Relentless Sinner

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jaxon

I hang back, standing by the dungeon doors, watching Andrieu and Vladmir, my senior guards, lead my runaway bride down the hallway.

She’s not technically my bride yet. The wedding is three weeks away but close enough to consider her a bride.

Gabriella is weak, barely able to walk, and she has bruises all over her face and legs. The kind of bruises you get when you’ve been beaten.

I don’t like people touching things that belong to me. Even if they only came into my possession a few weeks ago.

I considered Gabriella De Costa mine from the moment her father signed her over to me, so when I heard she’d been taken I’d already planned for an annihilation.

A kill-everyone-on-sight mission.

Whoever hurt her is nothing but a memory now. They were already dust in the wind as far as I was concerned when I found out they planned to sell her.

It didn’t surprise me. The fuckers in the Odessa Mafia are famous for living off the flesh trade. They’re what you call bottom feeders. Men who will do anything, no matter how fucked up it is, to earn a dime.

We don’t have to do shit like that in the Bratva. At least not me or mine in the Vysotsky Brotherhood. We frown on those who live without honor, even amongst thieves.

We’re lucky we got Gabriella back. Another day may have changed that.

Had her no-good father come clean sooner about her disappearance chances are she wouldn’t have been with these motherfuckers for as long as she was.

She was with these assholes for ten days . Ten whole fucking days. And it was only this evening that her asshole father told me.

If I were an understanding man I might try to see things his way. Salvatore De Costa was once deemed an untouchable man but now his world is falling apart. Because of me. The Beast.

On top of that, he already allowed one pregnant daughter and her lover to escape him. I’m sure he didn’t want to seem as pathetic as he is by letting me know the replacement daughter had also fled.

I give Gabriella credit. She escaped when her father was so focused on searching for her sister that she slipped past him unnoticed.

She glances back at me over her shoulder with those striking hazel eyes giving me the same wary stare as when she first saw me.

Despite the bruises on her face and the disheveled appearance of her hair and clothes, I can see how beautiful she is. Even like this her pictures don’t do her any justice.

Long, black hair cascades down her back in lustrous waves, framing her heart-shaped face. Her skin is smooth and as flawless as a sheet of canvas. Her body is slender and toned, with curves in all the right places. The kind men see in sin-filled fantasies.

I was already happy, getting her as the replacement sister. Now I can’t wait to test her out. Gabriella seems to have a spirit and sass about her that her sister didn’t have.

When she turns down the corridor and I can’t see her anymore I look at the dead body lying on the floor next to me.

There’s so much blood and bullet holes on him that I can barely make out the scar across his neck.

I fire one more bullet in the man’s head. That’s for kidnapping Gabriella. I was told he was the one who initiated the plan and grabbed her. I was also told that tonight was supposed to be his night with the mafia princess . I wish I’d gotten the chance to kill him myself.

The door to my left opens and Cillian O’Ridian, the head of the Irish mob, walks out with his gun cocked. He took the east wing of this compound while I cleared the west.

It was with his help that I was able to find this place so quickly. Cillian knew about these creeps from a little run-in we had a couple of months ago.

It was luck that I remembered seeing the leader’s name on a document from back then. That helped me put two and two together quickly when Salvatore informed me who’d taken Gabriella.

Cillian and I were at a Creed meeting when I got that call.

I’ve never been more grateful for my alliance with him, and I suppose for my membership in the Creed.

The Creed is a council of twelve crime lords and their subordinates, which consists of two families from the Italian Mafia, two clans each from the Camorra, Yakuza, Irish Mafia, and four Bratva brotherhoods, of which myself and my father are part of.

Each group took the blood oath to live by a set of laws that has bound them for over fifty years. We share power and wealth. And we also share war.

I got to see that for myself tonight more than any other, because the Creed’s enforcers backed me up. I couldn’t have called on my father for help if he’d known what was really going on.

“Did you get her?” Cillian asks, his Irish accent sounding thicker than normal. It comes out clearer when he’s worked up, or whenever he’s been in a fight.

“Yeah. My men just took her.”

“God, that was a real close call.” Cillian reholsters his gun in his jacket. “Is she okay?”

“She seems to be. Thanks for your help, bro. I couldn't have found her so soon without you.”

“No worries. Didn’t know you even had a bride-to-be until tonight.” He smirks, staring back at me with raised brows.

“I’ll fill you in later.”

“I’m sure that will be one hell of a story. You can tell me all about it on the way to the airport. We have one more loose end to tie up.”

My shoulders drop and I frown. It seems we’re not quite done yet for the night. “What loose end?”

“Estes Pertrinkov got away.”

“Fuck.” Estes is the leader of this unit. Realistically, he’s the man I need to get if I want to eliminate future trouble with the Odessa.

“He left for a meeting shortly before we got here. He's heading to Greece in an hour, so we better get moving.”

“Shit, let’s go.” My mind snaps back into action and I follow Cillian out the door.

Nothing grates on my nerves more than extra shit I don’t need.

I can’t wait to see Salvatore De Costa later and wring his scraggly neck. This is all happening because he’s a shady motherfucker.

