Page 5 of Arranged Marriage By the Bratva

Striding purposefully into the dimly lit hotel bar, I nod at the bartender, scanning the room and tapping my waistband. Call it a force of occupational hazard. I never know when I’m going to have to pull the trigger. It’s half empty, and there’s stupid opera music playing, but I cut through to the velvet couches where a large bottle of vodka and cigarette smoke cloud the booth.

Yegor’s eyes are bloodshot, filled with vengeful rage, and his arm is housed in a sling. I can see the plaster underneath the sling. The fatalistic beauty did him damage. He’s swearing in Russian, but the only thing I’ve got on my face is a smile.

“Are you good?” I ask as Dimitri, Casper, and Yakov look on unbothered by the scene. It’s not as if they haven’t seen it before. It’s the side effect of the job. Too bad, too sad.

“Do I look fucking good? That Mancini whore shot me. I want to rip her eyes out of their sockets.”

“Hmm,” I chuckle, sitting down on the edge of the velvet chaise pouring myself a vodka neat. “What a cute little L’vitsa,” I growl, letting the burn of the vodka scorch my throat. “Typical Mancini anger. I’ve always had a thing for wild animals,” I murmur, noting Yegor’s lack of amusement.

“I did warn you about the Donna,” Casper gloats, shaking his head. Cricking my neck, I shoot him a warning glance, throwing back the rest of my vodka and lighting my cigar.

“Mmm, she’s interesting to me,” I reply in a low voice, letting my mind wander back to the evening’s volatile events. Being that close to her long, elegant neck and inhaling the scent of her danger almost had me come undone. It snuck up on me, and it almost had me loosen the vise grip I had on her. God. Holding her arms above her head like that where she was pinned, helplessly against my body sent my heart into overdrive. That’s a position I want her in again as soon as humanly possible.

“Elena Mancini isn’t interesting. She’s a problem, and it’s one we should look at getting rid of as soon as possible,” Yegor complains, but I’m not listening. I feel the brewing of a plan coming together and I need to think.

A deep chuckle escapes my lips. “Ah, so the L’vitsa has a name. Elena Mancini. Elena, Elena, Elena,” I recite, getting used to her name rolling off my tongue. The dark-haired beauty’s actions have ignited a potent blend of attraction, and I’ve got a burning need to punish the woman.

Contemplating my options, I light up my cigar, the plume of smoke swirling in multiple directions. “That’s not her name,” Yegor grinds out. “Her name is cun—”

“Shh, shh, we have company,” I say, my hopes of evading police eroding. I spot a group of them questioning people at the bar. “Keep your cool, and don’t say a fucking word,” I add, continuing to smoke my cigar

“Fuck, if they come down here, we’re screwed. My arm’s in a sling for fuck’s sake, Nikk!” Yegor gripes, but I instantly dismiss him.

“I’ve already handled it. While you were getting sealed up, I rang my Monaco contact to get rid of the camera footage from the boat, so they’re operating blind. They have no evidence, even if they heard we were on the boat. Do you comprehend?” I spell out with blunt authority.

“Ah. Smart, smart,” Yegor says backpedaling as I watch the men pose questions to those sitting in the lobby.

More smoke joins together as my men begin to light their smokes in the restricted area. “They won’t come past the bar area. Watch. They’ll question those people and turn right around and go back out the door.”

The men in my camp watch on as my prediction plays out. And sure enough the police question men and women at the tables, turning right back around and walking right back out the door. Yegor’s constipated face relaxes as a slow smile stretches across mine.

“Nicely handled, Boss,” Dimitri adds.

“Yes. Now—Casper, you seem to have more information than Yegor or I do on Elena. What was she doing on the boat in the first place?”

“I don’t know, but it must be lucrative if she was talking to Saro. He’s a big-time investor,” Casper confirms.

“I would have to agree. If the Mancinis do have a chokehold on the lemon trade throughout Sicily, we take it,” I tell everyone, reminding them of who we are.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Casper leans forward, pouring more vodka. For someone so small, she packs a punch. Even Yegor, who’s killed so many, couldn’t take her.”

We all snicker in Yegor’s direction, not letting him off the hook. “Shame on you. You didn’t draw your gun quick enough,” I chastise.

“Yeah, do we need to give you training wheels once more?” Dimitri jokes, nudging Yegor, whose face is flourishing a cheap shade of red. “Did you forget how to shoot?”

“Nikk.” Yegor leans forward, his belly straining over his pants. Looks can be deceiving. He may not be as fit and agile as others, but Yegor is an excellent shot normally, and will do anything to preserve the Bratva. He’s almost as ruthless and cunning as I am. It wasn’t all his fault as I, too, didn’t foresee the pretty one firing off so quickly.

“Yes?” I reply, my mind stuck on what her business on the yacht was, and ways in which to punish her. Saro could well be the link we need to make that a reality.

“Give me one chance. Just one chance to get my revenge. Let me erase this Donna. She’s the last Mancini to challenge the Russians.” He balls his hand into a solid fist, but he’s too hasty. There’s much more at stake here and I need to fulfill my craving of finding out what it is.

“That’s the spirit,” Dimitri encourages as the other men join in, thrilled by the notion of more Mancini blood spilling. “Don’t let them recover. She will be vulnerable after the death of her father. This is the perfect time to strike.” He punches his hand into his fist, turning it.

Puffing on my cigar, I let the smoke sail through the air, draining the last of my vodka. “You will not touch a hair on her head,” I reply sternly, surveying the baffled faces of my associates.

“What?” Casper questions as I tap the cigar ash in the glass bowl.

“When you face something wild, you can either kill it to protect yourself or you can tame it to gain from it,” I reason, my men slowing coming to, because I have serious plans for my L’vitsa. “Do you understand?”

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