Page 54 of Caught By the Bratva Beast

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. “We think it’s set to occur when we move a shipment of cocaine next week. But we're not one hundred percent certain. Antonio was supposed to find out and tell us yesterday.”

My body coils tight like a spring as I stand behind him. “Excuse me? This is the information we were waiting on yesterday and then you still waited to find out whether he was missing or not?”

“Yes, boss.”

I pull a gun from the back of my waistband, moving his right side and pressing it against his table temple. My finger wraps around the trigger.

“Please, you don't have to do this. I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Please just don't kill me. What about my wife and kids?”

“Why's it always about the wife and kids and not I'm going to do a better job, boss? I'm sorry that I'm so incompetent, boss. Maybe if I wasn't such a fuckwit, I would've been able to manage this for us.”

“I'm sorry,” Yegor stammers, tripping over the words as he tries to rush them out. “I should have called you. I was a fool and thought I could manage it on my own. I let my ego get in the way. It will never happen again.”

“You're right, it'll never happen again.” I pull the trigger. His entire body tenses but no blood splatters. Smirking, I tuck the gun back into my waistband. “Well, what do you know, I forgot to load it this morning. How embarrassing.”

“Thank you,” Yegor says, a tear slipping down his cheek. He reaches up to wipe with his broken fingers, wincing when he realizes what he's done. “I'll do better.”

“You're right, you will. Because until this ambush happens, it's going to be your job to sit with the fucking cocaine and wait. Get on a flight this afternoon, go meet the shipment down South. Stay with it till it arrives.”

He rushes to his feet before I can change my mind, clutching his hand to his chest as he nods and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

Groaning, I lean back in my chair, scrubbing my hands down my face. I don't know how my cousins can have competent staff. Well, I've got Yegor.

He’s been with me for fifteen years and he knows his place, he knows his job. I've been able to rely on him for that long. And yet, these days, it seems like he's distracted.

That’s a problem I can deal with later.

Now I just have to find out how the hell Nicolo Mancini found out about Antonio.

Chapter 20 - Pearl

“Behave yourself,” Maxim says before taking off across the room, striding over to a man standing beside the bar. I roll my eyes and take a seat at our table, looking at the name cards.

It's been two weeks, and my husband has said the bare minimum to me. Hell, we haven't even been intimate in a week, maybe the entire two.

There's something wrong. I don't know what. He doesn't want to talk about it, and I can't say that I blame him when I dodge his questions at every turn.

I reach for the champagne flute, taking a long sip. Maybe it's time that I start talking to him. Perhaps not about the truth of my past, but maybe I owe him an explanation.

The more he ignores me, the more I think that I should be with him. Maybe I should show him some understanding or comfort him as he is dealing with whatever it is. But I don’t know if that’s what he is waiting for. I don't know how I can help him.

These days, our lives are so different from each other that there's no seemingly easy bridge between them.

I spend most of the days sitting inside the house, messaging back and forth with Aesha when she can get a minute. Work has been busier for her too though and I'm starting to feel alone in the world.

“Mind if I sit for a minute?” a woman asks, her black gown trailing behind her as she sweeps out one of the chairs beside me and sits down.

“Not a bit, you are more than welcome. My husband's off over there making work connections.”

She laughs and crosses one foot over the other, kicking off her heels for a moment. “I hate these events. I spend most of my time coming to them and it's always Elena into this and Elena that. I don't ever have a minute to sit and enjoy myself. Maybe listen to some music, maybe find a hot guy to dance with.”

“Pretty sure if I got up and tried to dance with anybody my husband would rip his head off right now” I cast a wistful look over at Maxim. And though the words once would have rung true, now they sound a little false.

I don't know if he still wants me.

Elena smiles. “Which one's your husband?”

With my champagne flute and still hand, I raise one finger pointing across the room to Maxim. “Over there in the suit with tattoos coming up at the collar. And the five o’clock shadow.”

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