Love is War (The Clans Book 5) Page 4

  The line goes dead, and I think that I’ve lost the call when his voice booms through the other end. “In what reality do you think you’re able to make promises to her?!”

  “In the one where we get everything we want, and I’m sure that once you hear what I’m about to tell you, both you and Mariana will be thanking me. Kids are out on the street here because their families can’t afford to feed them. So, instead of the parents starving in order to feed their children, they simply throw them out on the streets. It happens more than you think. So these kids either run drugs, or the girls become prostitutes as soon as they’re teenagers. I made promises that are important to Vera, in order to get us what we want.”

  A heavy sigh is all I hear through the receiver. “For once, you did good.”

  “There’s a catch, though. There is a drug lord here named Glib, after Vera and I are married we need to remove him from this country, and the drugs. They’re killing thousands of people, and damming many others.”

  “Why does this Vera woman sound like some vigilante?”

  “In a way, I guess she is one. A woman of the people.”

  “Sure sounds like it,” Ion replies, and I continue on updating him of what has transpired over the last few days.

  Finally, I feel like I’m on the right track.

  Chapter Eight

  VERA

  I sit down in my chair and put my feet up on my desk with a sigh. I can't believe I accepted a marriage proposal from a Romanian, but if he is truly here to get Ukraine and Russia back, then it could mean so much for me and all that I am wanting. It could mean so much for Lana, my protégé. She could have a life better than even mine if this works out. Of course, this is purely contractual. I'll fuck him if I want, leave him alone for days on end if I want. This is about power.

  I have bigger problems to worry about now, though. Glib has threatened me directly, something he generally knows better than to do. Our rivalry has been long, and we are both good at picking on the lowest man on the totem pole and staying away from each other. We are at war with each other, but we mind our own damn business because it’s not like either of us wants to lose too many of our members or to cause so much of an uproar that the law bothers to get off their ass and come after us for all that we do. He either has something new to use against us or has finally gone off his rocker and started doing all those drugs he has people peddling on these streets.

  I sigh and look to the two people sitting across from me; Vonka and Lana. "So, how the hell are we going to deal with Glib? “I ask them, mulling over all the possibilities in my head. "It will need to be underhanded. I can't risk too much manpower here, and I can't risk getting caught." I look into Lana's eyes, hoping that I have rubbed off on her enough the days that we have spent together, practically 24 hours. She is staying with Olena and I for now until she gets her bearings.

  Already she looks different, more well cared for and confident, her skin no longer dirty and sallow. She is still too skinny, but the girl will need to eat for a bit before she fixes that.

  It is Vonka who speaks up, though. " Mic Vera, I am sorry to interrupt, but the threat against you has already been handled."

  My legs land on the floor with a thud, and I sit on the edge of my seat, glaring at Vonka. "What the hell do you mean by that, Vonka? How is it just like that this threat against me has been handle? It sounded pretty fucking serious, like Glib was not playing around. He doesn’t just give up." I am ready for heads to roll, thinking this old shit is a completely incompetent idiot, but then he says a name that makes my skin crawl, and I know exactly whose neck my hands need to be around.

  "Mic Vera, I apologize, but since you accepted Pan Albu's proposal, he has had several of his men around. He got the news and took care of it."

  I stand up, fury in my eyes. I am proud to see that while Vonka looks quite uncomfortable, Lana doesn’t even flinch. She is well on her way to the bad bitch I want her to be. "Excuse me, but in what way did Rhys take care of this?" I ask, practically spitting all over them. I am ready to burn the world down. I accepted his proposal for business purposes; to gain more power, not for him to take it away and make me look weak.

  "He threatened Glib with the entire Romanian mafia."

