Page 29 of Used By the Bratva

Boris exhales slowly, his nostrils flaring. “Fuck me. Okay, I may have been the one who sent the money, but it’s not my money. It’s my boss’s.”

“Your boss?” A flicker of hope lights up inside me. “Can I talk to him?”

Boris sighs, rubs the back of his neck, and then strokes his stubble. “I don’t think you want to meet him. You should turn around and forget you were ever here.”

I shake my head. “No, no! I can’t do that. I must talk to him now if he's here in this building. I promise I won’t bother you again after today.”

“You’re not bothering me.” Boris walks to the other side of the room, takes down a painting, and presses his hand against a panel on the wall. “But trust me, you don’t want to do this.”

“Trust me, I do.” I hold my head high as a door opens, leading to a long white corridor. “I can handle anything your boss throws at me.”

Boris chuckles and shakes his head. “You have no idea what you’ve just asked for.”

He leads the way into the corridor, turns into another, and climbs another flight of stairs. I hurry to keep up with him, pausing only briefly to look at the men in tailored suits walking past us.

The higher we climb into the building, the more Russian I hear behind closed doors.

Finally, we stop in front of a black door.

Boris looks at me over his shoulder. “Wait here.”

Chapter 13 - Leon

“No, Ivan, I can’t move that much money through Vesuvius, even if it is most convenient for you.” I groan, lean back in my chair, and look at the ceiling.

Ivan sighs. “You must move the money tonight. I need it to buy out one of Carlo’s clients.”

“Five million dollars isn’t exactly easy to move in one place in one night.” I turn in my chair as the door opens and nod to Boris.

He closes the door behind him, leans against the bookshelf, and waits with folded arms for me to finish my conversation.

Ivan lets out another irritated huff. “You’ll have to think of something to get it done. I don’t have time to race all over Manhattan.”

“I might be able to move it through Golden Spectre.” I draw up the numbers for one of my casinos. “If you can send a man there to get it.”

“Move the money, and I’ll send one of my men.”

Ivan ends the call without saying goodbye.

For a moment, I expect good news until I see the expression on Boris’s face.

He should have come here and told me he'd found Natalie. Instead, he looks deadly serious, as if he wants to tell me that someone in my family has died.

I send a short message to the general manager of Golden Spectre and give him the code for releasing the money as soon as one of Ivan’s men arrives.

“Alright.” I toss the phone on the desk and wait for the anvil he’s about to drop. “What’s up?”

“Well, a woman came to my office about an hour ago, looking for answers.”

“And that’s my problem, eh?” I get up and go to the cigarette tray, pull one out, and light it. “My problem right now is that the Pakhan wants me to clear five million dollars in a single night.”

Boris approaches the desk, his frown deep and slight wrinkles tugging at the corners of his eyes. “I believe you want to know about this woman.”

I take a long drag. “Fine. Who is she?

“Natalya Reyes.”

The cigarette falls from my lips and onto a piece of paper. I slap my hand on the small flame that ignites, barely feeling the burn from the shock. “What the fuck?”

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