Page 16 of Caught By the Bratva Beast

“We've been trying to get closer to him for seven years.”

“No, what we've been doing since the day I took you in, is training you and waiting for our moment. We've been teaching you skills and waiting for the time we could send you after him. The revenge is going to be that much sweeter when you know you've been planning it since the day your father died.”

“We're going to make him suffer before I kill him. That's what you said. I just want him dead. I don’t want to waste time with torture.”

Nicolo pushes off the wall, looming over me, his face an expression of fury that I've only ever seen several times before with other men. “You're going to do as I say, Pearl. If you go rogue on this mission, I won't hesitate to lock you away until you finally learn your lesson. I tolerate a lot from you. But I won't tolerate this.”

“Okay, okay. I'll stick to the plan.”

“See that you do.” He takes a step back, the anger melting away from his body. His eyes no longer flash that deadly look I've gotten so used to. “Now, tell me about your date with him the other night.”

“He still doesn't know who I truly am. He doesn't know that we're coming after him or wanting to kill him. To be honest, I don't know if he even knows I'm an escort. I've been operating under the assumption that he does, but I haven't confirmed anything. I left him guessing, a lot.”

“Confirm nothing. There's no reason that he needs to know what you do for work. Either that or you tell him. Make him believe that he's on the chase. That he’s the man with a chance at rescuing you from such a hard life. He’ll like that.”

“He’s already sniffing around and promising a better life. I've got no interest in settling down with a man like him, but he seems to think that he can change me. I think he's got it in his head that if he takes me away and shows me what life could be like—not as if I don't already know thanks to your kindness—then perhaps I might decide to be his.”

“I knew I should have returned to New York sooner. Hook, line, and sinker, well done, my dear.”

“With a bounty on your head, that wouldn’t have been a good idea.” I pull in the new silhouette of a man and take it down, rolling it up and setting it to the side. “I didn't need you here either way. I've been following your every directive. You were needed overseas. Keeping rich men who think more with their dick than they do with their brains has been a child's play. I can manage them on my own.”

Nicolo chuckles, beaming with pride unlike any I’ve ever seen from him before. “There are times when I think you're just as bloodthirsty as the rest of us. Ruthless with your attention, quite frankly.”

“I only am what you've trained me to be.”

“You are. Where is he planning to take you?”

“He wants to fly me to Russia. For a week or so I believe. We didn't talk much about the details during dinner. He kept asking what I thought about going, and I told him I would think about it, but I didn't confirm.”

“You’ll send him a message and tell him that you’d be happy to go on a vacation with him to Russia.”

“He's dangerous.”

“So are you. Don’t start questioning yourself now, Pearl.”

“Do you honestly believe that I can handle myself against him and his men? If he finds out who I am or why I’m with him, he's going to kill me.”

“He's not going to find out who you are. You’ve been practicing lying to men for years. It should be nothing to keep your identity a secret while you're there.”

“And say that it is. Do I kill him in Russia with no plan to get out of the country? People will be tracking me the moment they find out he’s dead.”

“No, you're not going to kill him. You're going to get as much information as you can and then after that, we'll decide when and how to kill him.”

“You know that he only has interest in having sex with me. I know the only reason he's offering to bring me to Russia is because he thinks it's going to get me to spread my legs for him. I doubt he’s going to talk much.”

“Maybe I should put you in etiquette classes instead of letting you hang around with the men at the shooting range. You might have learned a little more how to talk like a lady rather than a damned sailor.

“Now you're pretending to be the well-meaning uncle?”

“I don't pretend. I only want what's best for you. That's all I've wanted since I took you into my care, you know that.”

Guilt gnaws at my chest, and a sick feeling sends my stomach spinning. Nicolo is one of the only people who knew Dad the way I knew him. He’s the only one who cared enough to look after me. After all he’s done for me, he deserves more than me questioning his intentions.

“I'm sorry, I know I've been a little on edge since the date with him. I didn't think we were going to get this close so soon. I didn’t expect him to be interested in me. I thought we would have a couple more years before I could ever get the chance to get to him.”

“Our opportunity is forming now. But you can't sleep with him. Maxim loves to be a player. He wants what he can't have, and right now that’s you. You must keep him interested in wanting you. The second he has had you he'll lose interest.”

“I'm aware of that. I have no plan to give him what he wants.” I try to sound resolute and convincing. But deep inside there is turmoil. The thrill of luring this man, reeling him in, and the fear that I might find myself succumbing to his charm at the same time.

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