Love is War (The Clans Book 5)

  Love is War

  The Clans #5

  INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHORS

  ELIZABETH KNOX

  IRIS SWEETWATER

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright © Elizabeth Knox and Iris Sweetwater 2019

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real except where noted and authorized. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Publication by:

  Knox Publishing

  Cover Art by: Clarise Tan

  Icons made by:

  https://www.flaticon.com/authors/vignesh-oviyan

  WARNING: This book contains emotional triggers, sexual situations, violence, and other adult themes. Recommended for ages 18 and older.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Rhys

  I turn my wrist and stare down at my watch, wondering what the hell is taking my glorious King and Queen so long. I’ve been here for well over half an hour, instructed to be here at three o’clock in the afternoon sharp. You’d think that they’d make sure they’re here for our meeting, but it seems to me like they’re enjoying being tardy. I wonder if it’s some sort of power play from the both of them. If their lateness is supposed to make me nervous, shaking in my boots, terrified of what’s to come. It doesn’t though, I’ve been through a fuck of a lot when it comes to the Clans and not even a meeting with my leaders will make me worry.

  I stiffen up in my seat, pressing my back further against the wooden detail that goes up along the wall. I’d much rather be back home in Russia right now versus in America. I’ve never been a big fan of this country, and every time I visit, there is some sort of catch. I’m a man who hates surprises, so it isn’t shocking that I don’t appreciate them.

  “Rhys, long time no see.” Mariana’s voice greets me out of nowhere. I dart my eyes over to where her voice came from, looking her up and down, unable to stop staring at those damn deathtrap heels she has on. If the foyer wasn’t carpeted I would’ve been able to hear her from a mile away.

  “Not long enough,” I grumble out, standing from my seat. I glance around quickly and look for her other half, not seeing him in sight.

  “Ion is waiting for us. Come along.” I follow Mariana down the hallway until she opens a door and leads us inside. Ion is seated behind a dark as midnight black desk. Upon entering, Mariana heads behind the desk and stands at his side.

  “Please, sit,” Ion says to me. I nod and head to the seat directly across from his desk. I’m not even seated before Ion starts speaking again. “I’ll cut straight to the chase, considering none of us are here to lollygag. We have a job for you, an offering of sorts.”

  I scoff, wondering what sort of offering would even interest me. I have everything I need to survive. There is nothing else that I desire - not a damn thing.

  “I wouldn’t scoff if I were you, Rhys. Do you not remember the friends you once kept?” Mariana pipes up, those dark eyes of hers staring me down. I know of the friend she is reminding me of, one who caused her so much pain at one time. Only, back then I didn’t know anything. None of us knew who her captor was until she was found, and a little while before that is when I was burned by my so called ‘friend’.

  “Why should I still pay for the sins of my past?” I question them both, not seeing where they’re getting at.

  “It’s simple, because your sins aren’t of the past. They’re present. Not only did you cause a major tiff in the relationship we had molded with the Prime Minister of Russia, but we lost the Ukraine as well. Now is your chance to fix what you have broken.” Tiff. She called it a fucking tiff. What a joke that is. Tiff is an extreme understatement. Jonas ended up killing the Prime Minister’s daughter, and while I was able to salvage a bit of the relationship...it hasn’t been the same in years. We no longer hold the political advantage that we once did, and I know that’s my fault. All because of the company I used to keep. I saw a snake back then, but I thought I could bend it to my will. Instead, it out and bit me. Now I’ve learned my lesson, though. The only good snake is a dead one.

  I bring my elbows over the top of my knees and look right at them, “What exactly are you two thinking?”

  Ion cocks an eyebrow, “You will go to the Ukraine and take back our trading routes. Although, there is a problem and a big one at that. They have a street queen named Vera. From the intel we’ve gathered, she owns a gang and is neck deep in other illegal activity. She’s the only way you get our trade routes back. In actuality, she’s the only way we get any part of the Ukraine. Now is the time where we need allies, and we know that we do not have that in Russia, even if the Prime Minister somehow comes back on our side. My uncle wants me dead, and he will always want that. It’s time that we go into countries where we once thrived, and into places where we haven’t ever been. Rhys, we lost Russia because of your cocky attitude in thinking that you could use Jonas. I’m giving you an opportunity to rectify what you have broken and bring us a country that we once had many, many years ago. Bring us the Ukraine, and we will forgive you for your previous actions.”

  I stare at my King and Queen, wanting nothing more then to tell the both of them to fuck off. I’ve always been the black sheep of the Clans, and I was dead sure that I would be until the day that I died...but now I see an opportunity to rise, to show that I am even more valuable than they know.

