Page 10 of Brutal Bratva Boss

“I have resources at my disposal that you could only dream of. I would use every one of them to bring you back, kicking and screaming if I had to, so that this child can be raised here. So that it can be raised the right way, being taught everything it needs to know by its father.” Theo’s smile turns sinister. “It is, after all, a Dubrov, and we look after our own.”

It feels like all the blood drains from my body, flowing into my legs and making them feel heavy.

Dubrov?

It can’t be. Surely, I would have known if I had shared a bed with my father’s greatest enemy. There has been bad blood between the rival mafia families for years, and now this.

I have heard stories about the Dubrovs, and if even half of what I have heard is true, I have just walked into the most dangerous lion’s den in Boston. This is so much worse than if I had just told my father. Fear for my unborn child flows through me. I look around, searching for a way out, a way to escape the perilous situation I have found myself in, but I know there is no point. Not only have I disgraced my father, the head of one mafia, but I have just given the head of another one the worst possible leverage to hang over my head. I all but handed it to him on a silver platter. The image of a hog with an apple in its mouth flashes through my mind. If not for the dread twisting around my limbs, I might have found it humorous.

Instead, I berate myself for making another bad judgment call where this man is concerned.

What have I done?

Chapter 6 - Fyodor

I watch as the emotions roll in waves over Kat’s face. Her hand flutters to her throat, her eyes wide with shock. She takes a step back and I loosen my grip on her arm, allowing her to pull free and put some space between us.

My assumption of her true identity was a stretch, just some inkling I had but did not think could be true. But seeing her reaction has solidified it.

I have heard about Igor’s daughter, the one he keeps locked away like a princess in her ivory tower, out of the eyes of the public as though she were some precious commodity. Although, from what I know about him, that makes sense. The Patrovs are known for treating their women as less than, using them as bargaining chips to gain power and favor. Some members of the older generations in my family’s ranks still feel this way too. I am doing my best to abolish it; it is not something I want to be known for, but sometimes things slip through the cracks.

When she had initially mentioned being pregnant, my first instinct was to panic. As much as I have been conditioned to handle anything that gets thrown at me and not lose my cool, nothing could have prepared me for this. A child? I am not in any position to handle a child. I am a few good years away from settling down if I ever were to settle anyway. It is not something I have ever thought about if I am being honest. No woman has ever held enough appeal that I would consider spending the rest of my days with her. But I suppose there could be someone worse to be stuck with than Kat. Even if she is the daughter of my enemy.

One uneasy thought stands out among the rest, though, clawing for my attention.

What if this is not some freak coincidence, not some twist of fate? What if all this was planned? The Patrovs have been trying to bring us down for years, to no avail. They do not have the manpower or the cunning to succeed. As much as they feel otherwise, they have always been a mere blip on our radar, something we keep an eye on to make sure nothing comes to fruition.

But what if this was the plan all along? Have Kat seduce me, infiltrate our stronghold, and report back to her father with intimate details that could very well help bring us down.

Listening to the way she talks about her father and the way disgust creeps into her voice, I have my doubts that this could be the case. Then again, I also saw fear make its way into her eyes when she talked about getting away from him. I do not know what promises he could have made that would have convinced her to do this, but perhaps if he agreed to grant her freedom she would have obliged.

Being brought up the way she must have been could make anyone do anything to achieve freedom.

Putting aside the fact that he might have made empty promises to her about what she could gain from betraying me—I am sure he’d have no intention of keeping a promise like that—he could still find a way to use this to his benefit. Kat might even be unaware that she is being used. Igor might have found out the details of everything and seen an opportunity to gain access to us.

That brings another problem to light.

Only minutes ago, I assured my brothers that she would not be an issue and that she posed no threat. I doubt they will agree when they hear about all of this.

Given the look on Paval’s face, I have a feeling he might already know who Kat is.

I need to approach the whole situation carefully. I know Paval is already of the opinion that he would be a better leader than me, and I would be handing him a nail for my coffin if he thought Kat had any hold over me. No, I need to get ahead of this.

A plan starts to form in my mind, slowly building momentum as each detail I think of adds another layer to it. There might very well be a favorable outcome to the shitshow I have found myself in, a way for me to have what I want, to give my brothers the peace of mind needed to get them off my back, and maybe even stop the war between us and our rivals for good.

Right now, I have something that belongs to my rivals, something important to the functioning of some of their operations. No doubt Kat has been promised to some middle-aged, power-seeking gnat in exchange for a sizable chunk of his empire, or whatever Igor has deemed a suitable trade for his daughter.

Scenarios run through my mind one after the other in a steady stream mingled with thoughts of this woman.

As much as I want to believe that what I felt that night was real, and that she felt it too, I cannot be sure of any of that right now. What I am sure of, though is that Kat is not walking out of this building, no matter what happens next.

I turn and walk over to my desk, putting some much-needed space between myself and Kat. I am also giving myself some time to think about how to phrase what I have to say. When I turn to face her from across the room, Kat has not moved a muscle, her gaze focused somewhere on the floor in front of her.

“In case you haven’t realized it yet, I’m not going to give you what you’re asking for.”

Her eyes shoot up to meet mine when I speak. Her shock slowly morphs into defiance, something even I can respect under the circumstances.

“What?”

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