Estes took Gabriella because her father screwed him over in a recent business deal. He didn't plan to give her back because they knew they would get more money by selling her to one of Salvatore’s enemies. Estes also probably didn’t want to risk certain death from Salvatore by taking his daughter.

When we reach the outside the cold night air is most welcome in my lungs, cleansing the stench of death from my body.

I look at the SUV parked across from me with Gabriella sitting in the back. She can’t see me staring at her. That fear is still etched into her face and her body.

Poor girl. She doesn’t know that tonight is the beginning of the rest of her life. She and I are only just getting started.

That little stunt she pulled of trying to escape won’t work with me.

I'll catch up with her at home.

After I see her father.

It’s almost midnight when I drive through the tall wrought iron gates of my home.

Cillian and I were able to get to Estes before he boarded his flight.

The motherfucker tried to run the moment he saw us. He managed to get outside in the parking lot. That’s where we caught up with him and took him and his men down.

Now for the next phase of the night.

Home is a welcome sight after a long, fucked-up day.

My Gothic-inspired manor looms before me at the end of the long, winding driveway, like a dark fantasy painting with the silver moon in the background.

Its towering spires pierce the dark, wispy sky, and gargoyles cling to the gables of the roof, their stone eyes watching over the grounds like silent guardians.

This house is one of my biggest achievements in life. While everyone else in the family was either given their mansions and millions when they reached a certain age, I bought everything I own. And I’m a billionaire.

I’m a weapons technology engineer by trade. Like most of the men in my family I work at Bortsov Tech, my family’s weapons technology company. My side hustle is trading stocks. That’s what got me my own empire outside the family business. I also like investing in other businesses and ventures.

My mind is always looking for new ways of expanding and reaching new heights. But there are some things in life—like being Pakhan—that have to be earned, even with the money behind it.

That is the only thing I want from my father. I no longer care about getting his love or respect. Those are as mythical to me as unicorns and leprechauns.

Any love and respect that existed in my father’s cold black heart was reserved for Jacob, my brother. Those emotions died with him.

Jacob was supposed to be Pakhan when Father retires. It was a given. Father always said so. Were Jacob still alive, there would be no questions asked, no hoops to jump through and no one to challenge him.

Not like with me.

Fate was already against me for being the second-born son. Although subordinate positions are inherited in the Vysotsky Bratva the rules change when there is to be a new leader.

The current leader is allowed to call the shots, so my father could have picked me. Problem solved. But because he hates me I had to fight for my birthright. Something that should be rightfully mine.

No one works harder than me in the company and the Bratva yet my father sought to screw with me by making me compete against my cousin Levi for the position.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that the old man is breaths away from his deathbed and is still screwing with me. It’s always been that way.

This is just the one fucking time that matters most.

That’s why I had to bring my game to the table and find a way to win hands down without leaving any room for anyone to fuck with me.

Marrying Gabriella De Costa does that.

She and her sister are heirs to Exyian, an oil and gas company worth over four hundred billion dollars.

Salvatore doesn’t own it. His wife did. She left it to her daughters, who would become the legal owners once they turned twenty-five and got married.

Natasha turned twenty-five last month. Gabriella will be twenty-five next fall.

Salvatore already had Natasha set to wed one of his lackeys when I stormed in like a wild card and tied his hands behind his back in such a way that he will never be able to unravel himself.

Natasha will still own half the company if she gets married, but owning the other half with Gabriella is more than plenty for me and will serve its purpose.

When I hit my father with the news of my marriage to her he couldn’t believe it. Our company earns billions but having an on-par oil and gas company under our belt would take us to the next level. More importantly, it would mean achieving a higher rank in the Creed.

With the exception of its leader, Dante Levitsky, membership and status in the Creed is based on wealth. The seat you hold at the high table is representative of that. We are the only Bratva at the table with a lower rank.

Dante is the head, Virgo Antonov is his second-in-command and holds the second seat, Brahm Sluskia holds the fourth seat. We hold the eighth seat, falling behind the Italians and the second Irish clan, which my father absolutely loathes. He especially hates the Irish—Cillian in particular, because he holds the third seat.

That’s not likely to change because Dante, Virgo and Cillian have an alliance on their own, but my new venture will bump us up to the fifth seat. That is something that no one else in my family has managed to do.

When I reach the drive I see Salvatore’s car parked in front of the house.

Good, he’s here.

This should be enjoyable. I have much in store for him.

I park in the garage and make my way inside the house. It’s as quiet as it usually is at this hour. Apart from the guards on duty the rest of the house staff will have either left for the day or are already in bed.

Although I’m sure they would have woken up if they heard any commotion.

Eve, my assistant, would have told Salvatore to wait in my office, so I head there.

The scent of leather and polished wood grounds me when I step into my office, but the sight of Salvatore De Costa standing by the window makes my jaw clench.

He turns to face me and I can’t hide my disdain at seeing him. Neither can he.

I’ve always known him to be a pompous bastard who wears his arrogance as effortlessly as his tailored Brioni suits.

His hair, slicked back in a way that seems too perfect, gleams under the soft overhead light. His jaw is clean-shaven but the tension there makes me wonder if he’s seriously going to argue with me tonight.

