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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Neva Altaj
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September 1 - September 2, 2024
never expected to have an opportunity to try out this specific trick Uncle Sergei showed me, but life is full of surprises.
UNCLEEE SERGEI
Felix is Uncle Sergei’s friend from way back when Dad’s brother was working for the military, but the old goose is more like an adopted family member.
Grandpa Felix
“I think Uncle Sergei is awesome. He wouldn’t do anything to your accountant.” “He brought a grenade launcher to dinner last week.”
The slamming of doors somewhere down the hallway reverberates through the house as if purposely contradicting my statement. Yelling and the sound of running feet mix with the droning of the lawn mower drifting through the open window. Male laughter and good-natured Russian insults clamor for attention in the backyard—Alexei and our cousin Sasha are competing in knife-throwing again. I wonder which one of them will end up getting stitched up in the kitchen today. The stench of smoke seems to be dissipating, but it’s still hanging in the air. Mom is going to lose it if it settles into her new
...more
Just another regular day in the Petrov household.
oh how i miss them
Uncle Sergei would be proud.
Too stunned by her beauty, I’m a second too late noticing the broken bottle in her hand. She swipes at me, and I rear back, but not fast enough. Pain explodes in my forearm as a jagged edge shreds through the fabric of my shirt and the skin of my right arm.
“Vasilisa Romanovna Petrova. She’s Roman Petrov’s daughter.” He swallows, hard. “We kidnapped the Russian Bratva’s princess.”
gulp.
throat. I think that’s the first time ever a woman has tried to kill me. And I find it hot as hell.
Vasilisa Petrova might be the most beautiful creature who has ever crossed my path, but for the first time in my life, I’m drawn to a woman because of more than just her looks. She’s bold. Courageous. Feisty. But also kind of grumpy, in such an adorable way. And I don’t intend to let her slip away from me.
“It looks like our network crashed unexpectedly. I want her to fix it.” “Other than the back door she somehow created, there’s nothing wrong with our systems.” “There is now.
“You like her.” “Yes.”
“Why not move her there instead?” I meet my brother’s gaze. “Because the only bed she’ll be sleeping in from now on, is mine.”
“Do you have rabies, Rafael?” “I don’t believe so. Why do you ask?” “You sure?” I glance at him again. “No fever, muscle spasms, hallucinations?” I briefly pause to give him time to respond, but he remains mute. “Because you seem to be experiencing sensitivity to light. Should I be concerned that you might pounce? Try to bite me?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I just enjoy the sight of you in my clothes, Miss Petrova.”
It’s not a daydream, but a promise to myself. I will claim Vasilisa Petrova as mine. In every way possible.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
Peeling away the note, I take out my wallet and slide the new doodle next to the earlier sketch she made.
My body relaxes. It’s just my kidnapper-slash-host-slash world’s deadliest assassin. The fact that this realization brings me comfort is highly concerning.
“Hey, Dad,” I choke out. “It’s me.” “Vasya! Jesus fucking Christ, baby! We’ve been going nuts. Where the fuck are you?”
“Oh, it takes a lot more effort for a guy to make me scream.”
OH!
My brother rarely drinks booze and only keeps a few alcoholic options for when Mitch comes over. The two of them go way back to our time in the US, with Mitch following us back to Sicily when we made the move. Guido is not one to share the details of his love life, so I only know the status of his on-again-off-again relationship with his boyfriend based on the presence of those bottles. Little bro hides the liquor when he and Mitch break up. I guess this means they’re back together now.
GAY!!!!! WE LOVE IT
“Make it twelve, and make sure they can understand English. And I want them to make noise. Order them to argue.”
“What?” “You heard me. At least four times a day, I want to hear them yelling. Or singing. Or grumbling about something. I don’t give a shit about what, but make sure they’re loud.”
But scars don’t scare me. Where I come from, most of the men carry some kind of battle wounds, both on the outside and where no one can see.
Mikhail—my father’s interrogator—doesn’t only have a heavily scarred face, but is also missing an eye, as far as I know. I still find him hot as hell. Even with an eye patch.
