“Okay, Papa.”
Everything Papa wants me to be. I’ll be just that.
But a brother? A fucking twin? The old man never said a word. The lying bastard.
I shove the memories down, lock them away. I’mPakhannow. No time for weakness. No time for doubt.
I stand face to face with Ludis, my mirror image. My fucking brother.
fourteen
Leonid
"What the fuck do you want from me?” I growl.
Ludis smirks, his eyes the same dark brown as mine. Fucking bizarre.
“I’m here to take what’s mine,” he says.
“What’s yours?”
“The bratva,brat.” He spits to the side.
“The bratva,” I repeat, stepping closer. Our breath mingles, his reeking of cigarettes and trouble.
A drunk stumbles into the alley, mumbling off-key. Ludis’s beast of a bodyguard is on him in a flash, hurling him away like a bag of trash.
Ludis tilts his head, smirk widening. “Heard about your little fancy restaurant problem. Shame, that.”
Red-hot rage surges through me. This classless piece of shit. Thinking he can fuck with my operation. My jaw tightens, and I step into his space, staring him down.
“So it was you,” I bite out.No wonder we couldn’t pinpoint the bastard behind it—too daring for a professional outfit, too bold for the usual rats.
“How fucking dare you?” I snarl. “You think you can just waltz in, destroy my property? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Ludis shrugs, casual as can be.
Like we’re talking about the fucking weather.
“Just letting you know what I’m capable of,brat. What I’ll do if you don’t play nice.”
I narrow my eyes, refusing to back down. “You destroyed one of our restaurants. You think I’m just going to hand over everything I’ve built to some long-lost brother I never knew existed?”
Ludis laughs, a harsh, grating sound. “I was just sending a little welcome gift. A taste of what’s to come if you don’t agree to my terms.”
I shake my head, my lips curling into a sneer. “You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’ll ever let you near my bratva. Brother or not, you’re nothing to me.”
“I want what’s mine, Leonid. What should have been mine from the start. I’m the eldest son!”
He steps closer, his breath hot on my face. The stench of cigarettes and booze is almost overwhelming.
“That old man threw me away like garbage. Left me to rot while you got everything. The money, the power, the fucking respect.” His lips curl into a sneer. “But I survived. I clawed my way up from nothing. And now I’m here to take what I’m owed.”
I narrow my eyes, feeling the old familiar rage build in my chest. This piece of shit thinks he can just walk in and take what’s mine?
“You’ve got balls, coming here,” I spit. “Thinking you can fuck with my operation and get away with it.”
Ludis chuckles, low and mean. “Oh, I haven’t even started fucking with you yet,brat. That little stunt with the restaurant? That was just a taste.”
