Omerta

Chapter 12

         I heard Giuseppe greet his guests in Russian before a few slaps on the backs could be heard. The footsteps grew closer to us until everyone could be seen. Two suited men the size of walls stood toward the back of the room with their hands folded in front of them, and I knew they were guards of the Bokarev men. Alexei Bokarev was the leader of the Bratva Russian mafia and I've met him plenty of times before. He looked the same with his slicked back hair and clear eyes like his sons.

He has stars tattooed on both shoulders and the letters 'OMYT' on the knuckles of one hand. The stars meant they were high ranking men and it was an honor most men weren't given. The letters on the hand I wasn't sure of. The Russian's liked their affiliated tattoos. He was in an impressive suit just like I've always seen him. Beside him was his son, Mikhail.

        Mikhail is tall. He's probably two inches shorter than Nicolas but still quite tall. Like Nico he's been sure to maintain his body and he fills a suit well. I wasn't sure why I was comparing the two right now. Mikhail had very light brown hair that always shines gold in the sunlight and clear eyes like his father. His face is handsome with his short straight nose and good cheekbones. He wore a charcoal colored suit with a crisp white button down that was already slightly unbuttoned at the top. 

When our eyes met from across the room his lips lifted up into a half smile and his eyes glinted with something steamy, like he was devouring me from where he stood.

        Everyone stood up and shook hands. When Alexei Bokarev realized it was me standing amongst the Luciano's he broke into a large grin. "Zolotse" he greeted me. (Darling) He gave me a hug instead of the formal handshakes and presented me to his son. Makhail stepped forward and kissed my cheek. "Hey malishka" (babygirl) he grinned a white tooth grin at me. I could feel all eyes on me and it made my cheeks tint pink. "Dobro pozhalovat" I welcomed the men. Mr. Bokarev looked impressed that I still remembered how to properly pronounce some of the words I've been taught over the years. 

"Gentlemen, sit. Can we offer you something to drink" Giuseppe spoke. Alexei eyed the man's glass and tipped his chin in its direction. "I'll have what you're having" his heavy Russian accent came through. "A round of scotch then?" he ordered the server who'd been idling in the doorway in anticipation.

I was surprised they didn't say vodka. They made me drink a hell of a lot of vodka the last time I had visited them. 

        Mr. Bokarev sat on the left sofa where Vincent had been seated, Nico was standing beside it, and Dom and I were seated next to Maria Luciano until Dom noticed Mikhail lingering beside me. My cousin offered him his seat which he gladly took. Quietly Mikhail leaned over to me and asked, "How are you? Let's talk after this." I nodded in agreement then looked over to Mr. Luciano as he spoke to us as a whole. 

"Gentlemen, thank you for traveling all this way. We will talk business later, but for now I would love to host you with drinks and dinner just shortly." Mr. Bokarev agreed and the guys got into a steady conversation I was bored with. I turned my attention to Mikhail and realized he'd already been looking over at me. 

"Krasotka," he said. I wasn't sure what the word was so I asked. He smirked and said, "Gorgeous."

        "I had no idea you'd be coming here. I guess everything was so last minute. Do you know how long you're staying?" I asked him. Mikhail took my hand in his and his thumb rubbed over my knuckles while he looked at me. "I missed you," he threw me off guard by admitting. I smiled. "I missed you too." And I did. Mikhail's English was much smoother than his father's because he studied english for a while at school and lived here for many years. It's important to speak other languages when your allies are from different countries.