Falling for the Mafia Brothers: Legacy and Desire
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Meghann Crane
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14
Chapter One
Anton
I’m tired of this same old shit. My fathers have been preparing me to take over the organization since my sister Evie said she didn’t want it. I don’t blame her. She’s like our mother and has too much of a heart to do what needs to be done.
“You don’t need to tell me again. I know what I have to do, and you can trust me.”
My father Max, who I call Otets, is the one that hounds me the most. Right now, he’s lecturing me about having people I can trust in my circle. I have plenty of people I trust. I have cousins, siblings, and a few friends.
“You need people that have your back,” my father Dimitri reiterated.
Dad is the one who is usually the most understanding and leaves wiggle room, but right now he sounds like Otets.
“Can we talk about something else?”
“What do you want to do for your twenty-first birthday?” my mother walked in asking. Even after more than two decades together, she is still in love with both of my fathers.
“Nothing.”
I really didn’t want to do anything. Plans were to go out with friends, get wasted, find a pretty girl to fuck, and enjoy the night.
“Are you sure?” my mother asked.
“Positive. I plan to go out with some friends.”
“Keep everyone in line; your father and I don’t want a mess to clean up.” Otets is bringing up my eighteenth birthday. The place I rented out was trashed, thanks to some of my so-called friends.
“I’ve learned my lesson. The people who caused problems in the past are no longer in my circle of friends.”
“Good, because you need to be surrounded by people you can count on since you’re taking over.”
Our conversation came to an end when Lev walked in.
“I just interrupted a conversation, didn’t I?”
“We were finished,” I stated curtly.
Lev is my best friend. We were forced together by our parents, but he’s cool, and my parents are lucky. I like Lev and his family. His parents, Anatoli and Violet, were always around for us. It didn’t matter whose kid you were; you were treated like one of their own.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Lev asked. “It’s going to be the party of the year.”
I stood up, patted his back, and led him away from the kitchen.
“You were getting lectured, weren’t you?”
“Yes, over tonight and what needs to be done with the family business.”
“Are you taking over?”
I nodded my head yes. “It’s a daily thing now.”
“Shit, which means Dad is going to start getting on my case.”
“At least I won’t be alone. So, who is all coming tonight?”
“The obvious people, me, some of your siblings, some of mine. Maddie will be there, which means I’ll have a great time.”
I shook my head. Maddie is his girl with benefits right now, and he is definitely using my party as a night to get laid. I don’t blame him; I plan on doing the same thing.
***
“The birthday boy is here!!!” Lev screamed, and the room erupted into applause.
“There are too many people here,” I complained.
“It got out of hand; people started inviting people.”
“If anything happens, you’re taking the blame.”
“Don’t be so uptight; have some fun. You’re only twenty-one once,” Lev said.
He’s right. I don’t need to worry about the what-ifs.
“There’s Maddie. I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun.”
“I plan on it.”
Just as Lev walked off, Myra approached me. “Happy Birthday, Anton. I brought you a beer.”
“Thanks, but I prefer to get my own.” Honestly, I didn’t want anything to do with Myra. I fucked her once, and ever since she has been trying to trap me into a relationship.
I walked away from her and headed toward the drinks. As I went to grab a beer, someone bumped into me.
“Sorry, Anton. I didn’t mean to. I tripped.” I knew who it was before looking at her.
Sofiya is one of Lev’s younger sisters. She’s two years younger than me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“You think I would miss an opportunity to leave the house and get drunk?”
I raised my eyebrow at her.
“I’m kidding. It’s your birthday, and I came with some friends.”
I always found Sofiya pretty, but tonight, there is something different about her. She’s wearing a tight blue dress with black heels. Her hair is down, and she’s displaying her natural curls.
“Do I have something on my face?” Sofiya asked.
“What?”
“You were staring—do I have something on my face?” she asked again.
“No. I zoned out, sorry. Who are you here with?”
“Peter and Elizabeth.”
I took a sip of my beer and nodded.
“Are you back with Peter?”
“God no. He’s a jackass. I just came with him so he would leave me alone.”
“Do you want me to take care of him?”
“I don’t need you to rescue me.”
I put my hands up in defense. “I’m just saying. If he’s bothering you, I’ll take care of him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Happy Birthday, and I’ll see you later.”
I watched her walk over to my sister and the douche she called Peter. I never liked him. He is manipulative and cheated on Sofiya multiple times. I’m happy to hear she isn’t with him, but I don’t like that he is still hanging around. It means he is up to something, and I won’t let that shithead lay a finger on her.
I was looking forward to this party all week, but now I hate being here. Most of the people here are fake, and only a few are friends and family. I think this is a sign to move on from partying; maybe my fathers were right—it’s time for me to take things seriously.
“Hey, I’m going to skip the rest of the party,” Lev stated as he nodded toward Maddie.
Maddie is a good girl and doesn’t need to be mixed up with Lev, and while he says it’s only friends with benefits, she has him wrapped around her fingers. He doesn’t sleep with anyone else, even though he makes others believe he does.
“Take care of her,” I said as I patted him on the shoulder.
I watched as he put his arm around her and guided her out of the house. He really is done for; he just doesn’t know it.
“Hey, have you seen Sofiya?”
I turned to see Elizabeth standing behind me.
“No. The last time I saw her, she was heading back towards you and the douche.”
She let out a sigh. “She left to go to the bathroom, and a few minutes later, Peter walked off. I’m afraid he’s trying to convince her to get back with him, and he has a temper…”
“Relax, Beth. We’ll find her. Where have you looked?”
“Outside and upstairs, but I couldn’t find her.”
“Did you check all the rooms?”
“Not all. Some of the doors were locked.”
“You wait here, and I’ll check the rooms.”
I ran to the stairs, taking two at a time. I knew what Beth was hinting at, and I swore to myself that I’d kill that fucker if he laid a hand on her.
I knocked on the first door. When no one answered, I yelled, “If you don’t open this fucking door, I’m going to kick it in.”
A few seconds later, the lock clicked and the door opened.
“What’s your problem, Anton?”
“Sorry. Have you seen Sofiya and Peter?”
“Yeah, they were walking into the room at the end of the hall when we came up here.”
“Thanks.”
I ran to the end of the hall and banged on the door. When it didn’t open, I kicked it until it did. The image before me made my blood boil. Everything around me turned red, and all I could think about was killing the fucker.
I pulled Peter off her and threw him to the floor, starting to punch him. I threw punch after punch at his face. Rage consumed me, and I lost all sense of reason.
“Anton, stop. You’re going to kill him.”
I didn’t care. I wanted him dead.
“Please stop.” Sofiya put her hand on my shoulder, and I stopped.
“He’s not worth it, Anton.”
“Not worth it? Fuck, Sof, he almost… He was going to…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“But you came, and that’s all that matters.”
“Take this.” I gave her my shirt because hers had been torn, and I didn’t want to see her like this.
She already had a bruise forming on her cheek and neck.
“What happened?”
She broke eye contact with me and looked at the ground.
“I was coming out of the bathroom, and he hit me. I didn’t know what was going on until it was too late. I’m sorry for ruining your birthday.”
I lifted her chin to force her to look at me.
“You didn’t ruin anything. I was over this party the moment I got here. You can’t go home looking like this. You can stay at my place, and I’ll ask Beth to bring some clothes and makeup for you.”
“Thank you. If Dad sees this, he will kill Peter.”
“He deserves to die.”
“Like I said, he isn’t worth it, Anton.”
I handed her the keys to my car and told her to meet me there. I needed to tell Beth what happened. This would be the last time this fucker messed with her.
