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“You didn’t come here alone,” Viktor says in the icy way he tells someone they’re facing death. “You brought your family’s muscle. I assume your brother is aware of your choice to steal back the daughter I gifted you. Is this how your family shows the Kovak Syndicate respect?”
Brandon’s ego takes a back seat to this new situation. He’s far from his territory. People often disappear in Banta City with few questions asked.
“Now, we don’t need to make this personal issue into anything more,” Brandon says, daring to look up at Petra for help.
Viktor allows a smile on his handsome yet impossibly cold face. “You came here to undercut me in my own home. Did you think I would stand quietly while you stole away my daughter and grandson?”
“Laszlo is my son, too. And Petra belongs with her daughters.”
“Is that a threat?” Viktor asks Brandon as they play chicken. “I have your son. You have my granddaughters. If I don’t obey you, Shari and Vica won’t be allowed to visit their mother? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Who is speaking to me now, you or your brother?”
“This is a personal issue between Petra and me.”
“Then, why bring these armed men to my house at a late hour? No, no, this is a sign of aggression from your family toward mine. I would hope if your brother wanted to renege on our alliance, he would have had the courtesy to inform me himself. Instead, he sent you.”
My father’s disdain drips from his every word. He can’t believe he’s been insulted by the Fredo of the Arany family.
Brandon feels scolded. He isn’t a strong man. That’s why he brought his security to scare Petra into obeying. Too often in these arranged marriages, the men with power won’t submit to having wives chosen for them. So, instead, a forgotten child is pawned off to create an alliance. That’s what happened with the Arany family.
Brandon squares his shoulders and tries to intimidate a coldly unimpressed Leon. The man’s dark gaze flashes up to a shaking Petra who leans into my embrace. Brandon studies the room, avoids looking at Viktor, and focuses on my mother. Her scornful gaze literally makes him shiver and fess up.
“My brother doesn’t know I’m here,” Brandon admits and shows submission by stepping away from Leon. “He wouldn’t have agreed to my trip, but a man’s heart can’t be denied sometimes.”
“And what does your heart say now, Brandon Arany?” Viktor asks, inches from him.
“Petra is my wife, and I want her back.”
Viktor considers Brandon’s words and nods. “Marriage is a beautiful thing, but it doesn’t sever the tie between a father and his daughter. I’ve decided Petra belongs with her family now. You sent her back to us, and we choose to keep her.”
Petra’s entire body goes limp in response to our father’s words. She nearly drops to the floor with relief.
“I choose to speak to you man to man, now, Brandon,” Viktor says and exhales in a deeply unsettling way. “You’ve shown me disrespect. If I allow you to leave without extracting a concession, I will be viewed as weak. You’ve watched your brother for long enough to understand how weakness gets a man killed.”
“Are you threatening me?” Brandon asks, sounding like his throat’s gone dry.
“I want my granddaughters sent to Banta City to live full time with their mother. This will be the price you pay for insulting me. If you disagree with this cost, we will involve your brother and allow him to decide how to make things right between our families.”
I suspect Brandon fears his brother more than the predator in front of him. Of course, the Fredo in “The Godfather” movie nearly got his brother killed. Even a weak man can be very dangerous.
That’s why my heart doesn’t stop racing until Brandon agrees to move the girls to Banta City by the end of the month. Thoroughly scolded, he mutters about respect and family before walking out of the foyer and back to his car. Once his men are gone and the door closes, Petra nearly flies down the stairs and into our mother’s arms.
“Thank you,” she cries and smiles at Viktor.
“His family offers the Syndicate benefits,” he says and cups Petra’s face. “However, Brandon is a liability. He won’t be allowed on the property without calling ahead. We will inform security around the city to keep an eye out for him. The children will never visit Ohio until we’ve been assured of their safety. Brandon’s behavior is unacceptable. If you see him in town or he contacts you, inform your brothers. Maks will take the lead in this matter.”
As I hurry downstairs, I find my father’s coldly formal tone reassuring. He doesn’t view Brandon as a personal problem but one for the Syndicate to handle. Such power is now wrapped around Petra and her children.
I’m surprised when Viktor finishes stroking Petra’s head and gives me a gentle touch. His gaze holds mine, and he seems pleased by how I am back. So relieved after the Brandon incident, I can’t control myself. I hug my father and thank him. He sent help when I needed him. He protected Petra tonight. He’s welcomed my babies into the family.
Though Viktor Kovak might be the scariest man in Banta City, he’s also my heroic dad keeping the monsters at bay.
BEAR
The Clover Club is a dive on the south side of town and not an ideal place to meet Natasha. Somehow, Siobhan convinces the Kovak family to go along with the date idea by claiming the place is popular with cop whores. If this public date is about sending a message, our enemies will hear it faster this way.