  I rise from my seat, “I will make arrangements to fly in tomorrow. Which city does Vera reside in?”

  “Vinnytsia.” Ion replies quickly.

  Well, it looks like I won’t be going back to Russia anytime soon. “I’ll keep in touch,” I say to both Mariana and Ion before I turn around and head out.

  It’s time to do some digging on this Vera woman, but for some reason her name already rings a bell, and that cannot be a good thing.

  Chapter One

  VERA

  “It’s f-freezing,” Olena mutters through chattering teeth. I roll my eyes. She is no weakling. The two of us have lived our entire lives out on these streets. I wonder for a moment if someone has taken over my best friend’s body and replaced her with some weak bitch. Yes, that must be it. “What? You’re looking at me as if I’m crazy.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? You are crazy if you think this is cold. Men’s dicks still get hard in this weather.”

  She scoffs, “Maybe if they are fat and can keep warm. This wind chill is horrible. I am no fat girl, no meat to keep my insides warm.”

  “This is not the cold, woman. We know what the true cold is like. Do we not?” I lightly remind her. I can remember times when our bodies were frostbitten from the weather. Those were different days, different times. Now things are different, and neither of us need to worry about such things like freezing. I have made sacrifices to ensure we both have a warm place to sleep. “Maybe you just have become accustomed to the heat, the street girl inside you is dying because of it, but you cannot let her. You must always stay strong, Olena. We never know when there might come a day where we must be the women we used to be.”

  “Survivors,” she comments back, and I nod. It brings a smile to my face, knowing my friend understands our way of life.

  I highly doubt that I will lose my standing here. The people love and respect me, and for those who don’t - they fear me, and that is much better.

  “Vera! We have a problem.” I turn my eyes to one of my best men, Fredrig. He is the biggest man I have, one of the strongest men in the Ukraine, I think.

  “Well, what sort of problem can it be if you do not tell me?” I snap at him. These men sometimes never learn.

  “One of Glib’s men was just caught trying to sell to an underage girl.” Glib, my arch nemesis. A man who insists on corrupting the streets with drugs, causing only harm and misery to my people. I think not. I may not have Glib, but I have one of his men,
and he will do a good job at paying for his leader’s indiscretions

  “Show me,” I command him, following as he leads me to where a crowd of men and women stand, shouting and screaming. They’re angry, just as I am. I cannot blame them for this, for their anger and outrage. Drugs have destroyed our country, and it is my job to help rectify that. Over the last couple of years we have come so far, with most of the drug lords hiding in their mother’s basements. Only one man dares to cross me; Glib. I’ve accepted the fact I will have to kill him in order for him to stop, and that is something I will take both pleasure and pride in.

  I make my way through the crowd, grabbing my knife from my pocket and wielding it, ready to make this man pay for what he’s tried to do, but as I make my way into the circle, I am blown away by what I see.

  This is no man.

  I flip my head back to Fredrig, “This is no man. This is a child!” The boy in the center of the circle can’t be older than eleven or twelve, shaking like a scared little dog. I put my knife back and stare at the poor thing, feeling the fear radiating off of him. Looking back to Fredrig, “Get these people out of here. Now!”

  I sit on the street, only a couple of feet away from this child as the crowd is broken up and people go on their way. The boy’s eyes dart around like he’s looking for some sort of mistake. “Relax, I only kill boys with blonde hair,” I jokingly tell him, watching as his eyes bug out of his head. I guess I shouldn’t have made a joke such as that. “Why did Glib send you here?”

  He hands me packets of pills with Glib’s logo...something that I’ve never seen from him. Pills. It seems he is changing his product line.

  “I see. Did you come here of your own free will?”

  He shakes his head from left to right.

  “It’s okay, little one. You can talk to me.”

  He bites his bottom lip. “I...didn’t have a choice, Miss. Vera. He said he would give me food if I work for him. I need food for me and my little sister...we have to eat.”

  I now understand more than this child can see. “Where are your parents?” I ask him, already knowing the sad reality.

  “Dead. Gone. I’m not sure. My sister is all I have left, and I must take care of her.”

  “Okay,” I mutter, looking at the bag of pills. They look to be Xanax. Internally, I’m thinking of what the price would be for these. “This is what we’re going to do. I am going to give you money to take back to Glib, but you must come back with your little sister and go to the turquoise house by the city center. Do you understand me?”

  He nods.

  “Okay. Good. Is it just you...or is he doing this to other orphans too?”

