Page 2 of Used By the Bratva

Bending forward, I pushed my hands into my hair. My mouth opened, but I didn’t allow any sound to come out as I screamed from within before taking a deep breath. My insides were all twisted, and it felt like I was about to puke.

Glancing back at the screen, I realized what was done, was done. There was no closing it and not getting in trouble. I quickly sent Ben some of the details he wanted and backtracked my actions. I wasn’t going to give him everything I uncovered. I needed some form of security, and the details here would provide.

Grabbing a micro-SD at lighting speed, I made a backup. I could only hope I wasn’t in long enough for them to realize or track me. I stuffed the micro card into the small secret clasp of my bra. It would be safe there and on me at all times.

The site contained all the banking details, dealings, hit lists, and more on a couple of extremely dangerous Mafia groups. These included Italian and Russian Mafia organizations. Suddenly feeling like I was baking in an oven, I pulled off the large loose-fitting t-shirt I wore over my crop top and chucked it to the floor.

I paced, biting my nails, and trying to think of a plan. I cleared my prints, but who knew if anyone had traced them or seen me entering? I have never gotten myself in this kind of trouble in my twenty-six years on this planet. I trusted Ben; he knew what I did and didn’t do.

How could he ask me something like this?

“No,” I spoke out loudly, stamping my foot on the ground. “I’m intelligent. I got this.” Sitting back down, I followed my own trail, making sure there was nothing they could track back. After a few hours, I felt sure all traces had been removed.

Taking a deep breath and steadying my heart, racing a hundred miles an hour, I rose and poured another cup. This time, I added some whiskey.

“Yes, I am safe,” I said, comforting myself before sending Ben an encrypted message. Without saying much, I simply asked him how he dared ask such a thing from me. I let him know if it came back to me, I would give him up.

I watched the message go through before placing my phone back in my pocket. “Now then,” I said to the empty room. “Let’s just keep an eye on things for a day or two until we can be sure all is clear.”

Leaving my laptop open, I flopped down on the couch in the next room and flipped through the channels on the TV. This was a stupid move. I was sure it was something PJ would have done. I shook my head, still in disbelief, but what could I do now?

TV wasn’t something that interested me much, but I left the TV on an oldies show channel. Older movies usually cheered me up when I got round to watching some. My mind was rolling through my actions, and I just couldn’t let go. I closed my eyes to ease my nerves and fell asleep at some point.

A while later, waking up, I found night had crept in on me. The moon shone into the room lighting it naturally. Checking my phone, I noticed Ben had not even read my message. Rising, I heard a noise coming from my small old wooden desk in the corner.

As I neared it, I heard the sound coming from my laptop. The laptop was screaming with alarms. This wasn’t good. Walking over briskly, I felt my heart sinking to my feet even before I could see what was on the screen as I knew what had happened.

Chapter 2 - Ashan

My meeting was halfway through. I had almost closed the deal with Mr. Urgens when there was a knock at the door. “I’m busy,” I shouted, smiling at the man before me. “Apologies for the disturbance,” I said to Mr. Urgens.

Since he walked through the double glass doors of my gambling den, he had been on edge. He’d been fidgety and restless even after we entered my office and closed the doors. This deal was important, and I tried to ease him as much as possible. His unrest wasn’t quite kosher, and I didn’t like it. However, I coped with it, knowing how easily he got offended.

We had a shot of whiskey before we started, and I had thought he looked somewhat calmer. But seeing him jump at the knock on the door gave me a bad feeling. He was about to say something when the door flew open, and Leo Morozov entered.

Mr. Urgens glanced over his shoulder and gave Leo an angry glare. “I am sorry to bother cousin, but something serious has come up that can’t wait,” Leo said, stepping up to my side.

Leaning in, Leo whispered. Yet, his voice seemed to billow through the air. “Our information base has been hacked, and the details for this establishment were included in the information they got. They got everyone's details. I need to access your network to do a trace.”

I tried to give Mr. Urgens a comforting smile but I felt sure my face spoke of the anger rising inside. I felt my blood turning to fire as Leo spoke. Looking up into his eyes, I knew this wasn’t a joke. He appeared way too calm for this to be a lie and even though his face was straight, his eyes spoke volumes.

Mr. Urgens rose from his chair quickly, almost toppling it over. “You’ve been hacked?” He spat at me.

Standing and meeting his gaze, I tried to calm him down. “No, no, Mr. Urgens. Please sit while I go out for a second to find out what is happening. Please.”

He was already halfway across the floor as I spoke. Grabbing the door, Mr. Urgens turned; his eyes were lit as if on fire. “I can’t have part of such things. The deal is off. I must go.” He sputtered, rambling off his words before disappearing through the door.

Feeling my anger taking over, I slammed my fists onto the table. “No,” I screamed. I have been working on this deal for more than six months. Working with the Castoia Mafia would have doubled our income. I couldn’t believe he had just walked out. Even more, I was stunned at the information Leo had just shared.

Glancing at Leo, I moved away from my desk so he could access my laptop. “What the hell happened?” I asked as I stared out the second-floor window. I saw Mr. Urgens rush to his limo. “There went our relations with the Castoias,” I added, irritated.

“Yeah, the timing of this hack was terrible,” Leo remarked from behind me. I could hear some stress in his voice. “I’m not sure if they had something to do with it, though.” He added.

“Do you think this was planned, and they had something to do with it? Can you trace the hacker?” I asked hastily. After Luder went full-time into real estate, I became head of gambling. He has his own life now with his family, and I have made a real difference in our operations. Yet, today’s canceled deal was a blow to us.

“It’s not only us; it may have had something to do with the meet, but we don’t know anything for sure. I’ll let you know once, I’m sure.” Leo breathed out as he rose and moved to the door. “I’ll be back later, Ashan.” he added, slamming the door shut behind him as he left. I glanced at the door in amazement and back out the window.

I didn’t expect Leo’s action. I sighed, turning back, and staring at the city outside. Opening the window, I allowed the breeze to blow in and cool the sweat forming on my brow. “This deal is my failure,” I spoke to the wind. “No matter what happened, it was on me.”

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