Page 10 of Plus-Sized Bratva Prisoner

I want to know everything about her. I have to. I have to know who she is, where she came from, why she’s working here, who her friends are. Everything.

I have two of my guys investigating her right now, and by the end of the day I should have a lot of information to go through.

I can’t figure out what it is about her that has drawn me in so much.

It’s not just her beauty.

It’s something in the way she smiles. The way her eyes are filled with mystery and mischief when she looks at me. The way she is so dedicated to her work and how driven she is.

She impresses me, and that is not easy to do.

A knock at my office door has me turning away from the window. Oleg, my younger brother, steps into my office.

“What is going on with you, Yefim? Are you watching her again?” His tone is serious as he raises his eyebrows towards me. He’s concerned.

“Who? Watching who again?”

“Oh come on, don’t even try and pretend. I’ve noticed how you are around the new intern. I know she worked late with you the other night, which you are fully aware no one would be happy about.”

“She was in my office, out of the way.”

He shakes his head and glares at me. “It’s too risky, Yefim. Youknowthis. She isn’t from our world.”

“So? People can learn and adjust. We didn’t know anything about our family business until we were old enough. It wasn’t until after our parents died that we became aware of what our family was involved in. Leon. Leon was the one who taught us everything we got roped into later in life, and we learned as we went along. It was a shock at first, but look at us know. We learned—she can learn.”

“You want to bring some outsider into our business? I won’t allow it. She’s too innocent. She will cause trouble. Report us. You are putting our family in danger. I know if I brought this up with the cousins, they would say the same thing,” Oleg snaps angrily.

I want to tell him he’s wrong, that I see something else in her, but he looks so upset with me that I decide now is not the right time.

Oleg starts pacing in front of the massive window. His eyes are on Tia, and I don’t like it.

“What if she sees something, Yefim? You know what we will have to do. We can’t have witnesses.”

“She won’t see anything. I will make sure of it.”

“You can’t promise me that. Just make it clear to her that she can’t be working overtime.Ever. There is a rule in place for a reason. And stop spending time with her.”

I practically snarl at the last comment. Who the hell does he think he is, telling me not to spend time with her? I’ll spend time with whoever the hell I want.

“You are worrying too much, brother,” I say, trying to hide the anger in my voice. I don’t want to get into a fight over her, but I also won’t let him think that he has that kind of control over me.

Oleg shakes his head one last time and shoves his hands into his pockets. His dark eyes lock onto me, conveying an unspoken warning about the trouble I am causing for our family. I feel a twinge of guilt because all I ever do is work hard to make things better for my family. I don’t want to bring trouble for them.

But—I can’t let go of Tia. It’s too late for that.

I’m too far down this rabbit hole. No matter what my brother says, I won’t stop seeing her or spending time with her. I’ll just need to be more careful about having her working late here with me.

Oleg’s expression is tight, perhaps with disappointment, or perhaps just concern. His jaw muscles feather as he looks at me one last time—then he turns to leave my office.

I do have to be more careful.

I won’t stop seeing her or letting her work overtime with me, but I do need to be more careful about making sure she doesn’t see something she’s not supposed to see.

***

Later that day I get the call I’ve been waiting for.

“Mr. Dubrov, we have that information you asked for. Do you want us to deliver it in person or send it over e-mail?”

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