  "Shit! Fuck!" I curse out loud, throwing a stack of papers off my desk before ordering them to clean it back up and stomping out of the room. That fucking ass is about to learn his place with me, and that’s on the bottom. But I don’t feel he deserves an in-person visit right now. it’s bad enough he's asked me to movie into that mansion of his. I realize he’s fixed it up into a beautiful place, and I can’t say I don’t appreciate beautiful things at all, but I don’t know if I am ready to combine our lives that much just yet. Right here near the streets will always be where my heart and head are, no matter if there is a gate and brick between us or not.

  So, I dial his number which is annoying saved in my phone now under "Fiancé" which I am sure he did on purpose at some point. He answers the phone, sounding nice and smug. I can just imagine the shit eating grin on his face and wish I could wipe it off with my fist right now. But I don’t even want to see him. "What gives you the fucking right to fight my battles?" I screech into the receiver.

  "The fact that they are no longer only your battles, detka," he says with a dark tone, and I know he is trying to match me here, but he can't. He only has the Ukraine now in theory. I can pull out of this any time and make him lose everything he came here for.

  "I am the top bitch on these streets, dytyna, and I will not have you fighting my fucking battles. Know your place. I am doing you as much of a favor as you are doing me."

  "I love it when you get pissed, Vera, it just makes you that much more mouthwatering."

  With that I hang up on the little shit, unable to take any more of his games. I can’t believe he took matters into his own hands like that. The situation with Glib has always been teetering on the edge of a damn cliff, and I am afraid now he will never take things from my mouth seriously again.

  My phone starts buzzing, and I realize I am not going to catch a break today, so I answer it to hear the voice of one of my men, my tracker, actually. He is the man who hunts down those I need to find. But lately, he has been looking for Olena. I had the feeling she had begun doing the drugs again. That’s why I hate them so much. You can hate the drugs and hate what they do to you. You can be doing so well and get clean and then one day no longer be able to stay away. She hasn’t been home in two nights now at all, and I fear the worst for her.

  "Tak?" I say into the receiver. I am nervous as hell, practically shaking as I wait to hear if there is any news.

  "We have found Olena, and it is not good. She has overdosed. I am taking her into the hospital, but I do not know how bad it is. She is unresponsive right now."

  I sink to the floor in the middle of the room, hearing just about the only thing in this world that can cause me to show a weakness. I love this girl. She is the only sim'yi I truly have, and I don’t know what I will do if I lose her.

  "Spasybi, Aleksander. I will come to the hospital shortly."

  I hang up and close in on myself for just a moment. I allow myself only one minute to feel it and let it crash down on me before I get the fuck up and call for a car. I don’t exactly trust that what Rhys said to Glib didn’t just piss him off more, so I don't exactly want to go alone.

  All the way there all I can think about is what I am going to do if she doesn't make it out alive this time. She has beaten the odds so many times now, and I can’t help but worry that her number has been up too many times now. Death is the one thing I have no power over, and I have always joked that she can't go first because I need to go first and take over the underworld so I do have that power. It’s not so damn funny right now, though. Not that I truly wouldn’t trade my life for hers.

  The minute I get in, I demand to speak with the doctor. They used to fight me on this since I am not family, but they know better now. They don’t question me.

  I am taken into a blank office and sat down, and I don’t like how formal this is. Usually, they can give me the news in the waiting room or the hospital room while I sit by Olena's side. I prepare myself the best I can for whatever this doc has to say. "Your friend...they brought her in on time. She is lucky again, but her luck will run out sometime soon. Her body can’t take much more of this, and she is to the point where she needs too much to get that same feeling she is seeking. She needs more help than you might be able to give her."

  I purse my lips and nod. "Trust me, she will get through this."

  ***

  Once Olena is sleeping and her vitals are looking better, I have a car drop me off at the one place I was determined not to go today. I find myself at the gate, being let in with no questions this time. I am sure all of his men have been informed of who I am to him now.

  As I approach the door, I swear I see a curtain move in one of the upper floor rooms, probably Rhys spying on me, and I knock on the door insistently until it’s answered.