This asshole is in no position to argue with anyone. Least of all me.

He keeps his eyes on me as I walk to my desk, take off my jacket and throw it over the chair.

I turn around and look at him but I say nothing. I want him to feel the weight of my silence so he knows he’s not the one in control here. I am.

“Did you get her back?” His earnest, wistful tone almost makes him sound like the caring father he’s trying to portray, but he’s not fooling me. This man is cut from the same ragged cloth as I am.

That’s why I made him wait to hear the news of whether or not I got Gabriella back. All I told him was that he was to head to my place where we’d regroup.

I have no doubt that Salvatore wanted his daughter back unharmed. But that’s more to do with the monetary loss of not having her and the fear of what I’ll do with the information I have on him if I don’t get to marry her.

“I did get her back.” I keep my voice low and empty of emotion on purpose.

“I want to see her.”

So he can trash her out? And probably beat her the way I heard he did with her sister when he found out she was pregnant? Fuck him.

“No. You can come by and see her on Wednesday.” I need a break from him, to sort things out and do possible damage control. Wednesday is also best because I’m away on a few business trips from Thursday onwards and I don’t want him here when I’m not around.

“Are you fucking serious?” Salvatore lifts his chin and pins me with a stony stare. “My daughter was kidnapped and you want me to wait two more days to see her? I want to take her home now.”

“She is home, Salvatore.”

The blood drains from his face, leaving his olive skin pale as he catches my meaning. He really is a fool if he seriously thought I was going to allow him to take Gabriella back with him.

“You’ve got some nerve, Jaxon.” He sneers, squaring his shoulders. “She’s my daughter. You can’t keep her here.”

“Well, I am.”

“This is an outrage.”

“Why? The wedding is in three weeks. She was going to move here anyway.”

He must think I’m fucking stupid. I know what he’s up to. He’s doing what anyone else in his position would do by secretly working behind the scenes to find some way of getting rid of me. Or at least getting me out of the picture. That way he can strike up some deal for someone else to marry his daughter so he can get the money he needs.

“She’s my daughter. Everything is happening too fast. Gabriella was supposed to be going to med school in L.A. We never planned on marriage just yet. This is going to be another shock for her.”

He doesn’t care about any of that.

He’s shitting himself because of the hardcore truth, which is that he needs the money to replace what he stole from the Castellanos. He needs to do that before they find out what he did.

The Castellanos are one of the five families in the Italian Mafia Syndicate. Salvatore takes care of their finances and investments.

I discovered that he was stealing money from their drug shipments to gamble in high-stakes poker games and pay off a debt he had with the kind of dangerous men who will kill you if you can’t pay. It all fell through and he couldn’t replace the money when he lost a game and ended up owing millions.

At the time he wasn’t too worried because Natasha was supposed to get married to one of his business associates, therefore releasing her inheritance.

His wife left a proviso that he was to get five percent of the shares and some of the inheritance money when each girl met the requirements to assume their ownership.

When I found out what he was doing I blackmailed him into relinquishing those benefits so I could have them.

Why did I do that? Because he tried to screw me over first.

Like with the Castellanos, this motherfucker also handles my father’s investments. My father likes to keep certain aspects of our business separate from the Creed, so he hired Salvatore.

He’s worked for us for close to twenty years but during an audit I found out that he was trying to embezzle money from our company. What was worse was the motherfucker tried to pin his theft on me. As if I don’t have enough shit to worry about with my father.

When I dug deeper I discovered the extent of his treachery but I also decided to use it to my advantage.

I walk up to him and rest a hand on his shoulder. Then I level him a hard stare.

“You allowed Gabriella to escape and fall into the hands of your enemies,” I remind him.

“That wasn’t my fault. She tricked the guards.”

“ Yes it was your fault. Those men planned to sell her. Then you would have never seen her again. You couldn’t even get her back. I had to take an army of men into a blood battle. So, no, she’s not going anywhere with you.” I grip his shoulder hard, wishing it were his neck. “Be grateful you get to keep your life. Your daughter is mine now, Salvatore. Do you understand that?” I stare him down, showing I mean business, and his cool facade waivers, betraying his unease

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good, because I’d hate to break our deal. You know that if my people don’t kill you, the Castellanos will. At least I gave you an out. A way to fix it.”

“You seriously think this is a way to fix my problem?” He seethes, baring his teeth.

I smile back at him without humor, the way a psycho would before they kill. “Don’t test me, Salvatore. You already tried to fuck with me. Twice. I invited you back here tonight to make sure you understand that if you try anything more I will kill you. Got it?”

This time his bravado slips off his face like a mask. He nods, but I know it’s because he’s scared. This may be the one time in his miserable life something has scared him. Good. I’m glad it’s me.

I release him and step back, motioning to the door. “You can go now.”

His jaw clenches and his eyes darken with rage but he knows better than to say anything more to me.

He turns and leaves. When he walks through the door I glance at the clock on the wall.

Twelve fifteen.

I’ve dealt with the father. I wonder what awaits me with his beautiful daughter.

I’m sure she’s waiting for me, too.