𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 • 08 || ❝𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬❞

>𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃

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𝐊 𝐑 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐈 𝐀 𝐍 • 𝐏 𝐄 𝐓 𝐑 𝐎 𝐕

If you want a job done, you do it yourself.

I called the Irish hours ago and here I am waiting near the window with the curtain slightly pulled back so I can stare into the darkness, waiting for car lights to illuminate the driveway.

As soon as those thoughts leave my mind the dusky white lights warm up its surroundings, drawing nearer and nearer to the entrance to the mansion. I shake the curtain straight and step away from it, attempting not to look impatient. I take a few steps to the front door and pass the foyer where my attention is drawn to the painting next to me. I know I put it in the office as soon as I get it and Polina and I agreed it would best suit the office as that's where everyone comes. But I wanted to share it with everyone who entered through those doors. But now when I see it, all I want to do is set fire to it, watch it burn to flames and ignite against the flammable paints and canvas. Maybe I should put that on my next to-do.

Opening the mansion door allowed Cian and a few of his men inside, his build was shielded by a thick bullet-proof vest and two guns either side of his hips. I greet him with a handshake and a polite smile, to which in my surprise I received back. "Cian, it's nice to see you, only if it was in a better circumstance." I lead him to the cigar room and offer him a whiskey.

"It's no problem my friend." He politely takes the whiskey glass from my hand and nurses it in his before taking sips of the amber liquid. We both head over to the pool table and set our glasses on the little tray table. I pick up a cue and prepare for the first shot of the readymade shape on the side of the pool table with the black eight ball in the middle of the others.

"So, what can I do for you?" He cocks up his brow watching carefully as I take the first blow, knocking a solid colour into the hole. I walk around the table ready to score another. "Just wondering if you have had anyone after you?" I look up and stupidly miss my shot, I groan in frustration and step back allowing Cian to pull pack the pool cue and letting it slide, he hits two stripes into two holes from different ends of the table. I chuckle and watch as a smirk appears on his face.

"Like a hitman?"

"Something like that, I had someone today. A sniper attempted to shoot me, they succeeded but failed at the same time." He stops playing for a moment and his eyes begin to move with curiosity.

"I can't say I've experienced that just yet." No doubt whoever was after me was also possibly at war with the Irish mob too.

We continue to play our pool game and discuss information regarding the sniper until we hear Maxim groan loudly in the hallway. Both Cian and I jog outside of the room and watch as Maxim cups his hand over his eye.

"Razberites s etoy sukoy!" [sort that bitch out].

The roaring of pain can only mean one thing. Mila.

"Give me a moment." I walk away with Maxim and take him to my office.

"What happened?" I ask, he reveals his hand from his eye and there I see the start of bruising and blood seeping from the bag of his eye. Thankfully when Maxim shouted Cian probably wouldn't have been able to translate.

"She jabbed a pen near my eye!" He groans and attempts to blink, but struggles. "Luckily she missed, I could've ended up blind!" I sort Maxim's eye out and put a patch over it for now and return to the cigar room. I apologise to Cian and see that he has already cheated at the pool game, he somehow didn't think I'd notice.

"What was all of that?" I shrug it off and reply with a simple 'nothing serious'.

I pick up the cue and lean it against the white ball, preparing to hit until I hear a female shout. I would've thought Maxim would've been given support to put Mila back in her cage, but clearly not.

"Get off me!" For fuck's sake.

Cian and I both jog out of the cigar room again and watch as Leonid wraps his arm around Mila's waist but trapping her arms in the process. Leonid isn't stupid, he can spot anyone's weakness. But what I want to know is how the fuck Mila escaped.

"Leonid, it's nice to see you again." Cian says but tried not to laugh at the situation we have walked into. "This your girl Leonid?" He chuckles. I look at Mila who has eyes filled with fire and anger.

"No, she is not." I answer for him, giving Leonid the subtle nod to take her away. I hear the murmurs from Mila as her voice gets further and further away, saying things like 'put me down', 'I'll stick a pen in your eye and I won't miss this time' But, I'd like to see her try with Leonid. Cian stares at me with confusion, I can't tell him the truth about Mila and how she nearly killed me, that would make me look less masculine, weak, and unfit. He expects an answer from me at some point, but I'm unsure on what to say.

"Excuse my future fiancée." I blurt out without stopping myself or thinking of a backup plan. Shit. He looks at me with eyebrows raised and eyes wide with shock. I had to lie, if he knew the real reason, I kept that women here he would think I was afraid, and as the head of the Bratva you cannot look afraid, and afraid is a feeling I haven't experienced since I was a young child and my mother left.

"Yes." He chuckles, not taking me seriously.

