Page 6 of Baby for the Bratva

I slip back out into the hallway, venturing into my room, which is already cluttered with guns, long-range radios, and a dozen chargers for all the phones I have. Most are for business, a few for friends, and there’s one for my mom. She lives in Russia, but she never calls. It’s only for emergencies.

Ninety-three and thirty years a widow. I’m almost convinced that she’s trying to live twice as long as my father did just to make sure they aren’t reborn at the same time and end up together again.

Not that he was a bad guy. I’m a bad guy. He was just a drunk. There’s a difference.

I put a few guns in the drawers where I have quick access to them, but I doubt I’ll need them while we’re in the water. I had my right-hand man Chekhov do a sweep of the passengers while they were boarding, and he didn’t see anyone who threw any obvious red flags.

A couple of buzzcuts, but you can expect those on a cruise this big. Regular American police aren’t an issue. If anything, they’re nice to have on board to keep the drama to a minimum.

The ones you want to look out for are the undercover ones that smell like dollar store cologne and body odor. Ever since the Brazilian government caught on to the fact that I was making money in their country without paying my fair share, I’ve been seeing those weirdos everywhere.

Following me. Watching. Waiting for an easy opportunity to take me back to Brazil for a quick trial with a crooked judge and a stacked jury.

Not the ideal ending to a cruise, if you ask me.

I send Chekov a quick message before considering a shower. I’m going to meet with him later tonight, but I’d like the opportunity to have dinner and a few drinks beforehand. This is a dangerous business, and you never know when it could be your last day, so you eat good food, and you drink, and you smoke, and you fuck more than any regular man could dream of.

Whoever said not to mix business with pleasure must not have been a Bratva boss. The only time I have time for pleasure is during business. Once they invent a way to cram more hours into a day, maybe then I’ll separate the two, but until then, they’re inexplicably intertwined for as long as I’m alive.

I arrange a few more things in my room before I hear a metallic squeaking sound in the room beside me, and then the sudden flow of water. Someone is taking a shower, and that someone is Stella, by the direction of the noise.

She’s an interesting woman. I can tell by the way she holds herself. Most people are quite frightened by me, but she held her ground even when she thought I might be a threat.

I’ll be seeing more of her, and not just because she’s so close by. I’ll be making sure she doesn’t go swimming in the pool without passing by my eyes first. That tight body in a bikini? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Stella holds my interest, that’s for sure. It’s enough to draw me toward the thin wall that separates us, pressing my ear to the blue and white wallpaper to listen to her in the shower.

I’m not sure what I’m expecting, but I’m pleasantly surprised by a faint hum. There’s something so erotic about her voice, like she’s a mermaid luring me into the water, tempting me with pleasure so divine that it will surely kill me.

I wouldn’t have said this about any other woman, but it’d be worth it.

I grit my teeth, pulling myself away from the wall and vowing to have her, no matter what it takes. She’ll be mine before we reach our first port.

4

Stella

I can’t get him out of my head.

No, not Tyler. It almost feels like he never happened. He was lost in Yuri’s shadow the moment I caught him in my room.

I can still smell him as I step out of the shower and pat myself dry with a thick white towel. He claims he was here by accident, that my door was unlocked, and it’s almost believable.

Almost.

I’m suspicious of him, but I’m willing to let all that go for a chance to know him better. Don’t I deserve to have a little fun after all I’ve been through? It’s not like I have to commit to anything. Maybe just a drink. A little casual date of sorts, and then I can cut him loose if he turns out to be a weirdo.

But it’s hard to imagine a man so neat and put-together be someone unsavory. Sure, the tattoos are a bit concerning, making him look more like a mob boss than a legitimate businessman, but they also give him an edge that fits him. Not everyone can pull off tattoos like that, but his large frame and piercing eyes almost demand that he be littered with ink.

I wonder just how many he has, and where.

The possibilities dance through my mind as I unpack my suitcase, putting all my clothes in the top drawer and quickly realizing I don’t have enough for an entire month.

But that’s what bikinis are for, right? You don’t need clothes when you’re lounging around by the pool all day. Plus, we’re stopping at seven different locations on this trip, and I’m sure there will be plenty of interesting clothing to buy on the way.

For now, I choose a green one-piece bathing suit with a plunging neckline. It covers a fair amount of skin while still pulling off a sexy look, which is ideal for the first day. I’m sure by the end of the trip, I’ll be lying around by the pool topless, but for now I want to start with something more modest.

Until I see what everyone else is wearing. Then, I might have to change. This is an adult-only cruise, which means modesty isn’t expected or encouraged. For all I know, I’m going to come out looking like a grandmother while everyone else draws eyes like they’re on the runway.

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