  I look up to where Rhys is coming down the stairs, and at first he looks smug, but there must me something on my face that makes him wipe the grin away. His brows turn down, and there are crinkled folds of worry on his forehead. It makes him look much older than he is.

  Suddenly, my presence here simply makes me hate him more, but it doesn’t change what I am here for. I don’t let him get all the way down the stairs. Instead, I meet him where he’s at and shove at his broad chest. "Bedroom, please," I tell him with authority and he doesn’t fight me.

  When we get into his room, I shut the door and lock it for good measure before stepping right up to him. For a moment, I can tell I have shocked him. "No talking, I need to be fucked," I tell him before I begin removing his jeans. He says nothing, but once we have torn each other's clothes off and I push him down onto his bed, pouncing him like a tigress, I look him in the eyes. "This will mean nothing, got it?" He nods as I feel his hardness already pressing my inner thigh.

  I press my nails into his shoulders, unapologetic as I draw a drop of blood. I raise up to place myself over his thick cock, hovering there for a moment before sliding down, making my pussy spread for him. I can't believe how big he is, but I am not in the mood to give him any kind of compliment. I force my way down the rest of the way until my ass cheeks bounce against his thighs.

  I smirk down at him as he grunts in satisfaction. I know how to drive a man wild, and I am about to make Rhys’ night and make myself forget about the pain and worry that I need to push down so I can go on.

  I begin to rock against him, instantly getting a fast rhythm, and his hands are on my hips to propel me. I run my hands down his chest, my nails leaving marks behind me, because no one fucks Vera without getting a souvenir or two, and I find that sweet spot as I moan making sure I stay in that groove. My head goes blank as I feel nothing but the electricity between us. This is the sweetness of nothingness; exactly what I asked for.

  "Fuck!" I call out as my insides tense up on me, even my abdomen, before I begin to shiver, sweat dripping from every pore as pure euphoria take me over.

  I hear Rhys calling out my name and know he is close as well, then I feel the warmth of his own liquid spilling into me, making me go through an orgasm once more. This is my drug. Always will be.

  Chapter Nine

  VERA

  It’s been almost three weeks since Olena was found overdosed. Initially, she was taken to a local hospital, but the moment she was stable enough, I had her transferred to an outside rehabilitation center that specializes in addiction. That night I was sitting at her bedside, researching the best addiction centers in the Ukraine. Unfortunately, we don’t have many of those. There’s only one, and it’s a bit under four hours away. But I want the best for Olena, so the best she will have. Today I’ve driven myself out to Kiev to visit her. The center believes it’s important to show physical support just as much as emotional, so I will visit her as I can every couple of weeks. She’s supposed to be here for two months, completing an eight week course with the option to stay longer if they believe she needs it.

  I’m a little worried coming here, to be honest, somehow thinking Olena will be angry with me. I’m not worried that she’d be mad about me sending her to rehab because we’ve been through this before. She’s relapsed two other times and always has found her way back to sobriety. But this time is different. I didn’t send her to the types of rehabs that help ease your pain with other drugs. No, I sent her to a rehabilitation facility that believes in the holistic way of things. In more or less terms, they believe in going cold turkey. I might have been awful sending her here, but I don’t regret it, or my feelings. I wanted Olena to feel all of the pain her body endures when going through withdrawal. I wanted her to feel every ounce of agony that she could through this process, all because she chose to stick a needle in her arm. She went through all of that pain because of her selfish choices, and I can guarantee after coming to this rehab she won’t ever make those same decisions ever again.

  The pain won’t be worth the high. At least, that’s the way I’m hoping she’ll think. Through the years I’ve learned that you can’t make decisions for others, even if you wish you could.

  The rehab it beautiful, almost looking like a home. It’s three stories tall with beige brick surrounding the building and dark chocolate roof, giving it a cozy feel. I walk in the center and check in at the lobby area, giving the receptionist my name and informing him of which patient I am here to visit. “Would it be possible to get a day pass so I can take her out for lunch?” I ask him. He gives me a concerned look before nodding.

