Page 63 of Caught By the Bratva Beast

“You're a bastard. Maxim is going to kill you for this.”

“Now, Pearl, I didn't raise you to hide behind men. If you want me dead, you kill me yourself. You're the one who wanted to play games. Enter the world of big boys. You thought you could handle it. You begged me for the chance to avenge your father.”

“You poisoned my mind. You twisted what happened.”

“You're only upset now because you decided to play detective and got your feelings hurt.”

Nicolo sighs and pulls out a gun. “I didn't want to have to do this, Pearl. You worked well for me and the money you brought in was more than enough. You are good at manipulating men. It's too bad you're even better at getting manipulated.”

Before his finger can wrap around the trigger, Maxim jumps through the window, slamming his fist under the side of Nicolo's head.

Nikita grabs me around the waist as he runs into the room, shoving me behind him.

More men flood into the room, guns raised, aiming at Nicolo.

Maxim stands tall and shakes his head. “This one’s mine.”

Chapter 25 - Maxim

Earlier that day

Pearl sits on the couch, looking down at her hands. She knows what's going on. She glances up at me as I enter the room, her eyes glassy. “I have to talk to you.”

“Come with me,” I say, waiting for her to stand before leaving the room, and heading across the hall to the formal living room.

Pearl hovers in the doorway, looking like she's torn between sitting and running as I go to the mantle and takedown a picture. I open the back of the silver frame, sliding the photo out.

Even though it has a few creases and crinkles, the picture is still nearly as clear as it was taken. Without a word, I hand it to her.

She stares at the photograph for a couple minutes like she's not sure what to think. Her mouth opens and closes, words forming on the tip of her tongue, only to die off in a strangled sound as her hand flies to her lips.

“Do you still think I killed your father?”

“How do you have this?” Pearl asks, syllables wavering and cracking. She takes a seat on one of the couches, although it looks like she's close to fainting as she leans back, holding the picture in her hands like it's gold. “What is this?”

“That was me and your father on his twenty-third birthday. We've been friends since we were children. He was raised alongside me and then he was trained in the same way as me and my cousins were. He knew he never be a Bratva boss, but he was in line to be my second in command and he was until the day he died.”

“This doesn't make sense. He worked for the Italians, he worked for Nicolo. For as long as I can remember, he was always working for them. How could he have been working for you?”

“Maybe the same way you infiltrated my house under the guise of being my wife when you're working for the Italians.” My words get sharper than intended, but there's still the sting of her betrayal sitting between us. “When were you going to tell me about that?”

“How did you know?” Pearl places the picture in her lap, careful not to tear the edges any more than they already are. “I was going to tell you today. That's what I wanted to talk to you about this afternoon. I just—I can't seem to get the words out. Every time I start thinking about telling you who I am and what I've done. I can't.”

“Even after everything, you still don't trust me.” I scoff, my tongue poking the inside of my cheek as I sit across from her on the edge of the coffee table. “It fucking ends here, Pearl. You're either in this with me or you're out. But if you're out, you don't get my help. You don't get anything from me. You pack your fucking bags, you leave, you don't look back.”

“I don't want to leave.”

Her cheeks are hollow, her face drawn tight. She looks like she's inches away from fleeing to the door and running for her life. She shifts in the seat, hands pressing against the cushions like she's going to stand up.

I lean forward. “You don't want to leave Pearl, so where the fuck do you think you're going now?”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“If I was going to kill you, why would I have given you the option to stay? Think a little bit, Pearl. You’re a smart woman. You're educated.”

“If you're not going to kill me, why am I here? What do you want from me?”

“The list is long, and I don't think you're prepared for everything on it. But we're going to start with killing that fucking bastard, Nicolo Mancini.”

---