Page 13 of Baby for the Bratva

I’m starting to like her. I don’t know what it is, but she seems like a fun person. If it wasn’t for the mystery around Yuri’s wellbeing, I’d even consider spending more time with her, but I really need to know what happened to him. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the rest of my trip if he really was shot to death.

I give Molly a polite smile, stepping toward the door and placing my hand on the handle. “Thank you for checking on me, and thanks for your offer. I’ll probably come over sometime.”

“You totally should, but you have to knock loudly. I like to read with my headphones on, and I can’t hear a damn thing. Almost missed the cheesecake I ordered this afternoon because of it.”

I open the door for her with an honest smile. She seems like a nice person. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Thanks,” she says with a wink, slipping out of my room and sauntering back down the hallway.

Such an unusual person, but she’s friendly. I have to be grateful that there are still people in this world who are willing to talk to strangers instead of burying themselves in their phone and shuffling past you.

As I close the door, my stomach starts to churn again. Yuri could be in real trouble, possibly dead, and I may never know why. I need to know if he’s okay, but I have no idea how to get in touch with him.

I lean against the door, sliding down into a squat and burying my face in my hands. This cruise was supposed to be a break from reality, but that break has turned into a bad trip, a nightmare where rules get broken and people get hurt.

Or killed.

And I still don’t know why.

7

Yuri

False alarm, but something is amiss. People don’t just get shot to death on regular cruises. For one, there’s always enough security to catch guns attempting to board the ship with their carriers. The only reason I was able to get mine on board is because I own this boat and everything on it.

Cocaine, guns… hell, even the pool and sauna. I paid a pretty penny to gain access to all this so that we could traffic drugs without raising eyebrows, and now some moron is throwing our whole operation into the limelight by shooting someone in their room.

Police have been crawling over this ship for the past hour, but so far, nobody has been caught. Unless they find the culprit and bring them to justice, we might be cutting this little expedition short.

And losing half a billion dollars in the process.

I look over to Chekhov, who is smoothing back what little hair he has over his sweaty scalp. We’re all down here in the storeroom, where it smells of fish, metal and bleach.

I’m thankful there’s no hint of cocaine in the air, though, which is carefully wrapped and hidden amongst the other cargo. It does have a smell, however faint, and this much of it can smell quite strongly unless it’s stored properly.

I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I don’t make mistakes. However fishy it might be down here, it beats smelling like gasoline and tree bark. That would raise concern almost immediately.

But what would really raise concern are the four dozen armed men in the storeroom that have turned out to be unnecessary. It’s nice to know that I could take down a small army with the men under my rule, but they’re only going to attract unwanted attention to my operation if the police wander down here looking for the shooter.

I look over to Chekhov again and grunt. “Time to go. We can’t have all these people down here, and the police clearly aren’t here for us.”

He nods, pushing back his hair again. “You’re right. I’ll try to get more intel about the shooter, but in the meantime, I think you should stay in your room with extra security.”

I chuckle. “I don’t need security.”

He gives me a look like I’ve lost my mind.

I hold up my hand to stop him before he can open his mouth. “Relax, I just don’t want a bunch of sweaty men crowding up my room. It’s already too small for a man my size.”

“We’ll have Jeffery join you,” Chekhov offers.

I nearly burst out laughing. Jeffery is the skinniest guy in our crew. It’s not physically intimidating, but he knows more about computers than all of us combined. The only problem with him is that he’s the opposite of a pussy magnet, and I’d rather not have him jerking off in the corner while I fuck Stella’s brains out.

“I’ll pass on that,” I say with a dismissive head shake. “Put a couple of guys down the hall or something. There’s already enough security on this ship, and we don’t know if that attack had anything to do with us.”

“Exactly my point. I shouldn’t have to remind you that you have a bounty on your head.”

A swell of anger overtakes me, and I lean over Chekhov with a deep scowl. “And I shouldn’t have to remind you that I’m the one in charge here. If you want to have security in your room, then be my guest, but I do better when I’m alone.”

---