  “As long as you bring Olena back by this evening before we have dinner it should be fine. Just make sure you bring her back.”

  “I wouldn’t have brought her here in the first place if I didn’t want her to get treated,” I inform him. I understand his worries though, unable to imagine the amount of people who have broken out during a day pass with their family.

  “Give me a moment and I will bring her out, then you may go out to lunch.” I nod my head at the receptionist and walk towards the window, overlooking the snow covered garden. The past couple weeks it’s been snowing quite a bit. I don’t mind it though, always loving the sight of snow. As a child when I was having a bad day, or thought something may be impossible, the snow always gave me the courage I needed. If that even makes sense.

  “Vera, you look different,” Olena says from behind me. I whip my body around to face my best friend and run up to her, wrapping my arms around her so tightly that she’ll have to beg me to let her go. I don’t have any siblings, but Olena has always felt like my sister.

  “I could say the same about you. You look like you have eaten a few cookies while you’ve been here.” I laugh, smiling at my dear friend.

  Olena narrows her eyes at me. “You just found a roundabout way of saying I’ve gained weight. Now you will buy me something sweet to repay me!”

  I chuckle, linking my arm with hers and wave to the receptionist as we walk outside and down the streets of Kiev.

  “So much has happened that I need to tell you about,” I say to her, looking around at the beautiful landscape of the city.

  She stops suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk, her face stricken with worry. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing is wrong. There have just been many changes since Rhys has come to town, things that I couldn’t tell you about before because of you being fucked up.” I never imagined myself as a woman who would get married, not even as a small girl. When most were dreaming of their beautiful white dresses, I was thinking about how I would get my next meal. Now that I am getting married, even with it being a political alliance I still want nothing more than to tell my best friend.

  “Okay, well spit it out.”

  “Rhys and I are getting married.” Olena starts to laugh like this is the funniest thing I’ve ever told her, and fails to stop, so I wait.

  When she realizes I’m not laughing with her, she goes dead silent. “...Aren’t you joking with me?”

  I shake my head from left to right, “No. I’m not joking. We aren’t getting married for love or any of that hogwash. It’s simply because the both of us can get what we truly want by being married, so we are going to do it.”

  “Fuck. Don’t tell me any more until we find some nalysnyky. I need some cherry with cheese before you continue on about this madness.”

  I roll my eyes and hold back the fact that this decision was made before she overdosed and instead find us both a small cafe where we can get some coffee and nalysnyky. Some sweet stuff might do us both some good.

  “You have no idea how they feed us in there. Everything is either meat and salad or meat and vegetables. It’s awful. You’re a cunt for sending me there.”

  I scoff, “At least you have a warm place to sleep and food in your belly every day. Don’t complain to me about the fact you’re eating healthy for once.”

  We both get our hot coffee and wait for our food to be brought out to us, catching up about silly things before Olena takes a turn for seriousness. “I’m not a fan of him from what I know, but it wouldn’t kill you to actually try and give love a shot this time.”

  “We remember how well love worked out for me last time,” I grumble, thinking about my ex and how he betrayed me in the very worst way possible. I said I’d never allow myself to become that vulnerable ever again, and I meant it. Heartbreak can be worse than most wounds and I would know.

  “Not everyone will hurt you like he did. You’re marrying Rhys for what reason exactly?” Just as she asks that our food is brought out to us and we dig in. Both moaning at the cherry and cheese concoction. It’s better than sex!

  After I’ve swallowed, I continue. “He wants trading routes back for the Clans, and I want to overthrow Glib and eradicate all drugs being sold in the Ukraine. Rhys can help with that, especially with the entire Romanian Clans backing us up. He’s also agreed to help my businesses grow in not only the Ukraine but Russia as well, and…” I start to tell Olena, but something inside me stops myself. I think it’s in this moment I realize that Rhys didn’t do it to help get me to say yes. I think he actually wanted to help the children.