All In

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The next morning, I once again woke to Alexei already being gone. I stay in bed for a few minutes, then get up and do my thing. May is supposed to come over today, and after her shift tomorrow, she's moving into The House.

I miss having the whole apartment to just me and Alexei, but I understand we have to stay here in case Sergei and Sasha show up; the family has to be protected.

The fear of ever seeing Sasha again scares the hell out of me every time I think about it. But I know when I do, Alexei will keep me a safe distance from him.

After showering and getting ready for the day, I head downstairs to find Dina and May sitting out on the patio eating breakfast. A third and fourth plate are set out for Irina and I.

"Good morning", May smirks. "Late night."

"Very", I smirk at her. "But I told him about it."

May is one of the only people to know about my condition.

"How did he take it?"

"Take what?" Dina tries to get in on whatever juicy secret I have.

"Do you really want to know about your brother's sex life?"

Dina scoffs. "Ew, no. But I wanna hear about yours." I give Dina a look. "I just pretend you are dating someone else every time we talk about it."

I tell Dina about my condition, and the infertility, and then I tell them both about how it went down last night. That it was sweet, loving, and everything a real man would say when his girl were to tell home something like that. They both swoon, but then Dina starts to giggle.

"I cannot believe Alexei, of all people, would be that nice to someone."

"You can't tell him I told you he's nice." I laugh. "He would kill me."

We wait for Irina to come outside for breakfast, but she never does. We finish eating and then head back inside when it gets too hot.

When we do head back inside, there are a ton of people scurrying about, and all three of us turn our attention to Volkov, who spots us first. "Dina, Aleksandra. Library. Now."

May whispers that she's gonna go sit in the living room. We follow Volkov and a few other men into the library. Alexei near the large window, so I scurry over to him. He holds his hand out for me, and I wrap my arm around his as I turn to look at the room.

"Quiet", Volkov's voice booms as the last few people straggle in. "We have a new update on Sergei."

"Sergei and Sasha were spotted in the city. With the help of Aleksandra, we were able to locate a building owned by Sasha and his other brother, who we killed a few weeks ago."

Alexei's words make my head spin, but I do my best to stay focused.

"We have a detail on them right now, but as for all other operations, we will be halting unnecessary travel and movement from all members; until we can figure out what size of a army they have."

All of those same faces as a few days ago stand in front of me again, but it still feels strange. My life has turned around so much, it feels as though I have no idea who I am. But, at the same time, I know exactly who I am. As Alexei stated a few weeks ago, the family will be his when Volkov feels it's time to retire, and in turn, it will be mine. I will fill Irina's shoes; keeping the family safe, housed, and happy.

"While we do not know the true intentions, we believe Sergei is after me, as his son, and Sasha is after Aleksandra. From what we know as well, Sasha has never been to our house before, and therefore has no knowledge as to where the main headquarters of our family lie. If anyone believes they are being followed, lead them away from The House, as you all know."

Just as a few days ago, Alexei and Volkov go over plans with the family about the security of The House. Dina and I just sort of stare at each other, both in a funk, trying to process everything we're hearing. It's hard for both of us to realize the people we despise the most are within miles of here, most likely looking for us.

Volkov disperses everyone, and Alexei stays behind to talk to me.

"Are you doing okay with everything?"

"Yes", I blink. "It's just crazy to think about. But we have so many men surrounding the house, your old apartment, that building you told us about, and the main bridges into the city. But you'll be the first one to know when they're caught or dead."

"Just be careful, please." I reach up and place a kiss on his lips. "I need you home with me."

"I will come home to you every night for the rest of our lives."

Alexei's POV

The amount of love I feel for the woman who stands in front of me almost makes me wonder how my world existed without her. If someone were to have asked a month ago if I was able to feel like this for a woman, I would have laughed in their face. But to tell her so soon, I have never said it to a woman, ever. That old part of me tells me that loving someone the way I love her is a sign of weakness.

I reluctantly let go of her and leave the library, joining Volkov and my men at the front door. Volkov speaks to them, and when he's done, we all leave to go into the city. Volkov gets into my passenger seat, and we all make our way to our various points.

Though I hate every single person to ever drive in this city, and I would love to rush past them, I cannot allow anyone to take a second look at us.

Volkov and I are not two for talking about anything personal, and there's no need for talking now, so the ride is silent.

I park at the corner in perfect view of city hall and the building Aleksandra told us about. Two black SUVs sit right outside the front door, like they're waiting to pick someone up.

Artem shoots me a text. Everyone is in position.

We continue to sit in silence, but when I see one person leave the front door, I decide it's time for just us to move in, while everyone else stays on watch.

I turn off the car, and Volkov and I walk down the street a bit. Artem and his partner walk along the other side of the street.

"If Sergei or Sasha walk out of that door, it's a no-go."

"You think it's smart to continue to let them walk these streets?" Sometimes, I would simply love to ring Volkov's neck, but he is unfortunately still my boss, and he also took Dina and me in when he had no one else; he is my father.

"We need to know who else is in their circle before you take them out", Volkov counters. "You cannot let your feelings cloud your judgment. That will get us all killed."

I'm about to turn back to say something else to Volkov, but two more men walk out of the building.

For the first time in almost fourteen years, I see my father in person. And the only thought I have is to shoot him from right here.

But when I see Sasha, the only thing I want to do is torture him worse than way he tortured Aleksandra. I want him to feel every bit of pain that she felt and more. I want her to know that he is taken care of and that she will never be hurt by him or anyone else ever again. No woman should ever go through that; and if life had been different, she would have had to never go through that, and we would already be married.

"Sokolov", I feel Volkov's hand on my arm. "Let's go, Son."