Page 63 of Claimed By the Bratva Brothers

It’s true—my father is one of the main players on the board. Everything makes sense now, and it scares the hell out of me because I already have a difficult relationship with the man. At this point, I’m not even sure I ever really knew him.

What does he want?

How far is he willing to go in order to get it?

And where does that leave me?

I don’t have an answer. I only have more questions as the algorithm continues to produce results, updating the scenario with each passing minute. With trembling hands, I pick up my phone and text Max again.

We need to talk about my father.

21

Lyric

As evening settles in and the city becomes shrouded in darkness and twinkling lights, I open the door to my apartment for Max, Ivan, and Artur. It’s been a while since we last saw each other, and the atmosphere is noticeably tense and awkward between us.

They get settled on the sofa and I bring out some sodas along with cheese and crackers, mostly out of courtesy.

No one here has an appetite. Not even me.

“Are you okay?” Max asks, giving me a long and curious look as I sit in the armchair closest to the window. It seems to be my go-to spot the last few times they’ve been here.

“I’m fine, just really tired. You?”

They look great. Sharp as always. Seeing them now makes me realize how badly I’ve missed them.

Heat is already pooling between my legs. My heart feels like it’s beating a million beats per minute. This is going to be the most difficult platonic sit-down of my entire life.

“We’re taking it one day at a time,” Max says. “The Feds won’t leave us alone. They’re opening one investigation after another, but they haven’t raided any of our places of business lately.”

“There’s a rumor going around that they’re putting together a massive joint RICO task force,” Artur adds. “Some kind of interagency alliance, led by the Chicago field office and aimed at us in particular.”

“Oh God,” I mumble, my blood running cold.

Max chuckles softly. “It’s okay. We’ve had RICO crosshairs pointed at us before, and they had more evidence then as opposed to what they’re trying to pull now. They can’t touch us.”

“What about the other Bratva families?” I ask. “Aren’t they your allies?”

“Most of them, yes, and they know to close ranks when they start recognizing surveillance drones and vans,” Max says.

“And the ones that aren’t allies?” I inquire, crossing my arms. My breasts feel a bit more tender, a sign that my body continues to adapt to its new, secret little tenant.

Ivan leans forward, his eyes drilling holes into my soul. “They are stupid and they will pay. Right now, they’re feeding the Feds all kinds of false intel. We made sure to plant some bad seeds in the garden so it’ll be easier to weed them out later.”

“Good grief.”

“You said you wanted to talk about your father,” Max says. “I suppose it’s related to our current issue, yes?”

I nod slowly and point to the tablet on the coffee table. “I loaded everything there. My algorithm yielded some pretty interesting, albeit unsavory, results,” I say. “It’s all accounted for. Every scenario, every conclusion, every statement. I’ve got receipts for everything.”

They exchange brief glances, then Artur picks the tablet up and starts going through the main file. The more he reads, the darker his grey eyes become as he, too, goes through the motions of discovery, shock, outrage, and determination.

“Matthew Phelps is as dangerous as Jack Bowman himself, except Phelps has more to lose and is likely easier to indict,” Artur says, passing the tablet to Max and Artur next. “He and Bowman are tighter than I had suspected.”

“Fucking hell,” Ivan mutters. “It’s not just campaign contributions either.”

I shake my head. “No, no, it’s way more. Squashed investigations, witnesses strong-armed into recanting their complaints or testimonies altogether. Over the years, Bowman and the local field office have been actively shielding my father from a grand jury, while my father has been actively lobbying for all of Bowman’s businesses. Most recently, he went hard and all in at every major political meeting to get Smith appointed as director for Chicago.”

---