Page 15 of Seduced By the Russian

Whispers erupted in the room as the table was thrown into a frenzy. No one was clueless as to how powerful the Petrova family was until they weren't anymore. The King of the Bratva used to be one of the five leadership families, along with the Davydovs, during the days of Nikolai's father. Adrik Davydov and his wife were on their way back from a trip to Asia when their plane was attacked mid-air. Neither of them survived. The days that followed were the worst for Nikolai, as all the burden of the Bratva had fallen upon him. He was barely sixteen then, and had still been trying to balance his life in high school alongside his mafia training, but that experience was rudely taken away from him by those who had killed his parents.

Nikolai had strong reasons to believe that the leader of the Petrova family was behind his parent's ugly death, because they’d wanted them out of the way of leadership. The moment Kuznetsov died, everyone knew Adrik Davydov was supposed to be next in line, but the Petrovas didn't want that. That was the only explanation for their sudden death. Nikolai had done his investigation at a young age. He hadn’t even had the time to grieve his parent's death because he had been hell-bent on avenging their deaths. It had been from that moment that he’d grown ruthless and devoid of every emotion, just the way his father had hoped he would be.

With blinding rage, Nikolai attacked their home and killed the leader, not caring that his whole family watched as he did it while they were swimming in their indoor pool. One father for another - a leader for another. And Nikolai did it without the faintest remorse. There was no one else to take over the Petrova family, and automatically, it led to their replacement in the five leadership families. It was also the reason Kuznetsov chose not to retire as early as he had planned to.

But the family was back now. Nikolai had strong reasons to believe so. But how?

"Before we killed the Boss, he confessed that the Petrova family had liaised with another mafia group. That is the only way they must have gained this much strength to even think about trying to outsmart us."

"But which mafia group has balls enough to cross the Russian Bear?" Alex, one of the representatives of the American mafia, asked in a perfect English accent. The Columbians nodded in agreement, verbally stating how that group must have a death wish upon them, one that would be granted to them in no time.

But as much as Nikolai loved that they feared him - lived off their fear, even - he had no time to bask in it today. Action needed to be taken.

"It's only a matter of time before they strike again, and we need to be ready for that moment. From what I knew of the family before, there was no direct son, only the children of the extended family. We need to know who has taken over the reins, discover his strengths, weaknesses, and where the fuck he has been all this while. And I also need information on where he is operating from. When I catch the fucker, he is going to regret ever deciding to wake up from his slumber." Nikolai's eyes grew darker, like they always did when he was pissed or totally obsessed with something.

"Done, Russian Bear!" Jose said with a cold voice and a stern look. Being the leader of the cartel, only the inner circle actually knew his face, and they were those seated at the table. He personally had a great admiration for Nikolai's work ethic, and mirrored it in dishing out instructions to his cartel. So, Nikolai's enemies were automatically his.

"There is bound to be traces of their acquisition of ammunitions. There is no way they can launch an attack without placing orders for weapons. We'll follow the paper." The man beside Alex nodded at Nikolai. "We'll bring you news."

"And we'll check their trades. The Petrova's main source of income was drugs. I don't think they'd do anything different this time around." Jose motioned to one of his men and whispered something into his ears. He nodded and stepped out immediately. That was Jose's way of telling Nikolai that he had gotten to work already.

"One more thing," Dmitri started after silence enveloped the room. Every eye turned in his direction, including Nikolai's. The Russian Bear knew what his bodyguard was about to say before he even opened his mouth. "I need you to do a background check on…"

"Forget it," Nikolai interrupted, glaring at Dmitri. He shook his head sternly, but everyone in the room knew better than to act like they had just witnessed that. One by one, chairs scrapped the floor as everyone filed out of the room, leaving Dmitri with Nikolai.

"We need to be sure!" Dmitri tried to reason with Nikolai, knowing that his best friend hated getting opposed.

"I told you to fucking drop it.”

"You said it yourself! She looks familiar. I don't think you just happened to hit her in the middle of the road after getting a report of a mole in the Bratva. Her arrival is just perfectly timed. You've got to agree with that."

"Lisa is not a spy, Dmitri! And don't make me repeat myself. Let this end here." Didn't Dmitri see how frail and innocent Lisa looked? She hadn't even ever had sex before him! What balls does she have to be a spy for the Petrova family? Lisa didn't even know who her real family was.

Never take anything just the way it is. There are always gray areas in everything you encounter. Nikolai's father's words came back to him as clear as day. But there was nothing in anything he’d seen this far that could make him jump to any sort of conclusion.

And Dmitri's hunches were just that - hunches. Nikolai would need more if he was going to suspect Lisa, and he doubted that was even possible.

Since the last time outside the building three weeks ago, Nikolai had barely seen her. The only times they saw each other was when they had breakfast in the mornings; he had nothing urgent to do outside of Long Island. But he rarely said a word to her. He felt the way her eyes raked over him, how she waited for him to say something to put an end to the silence. But Nikolai loved a good game, and for some reason, he was hell-bent on playing this one with Lisa. She piqued his curiosity, which was a deviation from the way things operated in his life.

Lisa didn't shake with fear for him, like every other person in his life. Even Dmitri, who had known Nikolai since he was a teenager, would not say the things Lisa said to him, and get away with it. Yet, that was the fun part for Nikolai. He was enjoying every bit of it.

After checking on all his other businesses run in both Long Island and Brighton beach, Nikolai finally returned to the mansion. Dmitri headed into the garage to park the car, while Nikolai went up the stairs. His suit jacket came off first before reached the top of the landing, and he rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt, sampling a very expensive watch.

Nikolai stopped in front of his door with his hand resting on the handle. A second later, he changed his mind and headed to the room in the middle of the hallway. He pushed the door open without warning, stepping inside like the predator he was. Nikolai felt all the tension of the day melt away as he watched Lisa, who was so focused on a book, lying on her belly with her legs hanging in the air that she had no clue he was a mere foot away from her.

But suddenly, Lisa felt the energy in the air change. A woody scent drifted to her, and at once, she whipped her head back so fast that she heard a popping sound in her neck. Lisa knew she shouldn't feel excitement knowing that Nikolai was in her room, resting on her door and watching her lazily like he would rather not be doing any other thing. She knew she shouldn't read any meaning to it, especially as the jerk had been ignoring her for three weeks. Still, Lisa couldn't control the small flip her heart did.

"Miss me, krastoka?" Lisa had no idea how much she had missed that voice until it sent shivers down her spine. She sat up at once, forgetting the book she had been reading. Lisa couldn't even remember what it was about in that moment - a sappy romance novel?

"Stop calling me that," Lisa protested, but it barely registered to Nikolai. His eyes had zeroed in on her body, roaming all around. It was too late as she quickly dove under the blanket. Lisa had totally forgotten that she was on a low cut bralette and matching panties because she had no plans of leaving her room until the next morning.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Nikolai asked, dumping his jacket on the floor by the door. He took a step further into the room, his eyes returning to hers. The beautiful gray made him eager, excited even - sensations that were foreign to Nikolai.

"Certain," Lisa replied confidently. "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Actually, I do, but I cannot say it with you hiding under the blanket. Come out, Lisa."

"You can say it standing there. I don't think it makes a difference, seeing as you avoided me for this long."

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