Page 56 of Innocently Imprisoned By the Bratva

My mind races in circles. Had I not reached, what would they have done to her? Would they have taken her to Lenny? Was it just an innocent kidnapping where they would have held her for leverage? Or worse, would they have tortured her for information on us?

Each and every possibility puts the fear of god in me. It's a fear that feels foreign to me, so different from the quick-tempered nature I'm known for. I've always been reckless and impulsive, but now… Now, I'm terrified of losing this one person and I keep second-guessing what I should do in these situations.

I lean down and kiss the top of her head. She sighs and snuggles in closer. I wince, reminding myself to be careful and not wake her by accident. It was difficult getting her to go to sleep tonight. She was so distressed by the whole thing, constantly blaming herself for setting us up for failure…

The next few days will be hard. But it’s a challenge I’m glad for. At least Pippa is safe and sound by my side.

***

The next morning, I wake and get dressed for work. I wait outside by the car, thinking Pippa will arrive. When she doesn’t, I go to check on her.

She’s lying in bed in sweatpants and her hair’s a mess. It looks like she’s been up crying.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” I say gently, walking up to her and sitting down on the bed beside her. “How are you holding up?” I lift my hand to brush a strand of hair away from her face.

She sniffles and looks up at me with a small, sad smile. "I'm sorry, Lev," she whispers, her voice cracking. "I messed up everything."

"Hey, don't say that," I say, sitting down next to her and pulling her close. "It wasn't your fault. You were thrown into a situation you shouldn't have been in, and you did your best."

"But it wasn't good enough," she insists, tears welling up in her eyes again. "You must have been so worried. Besides, I’m the one who pushed for this plan. Now, Lenny knows we have our eye on his daughter and the plan you originally had wouldn’t work. I ruined everything!” She buries her face in her hands.

"None of that matters now," I tell her, gently rubbing my hand through her hair. "What matters is that you're safe. And I promise, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you that way."

Pippa sniffs, looks up, and tries to smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. “Would it be okay… if I don’t come in to work today?”

“Of course, Darling,” I lean in and give her a soft kiss on her cheek. “I’ll send the maid up to see if you need anything, okay?”

She nods and climbs back under the covers.

***

I enter the office building, a knot in my stomach. It’s the first time since we hired Pippa that she’s missed a day’s work. Clearly, she’s not dealing with this failure very well.

I reach my personal office and am told by my secretary that my brother wishes to see me. I stride over to Boris’s office and open the door, finding Damien already there.

It’s been a harrowing night. I’m in no mood for messing around. I close the door and go take a seat next to Damien.

Damien smirks, leaning back in his chair. "We’re both so glad your little girlfriend’s okay.”

"Cut the crap," I snap, my patience thinning.

Boris raises an eyebrow, concern etched on his face. “We tried telling you the other plan was better.”

"It doesn’t matter anymore," I reply, trying to keep my temper in check. "What’s done is done. All that matters is that Pippa is safe."

“Of course, Brother,” Boris leans forward. “We’re all glad she’s safe. But, you know we all have to take responsibility when things go wrong," he adds, trying to sound rational.

"Responsibility? She could have been killed, Boris!" I retort, my voice rising. "Pippa tried her best, and her plan failed. She’s beating herself over it since last night. She blames herself in entirety for the plan failing, even though it wasn’t really her plan that was the problem. How was she to know Lenny was having Lilah followed? That was our job to find out, wasn’t it?”

A tense silence falls over the room.

I turn to Damien and look at him pointedly before directing the question at him. “Wasn’t it? Shouldn’t we have done our background research before sending her into that trap? The idea might have been hers, but the outcome was Zolotov irresponsibility. We had all cut corners. So, hear me out when I tell you that I never want to hear a word out of your mouths regarding last night around Pippa. Understand?”

Damien’s expression remains neutral, but a flicker of surprise crosses his eyes at my tone. He nods, understanding the gravity of the situation.

"Alright, alright," Boris interjects, holding up his hands. "No one is blaming Pippa. We'll deal with Lenny in due time. There’s no dearth of ideas in this office.”

“We had no idea Pippa was so affected,” says Damien from my side, a hint of sadness in his voice.

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