Page 12 of Stolen By the Bratva

My mind returned to the sex kitten in the office. I couldn’t erase the image of her low-cut dress and bold confidence to show off her body in that sharp business attire.

Could she help? It felt like I was reaching for anything and grasping for straws, but I wondered if I could convince her to stop the Valkov-Kastava wedding. She was aware enough of the family politics to warn us away. Her intelligence was obvious, and within reason, her independence, too. Women couldn’t call the shots. We lived in a world where men ruled, even idiots like Pavel here. Still, that woman had backbone.

Maybe I could ask her to tell the bride not to go through with this wedding. I wasn’t above bribing her. Anything.

I shook my head and began cleaning up the smear on my floor. What was I thinking? It was ridiculous. Asking the enemy to stop this alliance would be suicide, but I was desperate to prevent more damage.

Dmitri and Nikolai showed up shortly after I cleaned the spot on the rug. They knocked with our standard code of raps, and I let them in.

Dmitri paced immediately, his heel pushing down on the now-clean spot on the floor. Nik slumped onto my couch, leaning forward to rest his face in his hands.

“Now what?”

“We’re nervous about this alliance,” Dmitri said.

“I went undercover and spied near their Colver dock,” Nikolai said.

I gave him a hard look. He was the most skilled with disguises, but I’d warned him to be careful before. Here I was, debating what to do, and he’d just gone out and snooped.

“I watched his back,” Dmitri said before I could lecture them.

That helped, but still, I had to know my brothers were as safe as possible. They couldn’t be reckless. “And?”

“I got word about this tradeoff being a trick. They seemed to count on things going wrong. I wish I could have gotten ahold of the papers they were checking off and whatever they were scrolling through on their phones. I don’t know.” He set his hands on his knees, tense. “I’m worried it’s a setup.”

We’d had many issues with the cops before. They made it a habit to track our shipments and interfere, hence why having the Colver dock would be a benefit.

“Me too. If not a setup, a coup. Something. I don’t trust any of this.”

“Ever since Father died near the Kastava territory…” Dmitri didn’t return to his thoughts. Pacing and shaking his head, he was lost in his memories of the turf war when our father was gunned down. All of us brothers suspected a setup, and this felt like déjà vu. A setup again.

“I won’t let them bring us down. Pavel has abused his position of power for too long. If he is blind to this being a potential setup, or worse, then I’ll do what’s right.”

Nik stood and glanced at Dmitri. “How?”

“First, I’m stopping that fucking wedding.” It would connect us too deeply, too irrevocably.

“The shipment isn’t due to come until next week,” Dmitri added. “Maybe stopping the wedding would throw off this shipping arrangement from even happening.”

I shrugged. It’d incite war to prevent Andrey from marrying Mila Kastava. But I’d do it. Andrey and I had always been pitted against each other. We were the top two cousins, and if I intervened with his marriage, all kinds of uproar and inner fighting would follow.

“We support you,” Nikolai said unnecessarily.

“The men will too,” Dmitri vowed. “Whatever you can pull off, however you can prevent the bratva from crumbling completely, you can count on us.”

I nodded, more confident with his words. Morale had been low. It wouldn’t take much to adjust the power in our family.

First, though, was canceling this wedding. And hopefully, that would buy me more time to figure out about this supposed alliance and risk of a setup.

6

MILA

In order to be fitted for my dress, I headed home early from the S.T.L. headquarters. It was a bittersweet experience, saying goodbye to those four walls of the shipping office. For the last three years, that place was my purpose. After tomorrow, my role in life would be different. I had yet to learn what I could expect as Andrey’s wife, but my guesses didn’t fill me with hope.

So long as he doesn’t plan to treat me like Lev does Rosamund…

I sighed, banishing the thought as I stood on the dais.

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