  “Others. There are many of us…”

  I sigh, hating the type of heartless animal Glib is. I won’t be making an example out of this poor child, but I will be helping him however I can. “You take this money to Glib and tell him a tourist bought all of it. Get your sister and come back to what color house?” I hand him money from my pocket as I wait for his answer.

  “Turquoise in the city center.” I smile at his reply.

  “Yes, now if you have friends who you can trust not to go back to Glib, you tell them to meet you there. Okay?”

  I see a flash of sorrow cross his face. “What is the matter?” I ask him.

  “There is no one we can trust, Miss. Vera. Not in this world.” What he says resonates with me and makes me sad. This boy should not have to know such ugly truths at such a young age.

  “Take it and go, little one.” I rise from sitting on the cold ground and see him do the same, watching as he runs off to the East.

  “Vera…” Olena mutters, the tone of her voice alarming me. Good God, what else could go wrong today?

  “What is it?” I snap back.

  “An SUV was just spotted entering the city with Romanian colors.”

  I furrow my brows, “What?”

  She starts to repeat herself when I put up my hand for her to stop.

  “Who is it?” I ask instead, wrapping my head around why the Romanian’s would be here.

  Olena shows me her phone and pulls up photographs of an olive skinned man with dark hair and mesmerizing eyes. “It seems to be Rhys Albu.”

  I cackle, “I thought my day was interesting enough with the drug dealing boy. Now we have the traitorous Romanian in our midst. This should be fun.”

  Chapter Two

  RHYS

  I look out the window, my large hands stretching out across the windowsill, spreading the curtains that I had imported; black velvet. Yes, it was a bit much. Everything I was doing here was a bit much, but I knew if I was ever going to win any respect after what I had done that it had to be all about appearances. That was my plan, though it was a shitty one.

  I had gotten off the plane and bought this old mansion, and at first I felt so confident, because I had to be. Years ago, when I fucked up and lost so much for the Clans and found out the motherfucker I was trusting to be able to control had been torturing Mariana, our queen, all that damn time right under my nose, I thought I was done for. It was by the skin of my damn teeth, as they say, that I was allowed to keep on breathing, and I knew I didn’t deserve it. But I begged and pleaded like a fucking weasel and then went quiet. I only did what I was told when I was needed and stayed out of shit. I never thought I was going to get a chance to redeem myself, and now I was getting that chance. So, I just knew it had to work out.

  But once I started doling out dumb fucking tasks like redoing this place and things like not bringing a huge security detail with me when I went out and about so I could earn some clout...I retreated.

  I am a shitty little coward, and I know that now more than ever. Being out on the streets of the Ukraine scares me just a little. Not that I am afraid of some woman who has the country pussy whipped and whoever her followers are. I am part of the Romanian Clan and know how to handle myself. I am afraid that I will get nothing but hate no matter what I do. This is not Russia, but it's close enough that they know me; they know what I did. I am afraid of letting Mariana and Ion down.

  Now, I am finding ways to make progress without truly making any progress. I am getting intel and giving this old place a makeover made for a king, the king I intend on being even though I have only left the mansion just a few times in the last two weeks.

  What I can see of the city from here, on the outskirts in my high window, reminds me of home, and yet not. Ukraine has much of this meeting of the old and new, much like a lot of the area, a few are dirty, low down places for all the nobodies of the world where they crawl in holes and wait to freeze to death. But it seems almost worse here, and I have learned enough things to know that I am right about that.

  This Vera may think she owns this place, but truly the drugs are king here, and it is damn hard to compete with that, and now I am here to give it a run for its money.

  My phone begins to ring in my pocket, and I curse it, knowing there is a good chance the king and queen want an update, and even if it is just one of their lackeys calling for them, I know I will get judgement for having no progress yet. But I am doing things slow. At least, that is what I will say; playing it smart. And then I will get off the fucking phone and actually live up to that because soon I will run out of renovations and have to actually get up off my ass and find this Vera before she finds me. I am sure the rumors of the Romanian in the mansion will be circulating already.

  As I try to be gracious and not argue with their disappointment through the receiver, my mind is elsewhere. I can see that prick’s face in my head now, the one who forced Mariana to have his child and kept her locked away for years...YEARS. I remember sitting and shooting the shit with him, doing shots in the same place where he had her and that kid, probably told to keep quiet or he would slit their throats or some shit.

  He used to call me his frate, like we were family, and I believed he meant it. I thought I had caught the snake and was molding him into something not just useful to me but maybe worth someone’s time. Maybe all the Clan leaders wouldn’t hate him so damn much, but the whole time he was an insane asshole bent on torture, revenge, and random killing that benefited no one. The worst had to be killing the daughter of the Russian prime minister.