If Kazimir was smart, he would make Valentina his second. She would scare all of his enemies away.
But Kazimir was more old school then he understood. He saw women as sweet creatures to cherish and fuck. He thought his sister was an angel. I was sure he knew she’d murdered Olesya, but he wouldn’t discipline her, unless forced by her hands.
And Kazimir didn’t care about Olesya anyway.
I thought about this new woman that he nicknamed, the mouse. It was an odd thing for him to do. I’d watched many females go in and out of his bed. None had been named. None had been brought to my father’s castle for an official introduction.
Perhaps, Kazimir had just brought her along because he knew we thought he was dead. Or does the mouse truly mean something to him?
I’d never seen Kazimir in love. That would be a weird sight. One I wasn’t sure the world was ready for.
As a boy, he was stingy with his toys, never wanting anyone to even look at them. There had been many times, when Kazimir and I had fought over this object or that. It was a wonder that either of us still both had our legs and arms.
Once as a teen, I’d scratched his fifth Crucifix cd. He had threatened to stab me and then pulled out his knife. My aunt had taken away his car and made him remain in the castle for the weekend. The whole time he’d stomped up the stairs. He’d demanded that the discipline was unfair. He argued that he was just going to stab me in the arm, but not cut any main arteries.
That was Kazimir when he loved something.
Is he in love with this mouse? And will that be good or bad?
My men rode the elevator.
I switched my thoughts to my long list of things that had to be completed today—father’s funeral, Kazimir’s nukes, and Jacqueline’s passport and ticket home. I added our Prague trip to the growing things-to-do list. Hopefully, Jacqueline and Ava would be a huge help. If it was one thing that the castle needed, it was the touch of good women with big hearts.
That would be better than a pope’s urine.
The elevator stopped us on the top floor.
We got off.
Valentina’s yelling sounded down the hallway.
Here we go.
I rolled my eyes.
Two burly men stood outside of Maxwell’s door. I had no idea what Jacqueline was doing. None of her men were near hers.
I pointed to Jacqueline’s suite. “Where are her men?”
My guy took out his phone and commenced to find the answer.
I continued to Maxwell’s suite and stopped in front of Valentina’s men.
“Mikhail.” One half-bowed like an idiot. “Valentina asked us not to let you in, if we see you.”
I leaned my head to the side. “What do you think I will do, if you don’t let me in?”
With no hesitation, they stepped aside.
Mosquito, my ass.
I opened the door and walked into Maxwell’s suite. It was crazy that Valentina’s voice could be heard out in the hall, when they were in the bedroom.
Two more of her men sat in the living room. One read the newspaper. The other held a remote control and flipped through the hotel’s tv channels.
“You did not even call!” Valentina screamed from the bedroom. “Anything could have happened to me!”
Maxwell kept his voice at a decent level, but I could still hear him. “Valentina, I don’t work for you anymore.”
“Kazimir said this! I disagree! You are with me!”
Maxwell stood his ground. “I’m not. You threw me out.”
I chuckled to myself.
Valentina’s shrill voice rose. “That was because you were. . .big. . .asshole! I kicked you out, but I did not let you go!”
“Okay. Then, I quit.”
Glass shattered. “You do not quit me!”
Right as I was going to head to the bedroom and get a closer view of the show. I spotted the stroller that I’d bought Valentina for her daughter, Natalya.
My heart stopped.
Wait. Is the baby here? When did she arrive? Please, God. Let her be in the stroller.
I turned to my men. “Put the guns away.”
They did. Used to me for years, Valentina’s men didn’t even look in our direction. They knew my reputation—Mosquito or not—no one fucked with me. That was why everyone figured I would be Kazimir’s second. I was the second man that most of the brotherhood feared.
Putting my own gun up, I took another step, still scared, but not of the men.
What does Natalya look like?
When Valentina became pregnant, she told Kazimir as a secret. He was too happy to keep it hidden. While he had five nephews from his half-brothers, this would be the first niece. And Kazimir had a thing about woman.
Perhaps, this was one reason why she’d fled to Toronto. Kazimir would’ve kept her in a glass cage the whole pregnancy.
The other reason was because she knew I would want to know if I was the father.