Chapter 1
LEVUSKHA MAKAROV
“It’s good of you to finally wake up, Levushka. It’s not like it’s the middle of the afternoon or anything,” Lukah growled from the kitchen, the gruff sound of his voice catching me off guard and nearly sending me tumbling down the stairs. It was a good thing I had fast reflexes and caught myself; otherwise, I would have landed flat on my face. And with a face as handsome as mine, that would have been a real shame.
“Good morning to you too, bol’shoy brat,” I chuckled and swiped a piece of toast off his plate. It wasn’t like he would eat it anyway.
When Tori, the love of his life and the daughter of his mortal enemy, left him, she took not only his heart but his appetite with him. Lukah was dropping weight faster than what was healthy, and I worried that if he didn’t patch things up with the Vitale Printsessa soon, he was going to disintegrate into thin air.
I glanced at my watch. “Why are you eating toast at midday? It’s not much of a lunch.”
“I’m not hungry.” He shrugged and pushed his untouched plate toward me.
“You can’t keep doing this to yourself, brother,” I frowned.
Lukah refused to meet my eyes and sipped at his coffee. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
My lips tugged down further. “Want some advice?”
“No,” he growled.
“That’s too bad because I’m going to give it to you anyway,” I smirked. “You need to get your head out of your ass and go after Tori. You need to tell her how you feel and beg for her to take you back. Both of you will be miserable with each other.”
His eyes snapped up to meet mine at record speed. “You’ve spoken to her?”
“No,” I denied quickly, shaking my head because I didn’t want to give him false hope. “I saw the way the two of you were with each other. She loves you, Luke, and I know you love her as well. Stop moping around here like a lovesick fool and go to her. Fix things. Fight for her. Tell her that you love her and show her that you’d do anything to get her back.” When he didn’t say anything, distracted by the stormy thoughts I could see swirling in his eyes, I continued, “You do want her back, don’t you, Luke?”
“What kind of question is that?” He scoffed, offended. “Of course, I want my Printsessa back.”
I leaned back in my chair with a smug look on my face because we both knew I was fucking right, and I swiped the second piece of toast from his plate. “Then you know what you have to do, bol’shoy brat.”
-
I was hoping Lukah would take my advice because as much as I poked fun at him, I wanted to see my big brother happy, but I didn’t think he would take it so literally.
Earlier this morning, after I talked some sense into him, Lukah called me into his office to announce that he was flying out to Sicily as a grand gesture to win back Vittoria. If that didn’t work, I advised him to drop to his knees and beg until she felt sorry enough to give in and take him back. It would be a hit to his ego, but at least he would be happy.
I had my fingers crossed for him and even sent up a silent prayer to go easy on him and grant him the woman of his dreams. That prayer must have been made of some strong stuff because a little less than an hour ago, Vittoria fucking Vitale walked through the front doors, hopeful and frantic, and calling out for Lukah.
They both flew halfway across the world at the same time to carry out a grand gesture to win the other back.
What a fucking coincidence!
I knocked on my brother’s bedroom door, waiting to be called in before I opened it.
“Kon told me Lukah is set to arrive at Moscow airport in the next 4 to 6 hours. He’s taking a helicopter from the airport to here, so expect him for the morning.”
Vittoria’s blue eyes sparkled with happiness.
“Say hi to him for me and that I’ll call him when I land.”
Her eyebrows furrowed together. “Are you going somewhere?”
I nodded. “Mexico.”
“Are you going for a boys’ trip?”
“No, business.”
She blinked slowly at me. “You’re going to have to explain that one to me.”
“We’re having some issues with the Mexicans taking over our land, and Lukah needs me to fly over there to deal with it. He would have done so himself, but he had something more important to deal with.”
“You mean…me?”
I grinned and nodded.
Vittoria’s lips tugged down into a frown–the opposite of the reaction I was hoping for. “I thought coming here would be a good idea. The last thing I want to do is distract him from work. Maybe I shouldn’t have–”
“No, don’t even think about that,” I said quickly.
