Page 4 of The Bratva King's Kidnapped Bride

He scowled. As easygoing as he was, betrayal was an unforgivable offense. “Hell no.” He let go of one ankle, and Jakob shrieked, twisting his body to try to reach for us, for anything that would save him.

“Hell no,” I agreed and let go.

We turned away, dusting off our hands before he hit the ground. His screams stopped abruptly with the distant thump of his landing. Lev moved to turn off the construction light but turned to stare at me with a look of disbelief.

“You didn’t think I had anything to do with this, did you?”

He was hurt, and I would have liked to say it didn’t at least cross my mind. Telling him I was thrilled he passed the test wouldn’t ease his anger, so I only smirked.

“Just keeping you on your toes,” I said, leading the way back down to the street after he glared at me a bit more before snapping off the light.

Back at our cars, I tried to extend an olive branch for not being able to have total faith in him. It wasn’t his problem, it was mine. Trust never came easily to me, and when I did give it fully, it was often trampled on like an old sales flier.

“How about going to the club with me to wind down,” I said, tapping in a message to a couple of our men to come and clean up the mess at the back of the building. “Call the others, and we can have a few drinks. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve even seen Max and Dima.”

Our two younger brothers had been up in San Francisco doing some negotiating, but I’d heard from Ivan and Nikolai that they were back now, and it was about time for a brotherly night out. I needed a stress-free evening after exposing Jakob’s perfidy.

“Nah,” Lev said, stretching out his back. “I was going to get in a little bit of sparring tonight. Dima’s meeting me at the gym. You should join us instead.”

Dodging my brothers’ punches at Lev’s boxing gym doesn’t sound nearly as relaxing as reigning supreme in the VIP area of my club. “If you spent more time looking for a woman to settle down with instead of beating the shit out of each other, maybe Papa would get off my back about presenting him with an heir.”

“What’s wrong with Nataliya?” he asked, jumping to my daughter’s defense.

“Nothing’s wrong with her,” I said. “But I don’t want her in the business if she doesn’t want to be. She’s happy studying in Italy. And…” I paused, and we both rolled our eyes as he nodded his understanding.

Our father, who still lived in Moscow, was old school, traditional Russian all the way. He couldn’t rest until one of us had a male heir to join the Bratva and carry on our family name.

“You go have fun with that, then,” Lev said, more determined than ever to stay single.

“I’ve already done my part,” I grumbled, getting in my car as he waved and drove off. Our father didn’t see it that way, though, and he nagged me as much as he did my single, childless brothers.

I waited for the cleanup crew to arrive and then headed for my club, an upscale and discreet establishment in the hottest part of Hollywood. No one would know it was a nightclub that hosted the most in-demand deejays, with a celebrity bartender and off-duty models as servers, except for the line of eager patrons lined around the block every night, hoping for a chance to get in.

I went in through the back and was greeted by one of the security guards, who let me know it was a slow night, which was only code for nobody who might cause trouble had dared to show their faces on my turf.

I’d already been having trouble with some Armenian group who’d been gaining power, and coupled with Jakob’s betrayal, I was in no mood for anything but to down a couple drinks and oversee my kingdom in peace for a few hours.

I made my way past the long, curving bar, nodding at one of the bartenders when he called over the noise if I wanted my regular order that night. The music was loud, the bass line seeping into my bones through the soles of my feet as I went upstairs to survey the dance floor. Strobe lights that were programmed to flash in time with the music regularly flashed across the sea of bodies pulsing below me.

My eyes went to the patrons at the more secluded banquettes on this floor, surrounded by colorful cocktails and bottles of the finest, most expensive liquor or champagne. Getting in here wasn’t cheap, and my door control was strict. There were the elite regulars, but the ones who spent weeks trying to get in always spent a small fortune once they were accepted.

I settled into my cordoned-off VIP area. It was out of the way of the crush of people making their way back and forth between the bar and the upstairs seating but had a view of the dance floor. A voluptuous server brought me my special bottle of Russian vodka only a few seconds after I was seated, leaning way over to ask me if I wanted company that night.

With her inflated breasts inches from my face, I leaned back and shook my head. “Maybe later,” I said when she pouted.

With a snap of my fingers, two guards who’d been keeping to a discreet distance until now, moved forward to block anyone else from trying to speak to me. For now I only wanted to taste the vodka, let the music wash over me, and watch all the people below enjoy themselves at my most popular establishment.

After scanning the dancers, I kept an eye on the bar, moving forward when it seemed like one young woman was being hassled by a man trying to pull her onto the dance floor. Before I could call for security, irritated that they already weren’t taking care of the situation, it became clear that the two were friends, and it was a playful tussle. It looked like they were part of a group and the only one who didn’t leave the bar to dance was that one young woman.

I continued to watch her, sweeping from her auburn hair that shone with every pass of the strobe lights, down her bare arms and the tight, bright blue dress that clung to soft, voluptuous curves. Her legs were lost in the darkness, and the crowd crushed in on her to order their drinks.

She looked out of her element, letting herself be jostled from side to side as people wedged in between her to wave for a bartender. I leaned forward farther when a beefy brute nearly knocked her right off her stool. My hands curled over the brass rail, and I almost sent someone to bring her up to me so she could enjoy her drink in peace.

But then her friend was back, and he was being far too handsy for my liking. Somehow, in the last few moments, this girl had become mine to protect, and through her laughter, I could see she was nervous about getting onto the dance floor. But she eventually let him haul her out there, and I kept a watchful eye, determined not to lose her in the crush.

The way she moved was innocent and flirty, and when she laughed a bit self-consciously, I had a flash of recognition. Did I know this woman? She certainly wasn’t a regular because I would have already sought her out. Her innocent beauty had entranced me and made me believe I’d met her before.

The young man she was with pulled her close, and I’d had enough watching. Storming past my guards and down the stairs, I headed straight to the bright spot of blue in the sea of bodies. When I reached her group, her auburn hair was tousled out of its updo, and seeing the strands cling to her high cheekbones and fall across her shoulders made me want to take apart what was left of the knot atop her head and feel it tumble through my fingers.

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