The Deep End

Chapter 2

•Polina•

4 months later...

"Will you chill the fuck out, Polina." My cousin Alexei snaps, his loud voice making the cab of the truck seem small.

I dig my fingers into my knee to force both my hand and my leg to stop moving. I hadn't even realized my fingers were tapping on the door of the truck until Alexei had spoken up, my mind had been lost in each step of the plan that had been plotted for us to execute. My Father has never made me do something this dangerous. He's had me kill before, made me negotiate with the Irish once but I've never been used as bait. I'm being forced into the lion's den, a juicy T-bone steak in their eyes and they'll rip the meat from my bones within seconds of finding me.

"I can't help it, Alexei, I'm nervous. This doesn't feel right." I mutter and rub my hand down my face. "I dreamt last night the grim reaper had come for me, snatched me right from my bed and when I woke up this morning I was on the floor." My babushka was always adamant to pay attention to dreams, they were our subconscious's way of warning us for what's to come.

I'm supposed to distract the Italians while Alexei grabs the girl, the odds of me leaving the community are extremely thin. The Italians have an entire gated community for themselves. It's armed with cameras, motion detectors and more made men than I've probably ever seen in one place in my life.

"The fence will be off, our guy on the inside already confirmed it." Alexei assures me but it doesn't help ease my nerves.

I'm not worried about the fence, I'm worried about making it out of there alive, but I don't bother saying that. It wouldn't matter anyway.

Our informant gave my father a map with instructions on where exactly we can go without being seen or detected and where Giovanni's house is. The plan feels rushed but Giovanni is out of town so my father demanded it was time. I don't want to do this, I don't want anyone to get hurt but I don't have a choice. You do not tell my father no. I love my father, I do, but since my brother Isay was murdered he has become a ruthless man that I hardly recognize anymore. He will win no matter what he has to do, even sacrificing his own flesh and blood. If it weren't me, it would be one of my sisters. This plan is too important to him to trust anyone else with it.

Konstantin pulls over on the side of the road at the edge of the woods just down the road from the community.

"Ready?" Alexei asks me with a smirk dancing on his lips.

He's excited to get this done, he wants to make my father proud because he's dying for the spot as Pakhan when my fathers reign is over. In his eyes, doing everything my father says solidifies his position and he's probably not wrong. After Isays death my Father started training me with the idea that I'd take over as Pakhan if he had no other choices. Most people think he sees my sisters and I as dolls or useless decorations because that's what he did when he still had Isay to pass everything down to, he's kept my education hidden to ensure no one comes after me. I probably know more about the Bratva than even Alexei, though neither of us has met the informant my Father has gained the trust of. I worry we're walking into a trap.

I exit the truck without replying to Alexei, my skin crawling over his joy at what we're doing. I'll never understand how someone else's pain could bring happiness to others. I despise seeing anyone suffer. Sympathy is an unfortunate curse that was bestowed upon me at birth. My father uses it to his advantage any chance he gets, he knows he can force me into things by threatening to harm others. Each life I've ever taken has been tattooed as a tally mark on my back so I never forget. Nine marks inked into my skin, nine hearts stopped, nine people ripped from their families. Each one chipped a piece from my soul, I don't know that I'll ever feel whole again after the things he's made me do.