If Lukah found out that I had scared away the love of his life and future wife before he had the chance to come back and grovel for forgiveness, he was going to kill me.
I forgot what I was going to say next when the sharp chime of my phone ringing filled the room.
“Speak of the devil,” I chuckled, pulling out my phone.
My new sister-in-law’s baby blue eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning when they went downstairs to see how many presents Santa had left for them.
“Can I speak to him quickly?”
“Sure,” I chuckled. “Try to keep it PG. I don’t want to hear you and my brother making up.”
“I’ll try my best, but I’m not making any promises,” she giggled and took the phone from me.
I headed back to my room to finish packing and give my brother and the love of his life some privacy. I didn’t plan to be gone for long, so there wasn’t much for me to pack. Just a carry-on for the private jet. Lukah assured me that the Mexicans were awaiting me and that the trip shouldn’t take more than a few days. I was taking Kon and Aleksei with me, but I was still a little nervous. This was the first business trip I was going on without my brother, and I didn’t want to do anything wrong. If I did, Lukah would need to leave Vittoria and come fix my mess, and I didn’t want to be the reason they had to separate so soon after patching up.
I also wanted to make my brother proud. I wanted him to see that I was capable of standing by his side and helping run the family business.
I looked up when a quiet knock sounded on the door.
“Lukah wants to talk to you,” Vittoria said and handed my phone back to me. Her cheeks were coloured by a bright flush I didn’t want to ask about.
“I’m just about to leave,” I told my brother on the phone.
“I’m glad I caught you just in time then. You know the plan?”
I nodded, not that he could see me through the phone.
“Whatever you do, try not to step on any toes, okay?”
“I’ll try my best, but it sounds messy down there.”
“You’re right,” he groaned. “The land might by ours be inheritance, but it’s been lying there for decades. We’ve only found out recently that the Mexicans have been using it. We don’t even know how long it’s been going on for!”
“Wouldn’t it just be easier to sell it to them?”
“It would, but we’d need to talk to them. They’ve had free access to it for God knows how long. I can’t imagine that they’ll be too happy about having to pay for it now.”
“I doubt they’d be happy about us trying to take the land back from them either,” I groaned, rubbing a hand down the side of my face. I didn’t know how this was going to go down, but I was certain it would be far from easy.
The line was silent for a moment too long.
“What’s wrong, Luke? What are you thinking?”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you, Lev?”
“No, you don’t need to come with me,” I said quickly. “You won’t get back here until morning, and the jet is already ready to take me. Besides, Tori has just come back. You and her need to talk and sort things out.”
“But–”
“I promise I’ll be fine, Lukah,” I assured my brother. “It’s about time I step up and help you more with the business. And if I need help, I promise to let you know.”
“I’m proud of you, Levushka.”
“You are?” I couldn’t keep the smirk from my voice.
“I am. Incredibly proud, and I know Mama and Papa would be so proud of you as well. I know I don’t say it enough, but I really am proud of you, mladshiy brat. And know that I’m only a phone call away. If anything happens, and I mean anything, I want you to call me straight away.”
I grinned. “I will.”
“Don’t hesitate, okay? Reach out as soon as something comes up, and don’t try to do everything yourself. Use Kon and Aleksei. They’re there to help you.” My brother sounded like a fretting parent, but I secretly loved it. He was more of a Papa than our own Papa was, and the best parent figure I could have ever asked for. “If you need me, I’ll be on the first flight there. I don’t care how big or small you think it is. We’re a team, okay, Levushka?”
“Got it, brother.”
“Good. I wish you luck, Levushka. And take care of yourself, okay?”
“You too, brother,” I grinned and we said our goodbyes before hanging up the phone.
Regardless of what happened or what this trip had in store for me, I knew one thing.
I wouldn’t let my brother down.
-
Layla Knight
27.08.2024
bol’shoy brat – big brother
mladshiy brat – little brother
