They both looked up as Novak walked in. “Kathleen, you’re as beautiful as ever.” He kissed his cousin’s wife on both cheeks.
“That’s my cue to go.” Kathleen moved towards the office door.
“Because I kissed you?” Novak teased.
“No, because your meeting is getting ready to start.” Kathleen looked back towards her husband, “Try not to scare the shit out of the poor girl, Glazov.”
Glazov made no promises in the sinister laugh that followed his wife’s request. He watched his wife as she left the office and closed the door behind her. After all the years of marriage, he still loved to watch her walk. There was a regal air about his wife and she never entered a room unnoticed. Heads turned and people took notice when Kathleen Glazov graced a room with her presence.
Novak studied Glazov and then spoke. “Your wife is right you shouldn’t be so hard on Tee. She did burn the man’s tattoos off. The girl has balls of steel for someone who has never been around organized crime. She got thrown into a world she doesn’t know, and she just rolled with the punches. I don’t know many people who could do that—especially civilians.”
“You like Tee. Why didn’t you want her for your woman?”
“She’s too much like a sister; can’t fuck my sister. Seriously…she’s like a best friend.”
“So, you trust her?”
“Absolutely. There’s no way I’d have her anywhere near our organization if I didn’t. I could have very easily killed her that night. I saw the look on her face that night. She made herself burn those tats off and then she watched us kill Benzo and she never batted an eye. It was like she needed for us to accept her and take her in as family and that’s exactly what I did. I have no regrets. I believe she’ll be beneficial in upcoming years.”
Glazov smiled, “I trust your judgment. I’ll always be the hard-ass, though. We don’t want the woman becoming too comfortable. Fear is power and it will ensure she keeps the family secrets. It’s our way of life. There’s one way out and we both know what that is.”
“There’s no way out for true Bratva—we are born Bratva and we die Bratva.” Novak’s voice was rough with the reality of truth and his expression was deadly—Bratva was all he knew.
“Yes, my brother…we are born Bratva and we die Bratva.”
Chapter Three
The ride to Glazov’s was quiet. There was always foreboding heaviness in the car on the ride to Glazov’s. Days before Tee knew they would be meeting with the Pakhan she could feel it; like a storm cloud on the horizon moving ever closer with the threat of destruction. Even pulling into the gated driveway was intimidating. The house was more like a mansion that spoke of secrets and blood that had been spilled for the Bratva cause. She thought of the huge professional portrait in the dining room of Glazov and Kathleen. The first time she’d seen it she had imagined blood dripping from it. The vision had been so real in her mind’s eye she had shaken it off with a physical nod of her head. The sinister feeling remained.
The tree-lined driveway was a milelong entrance into a different world than Tee had grown up in. This was a family who had been born into Bratva royalty. These people’s destiny was one that was chosen while yet in the womb of the women who bore them. She wondered if she would ever fit in with these people. The ease she shared with Novak and Sip was something she doubted she would ever feel with the Pakhan and his wife. They were the royal couple the sea of people parted for in parties and conventions. People were intrigued and gawked as if just being in their presence was an invitation by a king or queen. People feared and revered them in a way that was reserved for Hollywood stars and royalty. Even the straight-laced who loathed the bloody lifestyle still respected the Glazov family. The kind of respect that came from fear and intrigue. It was a family saga only seen in books and movies; to experience it in the land of the living was nothing short of magic. It was the type of thing that would stick with you for life. It isn’t just the good things that stay in a person’s memory; the compelling has a grip of its own. It gives you no choice but to remember what you have experienced for the rest of your life. We do not choose what molds and makes the memories we can never shake loose. There are those we never intended to touch our lives who do. She had been thrown headlong into their world not because of choice, but because of Novak’s decision to protect her. Fate was a bitch who had tapped her on the shoulder and said: “you’re coming with me whether you like it or not”.
Tee had heard the rumors about how Glazov and Novak had wrenched the kingdom from Glazov’s father Mikhael Kirill. Glazov and Novak shared a bond that had been forged in blood and guts. They were a brotherhood that had risen from the back alleys of Russia and built a kingdom that was now a family feared by all. Novak shared a bond with Glazov that went deeper than Glazov shared with his father. Novak had been the only person willing to take the kingdom from Glazov’s father and give it to Glazov—a move unprecedented in the Born Bratva legacy. As far as both men were concerned, they had done what was within their right to do because of the way Mikhael had hated Glazov. He was jealous of his son and the power he held over a room even at an early age. That jealousy had caused a rift that grew wider and wider over the years until any bonds were broken and any love severed. When it was all said and done it was Glazov and Novak’s bond that was forged in steel.
“Hey girl,” Sip nudged Tee from her thoughts. “Put on your game face. These aren’t the kind of people you want to show fear to. Show respect, but not fear. That’s two different things, baby girl. Glazov is a man who knows how to use that emotion on a deep level. He has the primal ability to smell fear and he will use it for his benefit. If he thinks you’re fearful he’s going to wonder why, and that’s going to breed distrust. I know this isn’t easy. Most people are born into this lifestyle and you were forced into it. I’m here for you, Tee, and I’ll help you get through this. You’re not alone, babe.”
Sip’s reassurances made her feel better, but this was a road she was going to have to walk alone. “Well, at least Novak’s here. It seems to always go better when he is.”
“Should I be jealous?” Sip teased her.
“No. I lean on you, but Novak does hold some power with Glazov.”
“Novak will always have power; he’s the only man who stood with Glazov when the Pakhan took over. They’re more like brothers than cousins. When you stand with a man who has no backing; and he grows then morphs into a king he will never forget your faithfulness. Always remember loyalty goes further than anything else in this lifestyle. It’s the one attribute that will make or break you in the eyes of the people. No man is an island in this line of work.”
“And that’s why you never need to be jealous of Novak; he’s my brother. You are my one and only lover.”
“I better be. I’d hate to have to kill somebody over you.”
“Please, don’t attempt killing my brother; it will only result in war.”
“Family is a complicated thing, is it not?”
“The sole reason I never cared to have one. The only reason Novak is like a brother is the fact fate stepped in and gave me no choice.”