Page 58 of Baby for the Bratva

Yuri is in a much better mood as we arrive back to the cruise ship. I was hoping we’d be able to see more of the island, but he insisted on returning to the ship. This is work for him, but I’m starting to get restless.

I tug at his arm as we board the ship. The smell of cleaning supplies and the sound of vacuums makes me nauseous.

Yuri looks down at me, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “What’s up?”

“Do we have to spend the rest of the day on the ship?” I ask.

“No, I was going to take you out to dinner, actually,” he replies with a warm smile. “A little celebration.”

A spark of excitement warms my chest as we walk down the hallway. “Oh, we’re celebrating your deal with Javell?”

“A bit of that, and a bit of something else. I didn’t want to mention it when we were with Javell, but we’ve located Chekhov’s killer. She’s being held in the cargo area for questioning.”

The spark of excitement in me dies just as quickly as it appeared. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you?”

He frowns. “She murdered one of my men, Stella.”

“Yeah, but… can’t you turn her over to the police or something?” I ask, feeling weird about Yuri committing an act of violence against a woman. If he could hurt or kill a woman without remorse, I would feel a lot less comfortable around him. What if he got mad and did the same to me?

Yuri senses my hesitation and gives my shoulder a light squeeze. “It sounds like she was willing to talk, so I doubt we’re going to have to take any drastic measures. We’re not going to feed her to the sharks or anything.”

“I hope not,” I mutter. The drugs don’t bother me nearly as much as the violence does.

“Don’t worry,” Yuri says, squeezing my shoulder again. “If you want to join me for questioning, you’re welcome to. We won’t hurt anyone.”

I suck in a nervous breath and nod. I probably shouldn’t get myself so involved in all of this, especially considering how illegal it is, but my curiosity is telling me to keep going.

“Oh, by the way, I meant to ask you something,” I say, remembering the strange way Javell acted toward me when he found out I was American.

“I have something to ask you as well,” he replies. “But go ahead.”

I’m always the one with questions, so hearing that he has one makes me a bit anxious. I guess it’s fair, though. I’ve been bombarding him with so much and he’s been patient and open enough to respond to it all.

“Okay, um, Javell… He seemed scared that I was American,” I say as we reach the elevator that will take us to the cargo area.

Yuri lets out a deep laugh as he presses the button to bring the elevator up. “Oh, that’s a funny story, actually.”

I’m relieved it’s not something horrific. I’m never sure what to expect.

We’re greeted by the strong scent of Pine-Sol as we step into the elevator, and Yuri continues his story. “Javell met this woman once, an American tourist who came on a cruise like the one we’re on. She acted like she was super into him and stayed at his house for months. Well, eventually the United States sent people after her because her visa had expired and her family was worried about her, and Javell’s house got raided.”

“Oh my god,” I say, holding my hand up to my mouth.

“Javell was pretty spooked, but once they found the girl unharmed, they left him alone. It turns out that she ran away from her life in the United States and thought Javell would be able to take care of her. I guess she was right, but she went about it in a way that made Javell look like he was holding her captive.”

I narrow my eyes, drumming my fingers on my lips as I look at Yuri. “Sounds familiar.”

“You’re not a captive. You’re my girlfriend,” he replies.

His words hit me like a ton of bricks.

Girlfriend? When did we ever talk about that?

I think never…

I frown at him, crossing my arms and pretending to be offended. “I never agreed to that.”

He raises a thick eyebrow, lowering his voice as we reach the cargo floor. “Your body told me something different last night.”

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