VLAD (The V Games #1)(5)

Viktor was a valuable asset. And my fucking brother.

He not only annihilated during The V Games, but he was learning so well. With more guidance, he could have been as great as he was being groomed to be.

Now he’s gone.

Sent off to America.

Father exposed his own weakness in doing so. An accident. An untraceable murder. Something with my father’s messy scribble written all over it. A message to our “kingdom” that not only does he see and know all, but he doesn’t tolerate any sort of failing. Being gay is not only a flaw in Father’s eyes, but a betrayal.

The Vasiliev men are to marry—the conventional way—into families that strengthen our power. And although Niko was in line to link two powerful families, he was to be married to Vika, not Viktor.

It was a disgrace that couldn’t be allowed.

Dusted his little problem under the proverbial rug and moved on. Unbeknownst to his enemies who were told Viktor took a fatal wound at the end of The V Games.

Despite my anger at my father, there’s a pang inside my chest.

It’s the first fatherly goddamn thing he’s done in his entire life.

He spared his son.

“I’ll put a squeeze on them. The government officials are in our pocket. I’ll go over and beyond the Vetrovs. Yegor will give up that parcel of land one way or another.” I lean back in my leather chair and start collecting the papers on my desk, as though we’ve just settled on a plan.

But we both know that’s not the plan.

Father must be getting old and tired because he lets out a heavy sigh—a small signal that I’ve won. Vika might be Daddy’s little girl, but she’s very manipulative, and our father cannot stand disobedience or women trying to play games with men.

“Vika will marry a Vetrov,” Father grunts, his jaw ticking.

He hates giving in. Hardly ever does. But he, like myself, sees the bigger picture. Always thinking many moves ahead.

“Yegor’s too old,” I say with a smirk.

Father’s nostrils flare, a burst of anger bubbling to the surface. I want to fucking throw my head back and laugh at the hilarity of it all. It would appear Father taught me too well. I can play his goddamn games better than he can.

“Yegor’s a fool. I’ll not have my daughter—a Vasiliev—marry a man who has to wear his pants below his gluttonous stomach. He has no pride in himself, and I won’t have him rutting on my girl like a wild beast during mating season,” he seethes, rage overcoming him for a moment. To say Yegor and Father have their disagreements is an understatement. “She is better than that pig.”

“Ah, I see.” I arch a brow at him. “Well, she certainly can’t marry Niko anymore.” Our sister, despite the rules, conspired with her lover via an underhanded move to take out our brother after he was the clear victor of The V Games. Niko, also a player in The Games, lurked until the very last moment to strike. Such an evil move, straight from Vika’s playbook. Viktor found an ally, though—a skinny, feisty girl who could bring a grown man to his knees only to cut his throat—and she saved his neck by stabbing Niko when he went for my brother.

But the sting of her treachery impacted me more than anything in my life. With a mother who abandoned us and fled after the twins were born, and a father who ruled with an iron fist, leaving affection to the nannies and servants, the three of us formed a bond stronger than that of normal siblings. We only had each other to rely on, and that exploded the day Vika decided her pride and own agenda was worth more than her brother’s life. She sealed her fate that day. She’s now my sister only in name.

“Niko was weak, Vlad,” Father hisses. “She’ll marry Veniamin.”

At this, I want to laugh. Veniamin may like to play with his brother’s toys, but he doesn’t keep them, and he certainly doesn’t play with my sister. Never has. He knows what an obnoxious backstabber Vika is. Instead, I throw his words back at him. “He is better than that…” Pig. Father’s eyes narrow, begging me to say the word so he can roar and rage at me. But since I enjoy poking at him, I simply keep going as if I wasn’t about to call our sister a disgusting bitch of a woman. “He is better than that father of his.”

Father’s lips purse into a line.

“Which is why you need him,” I say, sitting up in my chair. I crack my neck to the right, then left.

“Go on,” he says, intrigue lacing his tone.

“We both know Vika is vindictive, which is actually an understatement. The moment he pisses her off, Ven will somehow end up with a knife in his back.”

Father growls. “What do you suggest we do?”

I grin at him, my smile predatory. “She can marry Ruslan.”

“He’s a boy and hardly capable of providing for my Vika,” he snaps, the vein in his neck throbbing. I don’t see my father angry often, but when I do, it’s like cocaine rushing through my bloodstream. I’m flying high and crave more.

“Which is exactly why he’s perfect for her. Do you think our—” manipulative evil viper “—sweet Vika can persuade Ven? He’s nearly twice her age and hard. Rus is young, soft, and pliable. He’s the in we need.”

Father’s fury melts away and his calculating expression morphs his features. I’m already missing his loss of control, but I win either way. When he decides on the arrangement of Ruslan and Vika to marry, I’ll get the satisfaction of knowing she’ll be forced to wed someone unattractive and weak—two things she hates most. And since I despise her for what she has done to our brother, that’s music to my fucking ears.