Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) by Latrivia Nelson, Latrivia Welch Read Free Book Online Page A

ducked into the black SUV waiting on him on the tarmac and slipped into the cool comfort of the leather interior.  The door closed behind him quickly as the men scurried to get him loaded and secure.  As soon as Boris jumped into the passenger seat, they sped off in their convoy, headed to Medlov Compound.
    The air blasted in his direction as he kept his gazed focused out of the window.  Hearing the distinct ding of his phone, designated for Briggy, Gabriel rolled his eyes and chose not to read it.  Tightness stretched across his chest as he strained for breath.  He remembered a time that coming home to her was not a chore at all.  With butterflies and anticipation, he would greet her with gifts and kisses, holding her tight and whispering soft words in her ear.  Now, he felt something closer to nausea at the thought of having to deal with her.  Another ding.
    Strangely enough, while he hated coming back to Briggy, he did enjoy coming back to the family.  Being a Vor was rewarding, more rewarding than he had ever imagine.  He had two families now, his biological family and his crime family. 
    The Vory v Zakone was an old construct that was around well before Gabriel had been born.  His father had been a Vor. His uncle and grandfather as well.  Each of them carried a legacy of murder, survival and domination with them that was known both inside and outside of the underworld.  Dmitry had learned that sticking to the code, while respected, was a red flag when moving through society, especially when one had acquired a considerable amount of wealth. 
    A man that never married, never acknowledged children and never involved himself in legitimate business was someone who could easily be identified as a threat by the authorities.  But well-educated, non-marked business men could go where tattooed villains could not.  They could sit with heads of state, impact legislation, walk into a bank without people thinking it was a stick up and be completely accepted in all circles. They were also harder to convict and harder to follow. Jurors always loved a hard luck story of a man who had come from nothing and made something out of himself.  So, Dmitry had decided that his men all over the world would learn to blend.  True, he still had men who came out of the Russian gulags and needed work, and he took them in educated or not.  But he trained them with special skills and taught them how to not only manipulate their environments but also prosper in them. 
    It had proven to be a successful formula.  The men felt empowered and important, therefore they offered their undying loyalty to the family.  The business grew larger and larger each year, and the family became more powerful.
    Then there was the biological family.  This dynamic was much more complicated. Dmitry loved his wife, Royal and he loved his children.  Anatoly, no matter how crass to the outside world, treated his wife, Renee, like a queen and adored his daughter.  The men who followed him did the same. Dmitry didn’t stand for violence against the women, and he didn’t stand for disrespect. He said that would be the downfall of the organization, not an ambitious federal agent, not more powerful syndicate, but a woman.  And so, his rule was for the men who led the council, if no one else, was to keep their women happy.  Happy women didn’t turn states evidence or set up ambushes.  Outside of the women, the men were extremely close.  Dmitry served not only as the head of the family but also like a father to him.  Over time, Anatoly had become more of a brother to him than a cousin.  And considering that they were all they had, they valued each other’s opinions and respected their position.  This was something very new to him. 
    Gabriel hadn’t come from a happy family. Every memory of his mother, Emma, involved her work, and often he thought she loved the Free Rite and their work to help third-world women more than she ever loved him. He had