking down the stairs. “I do have their blood running through my veins. Perhaps, that is where I get my pettiness from.”
David followed. “However. . .”
I eyed him. “Yes?”
“If they kill Giorgio, Blue may go after them with the French.”
I hit the bottom of the stairs and turned to David. “Which means my mouse will want to help.”
“I will keep Giorgio and his people decently guarded while they monitor the Solntsevskaya.”
I frowned. “But, do you not want the Butler dead?”
“It is not that I care about his death.” David sighed again. “It is that I do not want Blue to be sad and seek revenge.”
I groaned in annoyance.
David directed his view to me. “You do not approve of my thinking?”
“I do not approve of the woman.”
David put his view in front of us.
“I like Blue as my mouse’s number one. She’s strong and more than capable of protecting Emily, Paolo, and my son. But as your lover. . .”
“You still do not approve?”
The line of my jaw twitched. “By now, Blue should have ordered Giorgio to go back to France. And she should be in your arms. But, you must remember that I am. . . Team David.”
He smirked.
“And I will never switch teams.”
“How I wish love worked the same way. That everything was just as simple. Then, I could get Blue off my mind.”
I gritted my teeth. “Have you at least sought Baba’s counsel on this situation with Blue?”