😭😭 girl
Then, there’s my uncle Sergei, who still has his psychotic episodes from time to time because of his PTSD. If his wife isn’t around when it happens, bystanders often end up hurt or worse.
Thirty minutes later, I emerge from the bathroom, clad in a dove-gray dress shirt that reaches below my knees and a black necktie that serves as my belt. My freshly washed and brushed hair is braided down my back, and secured at the end with a length of dental floss. Faux-fur slippers are the finishing touch on my elegant attire. I’m ready for my shopping trip. This day can go one of two ways. One, I get back to the mansion with some suitable clothes. Or two, I end up seated in a padded room across from a guy in a white coat, answering questions like: Do you hear voices?
LMAO
“Twenty-nine. He’s ten years younger than me. I’ve raised him since he was four.”
you old ass bitch
“Fine.” I cock my hip and point a finger at him. “But just so you know—buying me a shitload of expensive clothes won’t make me like you any better.” A small smile tugs on Rafael’s lips as he props his chin on his palm and watches me with amusement dancing in his eyes. “You have no idea how astonishing I find that little fact.”
“One very important detail got missed.” He grabs the wineglass off the table and, with brisk steps, crosses the room, stepping out on the balcony. “I didn’t realize that the woman we were hired to assassinate was the girlfriend of a rival hitman. The bastard executed all four of my men before they even got the chance to reach their target. Fucking Mazur.”
KAI AND NERAAAAA
The last time I saw so many weapons in one place, was when Uncle Sergei showed me his armory (well, one of them, at least). I made the mistake of telling Dad and ended up grounded for a week. Uncle Sergei sported a busted lip for days afterward. If Dad ever finds out that my uncle taught me how to use most of the weapons in that armory (the other one contains explosives and assault weapons, and Uncle Sergei has never allowed me to see those, unfortunately), he would totally go apeshit.
fun uncle sergei
“I don’t allow other people to touch what’s mine, Vasilisa.”
“Well, a few months ago, my dad threw a surprise party for my mom’s birthday. There were around forty people at the table, and we were in the middle of a toast when my uncle barged in, fully armed and covered in blood.”
I take a deep breath, fighting the urge to seize that bratty mouth with mine. I want her. I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone before. And I don’t hold back when I want something.
The screams coming from beyond the barrier have waned. I wrap my hand around the knob. It’s ice-cold under my fingers, freezing my skin. Holding my breath, I crack the door open.
smh
Underneath was a check with my name on it, in the amount of three million dollars. One for each kiss we shared. I don’t remember the last time I felt so miserable and used, like some kind of whore. I kissed that jackass because I like him.
“Mine,” he growls, biting my lower lip. “From the moment you swung that broken bottle at me, I knew you’d be mine.”
Dear God, I’m in love with him.
Or maybe, that’s how it feels to make love to someone you’re in love with.
“Non ti lascerò mai andare, Vasilisa.”
“I don’t share things I had to barter my soul for, Vasilisa.” “But you shared them with me.” “I did.” Crow’s-feet radiate from the corners of his playful eyes. “Because you’re mine, too.”
Footfalls on the wooden floor echo around us as Rafael heads to the door at the end of the narrow hallway. Guido holds it open, allowing us to pass through. The room we step into smells of old paper and cigarettes. Several men are already inside, standing around with expressions on their faces that I can’t quite read. In the middle of the room is a desk, and an older man in a brown suit is sitting behind it, a massive thick red book open in front of him.
pls tell me it's not a Bible and priest 😭😭
“Vespetta.” Rafael’s breath fans my ear. “I need you to say yes.” “Yes,” I mumble.
PLSSS NOT HIM MARRYUNG THEM
“Vi dichiaro marito e moglie.”
LMAOAOAOAO HE MARRIED THEM LMOAOAOA
“Farei qualsiasi cosa per te, vespetta,” I whisper as I lean toward her and kiss her slightly parted lips. “Perfino lasciarti andare.”
“Yeah. Roman needed him to off some asshole over there. He took off yesterday.”
i knew it man
“Um . . . Igor snuck away from the retirement home.” My
pls 😭😭