"Future wife?" He nearly chokes on his words with shock. "I must say Kristian, I never pictured you being a man to have a wife." He strokes his stubble and looks at me one more time. "So, no proposal yet? Why does Leonid have to grab her like that?" I feel the eyes rolling at the back of my head, Cian is one to ask so many questions and expect an answer from them, I would refuse if I didn't have so many enemies, the last thing I want to do is make more.

"Yes, no proposal yet, I want it to be special for her." I almost cringe and gag at my own words, loving someone was an emotion I had never felt, but who knew faking it was just as bad? "And I owed my wife to be a special night tonight with bondage, she isn't very patient and came down from our room during an important meeting, so I apologise for that." In my past life I was probably in the world record books for being the best liar.

"Well, what a needy woman. How kinky of you Kristian Petrov." He hides his smirk and covers his upcoming laughter with a cough.

"Anyway...You think it's the American's who tried to shoot you?" I nod to his question.

"You might want to be careful Kristian; you aren't friends with any of the American Mafia's. You hate the Chicago outfit, Philadelphian, and the New York mafia. Bearing in mind New York has the biggest mafia in all of America." Cian has a point; I haven't made an alliance with the American's yet and I probably never will. They're dirty and their traditions are another sick twisted thing itself.

"You also have some issues with the Mexican mafia." At this point Cian might as well just list those who I do have an alliance with, because the list is smaller than those, I do have an alliance with. The Irish is our biggest alliance and if that was to break, there would be a big problem. "Why don't you reach out to the British mafia? or even the Albanians?" I scoff, I don't want help from anyone else, I barely want help from the Irish. I just needed to hear Cian's advice, and currently I'm not liking it.

"Whatever you do Kristian, we will fight with you."

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The next morning soon came around, Cian stayed for a few more rounds of pool and then had to leave in a rush to sort out drug shipments. I completely forgot to see Mila after her funny five minutes, but maybe that's what she needed. She must've craved the attention and overheard me discussing with my men regarding the Irish coming over, so she must have planned to make a scene.

It doesn't take me long to dress up in a three-piece suit and walk down to the basement to find the little fox sleeping with her hair gathering ready to be tangled as soon as she wakes. I stare at her for a few seconds before smacking the oak chair next to the cell bars making them vibrate and shake with sound. "Wakey, wakey." I take a seat on the chair and face opposite her, watching as her blue orbs scowl at me with annoyance, she pushes her red locks out of her face and stares at me.

"You owe me an explanation."

"I owe you nothing." She's been in here for days now, there is only so much more she can take facing the same four walls.

"You pulled a little stunt yesterday; I had to cover your back and lie for you. So, I think you do owe me." She scoffs.

"Lie for me? Why? Where you scared that they'd find out a woman tried to kill you in your deep sleep?"

"You failed though, didn't you?" I throw back in her face, the humour that was across her face has now disappeared. We sit in silence for a few moments more, not one of us breaks it. And for once It's peaceful, even if I am sitting opposite someone who has been hired to kill me.

"I nearly got shot yesterday, so who did you contact to try and kill me and rescue you?" She rolls her eyes and refuses to speak.

"I wouldn't play this game with me if I were you."

"I didn't hire anyone and no one hired me, that's all you need to know." She looks at the floor with annoyance, she didn't want to tell me this, but I still don't believe her. She's probably lying and putting up this façade for me to try and believe so I can set her free.

I get up and put the chair back in the corner of the darkness, refusing to look at Mila once more. I begin to walk but call over my shoulder, "Polina will be down in a moment for your breakfast."

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"You, what?" Elias looks at me with shock, the similar expression to what Cian did last night. I groan in frustration and try to ignore the sudden smirk on his face.

"Don't remind me. Yes, it was stupid." Telling Cian that Mila is my soon to be wife was the biggest mistake I could've made. Not only because I lied and I've lied to him, but because Cian has a big mouth, and soon the whole of the mafia organisation will know and be expected to be invited to the wedding. In mafia tradition it's important to invite your alliance to show trust. "Now what are you going to do?" Elias asks staring at the whiskey glass in my hands and taking a large gulp of air.

"I don't know." I did offer Elias a glass, he refused. Elias was another one of my closest friends, and considering he's supposed to be in Italy right now he's doing a good job attempting to support me. "You better come up with a plan Kristian, lies in the mafia world will never work out if you don't do it right, even you know that. You order Leonid to cut out tongues if someone has lied to you." He has a fair point. What am I supposed to do now?

"Just think about it, the lie can work or not work. It depends how risky you're feeling." He sighs. "You can keep Mila here to continue the lie and find out why she is here or, you get rid and explain to Cian."

He leaves me and my mind me, I stare at the clock and already know it's too early for whiskey, but I can't help wanting to pour another glass. The question of what to do still lingers over my mind, I groan in frustration and plant my head in my hands and wait for some sort of miracle to happen. But miracles don't happen for bad people in the world and I was one of them.