“It won’t be a problem, trust me,Tanechka. Teddy and the rest of them think of us as family, and these guys protect their own. You’ll be safe here.”
I want to believe him. I can’t seem to chase away the feeling of dread in my stomach, though. He takes me by the hand and leads me out of the room, and it feels like I’m jumping feet first into the deep end of a pool for the first time.
The bar is filled with bikers, bearded men with leather kuttes decorated with the club logo on the back and beefy, tattooed arms, and the smells of cigarette smoke, beer, and gunpowder fill my senses. Everyone’s gathered around the tables and bar, which all have all types of ammunition in dozens of different cardboard boxes. Several of the women are sitting off to the side, loading the bullets up into magazines and loading automatic weapons…
It’s an assembly line of war prep. Teddy looks up from his conversation with one of the groups of women and sees us. He walks over with a big smile under his snowy white beard. “While you two were sleeping it off, we’ve been hard at work, getting ready for the storm that’s headed our way.” He says that primarily to Viktor. To me he asks, “How’d you sleep, darling? You need anything? Coffee or tea? Luanne’s in the kitchen. I hear she’s got a couple of pots going.”
“I… I’m fine.” I can’t help but look around. The bartender is polishing his gun while looking up at the television above the bar. It’s showing a black and white split screen showing different angles of the property. They’ve slid closed the entrance, a high metal gate with barbed wire along the top. In other shots, there are bikers walking around holding guns, keeping a watchful eye from on top of the roof and other spots around the property.
“Don’t worry, honey,” Teddy says. “Right now, you ain’t gonna be any safer than right here.”
This is what Viktor meant. Everyone in this room is committed to keeping us safe for the moment that my father and his men come around. It’s baffling, and I’m fighting the urge to ask if all this is really necessary.
It must be. This is far too many resources to waste on a muted response. If everything I’ve ever heard about my father is true, then this might be an underreaction, to be honest.
“I’ve got a perimeter going right now,” Teddy says to Viktor. “Had them in place since last night. We’ll be adding a couple scouts to keep an eye on all the streets leading to the main one and the one in back of the building.”
“Good,” Viktor said. “Tell them to watch out for any pretty girls who might come walking by asking questions. Nikolai will likely send somebody to check out the scene before launching a strike.”
“Got it.” He glances at me again, and Viktor takes the silent cue, touching the small of my back.
“Tati, go find Luanne for me,” he says. “We could both use a cup of coffee.” Viktor must see the protest in my eyes because he adds a calm but firm, “Now, please.”
I walk away, a little annoyed that he just pulled a ‘the men are talking’move on me. But by the time I’m in the kitchen behind the bar, I’ve cooled off some. It’s probably better that I don’t know the details of whatever they’re planning. The farther I can stay away from the gunfire, the safer I’ll be.
I still wish I could talk him out of leaving here without an escort. I know he can take care of himself, but…
“Can I help you with something, honey?”
I tune back in and find myself standing in the middle of a small kitchen with an industrial stove on one side of the room and a wraparound counter with a metal sink on the other. A woman with long, bone straight red hair and tight jeans on her skinny hips is looking at me. Her face has deep wrinkles in it, showing years of a hard life that I can’t even imagine. She’s standing in front of a stove with a cigarette in hand, a big pan of scrambled eggs sizzling on top.
“Luanne?” I ask, and she nods. “Teddy and Viktor need coffee.”
“Coming right up.” She turns and walks over to one of two coffee makers and starts pouring the cups. “You Viktor’s Old Lady?”
I hesitate. That identification feels really surreal.Viktor’s Old Lady?I guess this all has happened so fast, I haven’t really considered that would be my new title around here. “Y–Yeah, I guess,” I say.
She sets the coffee pot down and regards me before handing me the two full cups of coffee, then she smiles. “You guess? You’re not sure?”
I stand up a little taller and say, “Yeah, I’m sure. He also happens to be my man.”
The weathered lines around her mouth soften as she smiles broadly. “Good answer. You’re gonna make a great queen.”
She turns away from me, back to the cooking food on the stove. Queen.Queen.
I walk out of the kitchen, turning that over in my mind. I’ve never thought of myself as being in any position of power at all. I’ve spent my life leaving all that to the men in my life. Nicki was supposed to be the one to take over when my father passed, after all. And me? I was just supposed to stay quiet and respectful and be the symbol of my father’s virility and control, and I’d say that I failed spectacularly at that.
But I never considered that I might end up adjacent to a Bratva king when all this is over. I’m standing behind the bar, Viktor and Teddy’s coffee in hand, watching them as they both stand over a table with a makeshift map made of utensils and high ball glasses. It’s like war camps in medieval times. Two kings discussing the dethroning of a dictator…
I’m beginning to feel more like Helen of Troy. A whole war is about to be fought over me. I hope we have a better outcome than the Greeks.
I walk the coffee over to them, and they pause their conversation to take the cup. Viktor tells Teddy to give him a second as he sets his cup down and takes me aside.
“I know all this is probably a little much for you to take in,” he says, “and I can’t blame you for being worried, but whatever happens today, I need to know that you’ll be safe in order for me to do the things I need to do.”
I don’t say anything. I just look at him, trying to understand. He rolls his eyes.
“Don’t look at me that way,Tanechka.”
