Page 8 of Hostage of the Bratva

“No, no,” Roman said as he rose. “No, we will send someone else to find out. They have seen you and will be waiting.”

“They did tell me to let you know that the property was no longer for sale,” I added as we all rose and followed Roman to the edge of the garden.

“It is time to make a stand, brother,” Sergey added as we looked out over the ocean. “They need to know who they are messing with, don’t you think?”

Roman turned and faced us. “Yes, I also think it is time we spoke to Ivan.” Roman rubbed his stubbled chin as he looked toward the house. “How many did you say were there?” he asked.

“Well, I noticed two men as I headed inside the office. I saw five plus Domique. I shot some before realizing I was outgunned and had to leave. There may have been more, though.”

“We need to find out where they are holding up, and Ivan might have details on this. I’ll give him a call,” Roman said as he headed inside.

It wasn’t long before Roman came back out. “Let’s go, Ivan is waiting for us.” He called from the doorway.

The trip to Ivan’s club was quick, and we were greeted with open arms as usual. We headed through the club to his office at the back for a sit-down.

“Right,” Ivan said as we took our places. “I’ve heard that they have a great deal of property on the upper side and some close to the agency where Luder had his encounter with them.”

“I suggest we check it out and see which one is active. They won’t be at all of them at once.” Roman replied.

“Yes, we need to hit them where it will have the most impact,” Sergey added.

Ivan rose and poured each of us a drink. “I’ll take my men to the two upper side locations.” He said as he handed us a glass and sat back down.

“We’ll check out those close to the agency with Luder, Ashan, and our men,” Roman added.

“Salute,” Ivan said, holding up his glass.

We all did the same, and once we finished our drinks, we headed out. Sergey and Roman drove up front, and I followed them with Ashan. Roman slowed down about two blocks from the agency building. We parked beside him to find out why he was stopping.

“We’ll sit on the house here on the corner. You two go past and check out the warehouse six blocks up from the agency.” Roman said, leaning slightly out of his window.

“Right, see you in about four hours,” Ashan replied before we drove off.

As we passed the building and the studio, I couldn’t help but try and see inside. My mind abruptly wandered to Skyler.Would she be attending her usual class, or would she be staying clear for a while I thought to myself.

“You looking for something?” Ashan asked as we passed and turned up the next street.

“No,” I replied quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, as Ashan’s expression changed.

“What happened yesterday? Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything?” he inquired as his eyebrows rose.

I couldn’t keep the grin from forming on my lips, and for a moment, I didn’t even answer him. My mind was invaded by thoughts of her.

Feeling her body squirm, tasting her succulent lips, her breasts. I shook my head, trying to clear the attacking images as I felt the beast start to wake. This was not the time for things such as this.

“There is something you’re not telling me, Luder,” Ashan said as he tapped my shoulder. “Come on, spill it.”

Glancing over at him, I gave Ashan a soft smile. “Somethings are just private, bro,” I said before looking back out the window.

Ashan laughed, “So, you weren’t alone at the warehouse then?” he asked in an overly chipper voice.

“No,” I started and then saw the place we were looking for. “There,” I said, pointing to a big brown building about halfway up the block. “That’s the place.”

“This discussion isn’t over; we’ll continue it later,” Ashan said as he pulled up to the curb on the opposite side.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, grinning at him.

We sat in the same place for about half an hour. Then we drove around two blocks and came down the other street and parked there. A dark blue van pulled into the side entrance as wewere about to drive around again. We took down the registration and drove around for ten minutes or so before returning.

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