Page 21 of Secret Bratva Twins

“You have nothing to offer, Paul DeLuca. I know you orchestrated the attack, and I’ll be coming for you.”

He huffed a laugh, clearly enjoying my anger a little too much for his own good. Let him laugh all he wanted, soon, the only thing he would be doing was crying tears of blood.

“No, you won’t. Not when you find out what my offer is. I see my daughter hasn’t told you of Ryan.”

“Ryan,” I repeated. Who was that?

Gianna’s eyes widened. She scurried to her feet and quickly grabbed the phone from me. “Papa, please don’t—" The line went dead before she could complete what she wanted to say.

Her shoulders sagged as she returned my phone.

“Who is Ryan?” I ask. My chest tightened with jealousy. Was he her husband? A lover or something? I hated to think like this, but if so, I’d have to make sure he never saw her again.

“No one important.”

Another lie. The sadness on her face and the cloudiness in her eyes gave it all away. Ryan was someone important, someone she cared about and loved. A mere mention of his name wouldn’t make her upset otherwise. “You’re lying to me again.”

She tilted her head to look at me. “There are things that are better left unsaid. Trust me, Maxim, it would do no good to either of us if you knew.” She picked up her plate. “I’ll put this in the kitchen and go to bed.”

My gaze followed her until she disappeared into the kitchen. Great, now I had to find out who this Ryan guy was. I didn’t like the tone of his name or the effect he had on Gianna.

My phone buzzed again with an incoming message from Sergey.

Meet me at the bar in thirty minutes. I’ll be waiting.

***

I arrived at the bar in less than thirty minutes. I needed a drink, but without all the music and half-naked strippers walking around. I just needed to be alone, with my thoughts.

I could’ve done that at home, but it was my duty to answer when the capo called.

I found my brothers at the front bar. All three of them were laughing over something before they spotted me. Vlad’s laughter turned into a smile.

“Hey, man,” Nikolai said.

I ignored him, snatched the martini in his hand, and finished it in one gulp. I relished the burn it left behind as it trailed down my throat. I replaced the now empty glass in Vlad’s hand and sat next to him.

“Someone looks frustrated,” Vlad drawled, sounding as if he couldn’t decide between teasing me and actually being worried. “Everything okay?”

I ran my hand over my face. “I received a call from Paul DeLuca.”

“Gianna’s father?” Sergey asked.

I nodded, my fist clenching on top of the front bar. “I found out that bastard had been abusing her. Her body is covered with bruises and scars. He called to gloat about how she was damaged goods and all that.”

“For real?” Vlad snorted. “It’s disgusting that anyone still thinks like that in the twenty-first century. Where does he think the is, the Victorian era?”

“I’m sure he didn’t call just to call his daughter damaged goods.” Nikolai scrutinized me. “What did he say?”

“Some shit about having something I needed. The man has lost his damn mind.” I pondered telling them about Ryan but decided against it. It was rare that I kept a secret from my brothers, but I was willing to do that for Gianna. They already thought she was a threat to me, I couldn’t risk them hating her even more.

“Maybe he’s bluffing?” Vlad suggested? He signaled the bartender to bring him a drink.

“Maybe he’s not.” Nikolai pushed the empty glass I drank from to the bartender. “Did he give a clue as to what he was speaking about?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t silence the pang of guilt in my chest for lying to him, but I could live with it.

“What do you intend to do with the girl?” Sergey asked.

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