Page 56 of Stolen By the Bratva King

“The one on the edge of town.”

Vlad runs a hand through his hair and groans. “The one where most of our counterfeit equipment is housed.”

I explain to Vlad about what I saw Oleg doing with the equipment, and how he was switching the machines.

His jaw clenches, and his eyes blaze with anger, but he doesn’t yell and he doesn’t move off the couch.

“What are you going to do?” I whisper.

He takes a cigar off the end table behind him, lights it, then takes a puff. “That isn’t your concern.”

“What about David, and the machines?” I shift my weight, trying not to appear uneasy.

“I don’t want to make any moves without David,” he grumbles.

“Do you know when he’ll get out of jail?”

A trace of a smile curves the corner of Vlad’s mouth. He draws in another puff from the cigar. His movements are similar to Vlad’s, his eyes a similar shade of gray, almost as if they could be relatives.

“Why do you want to know? Do you like him?”

My cheeks burn and I take a step back, stammering, shaking my head.

“Relax, sweetheart.” Vlad puts his hands up by his sides. “I’m only messing with you. David cares about you. A lot.”

My face betrays me, gawking. “He… he does?”

Deep down I know this already, but it gives me a headrush to hear a close source confirm it.

Vlad exhales the smoke and stubs the cigar out into a tray next to him. “Do you want a drink?”

“No, I’m okay. I really can’t stay.”

“Vlad stands up and walks to the kitchen. When it’s clear I’m meant to follow him, I pick up my feet made of concrete and move.

He pours himself a shot of whiskey but doesn’t drink it. He stares at me from across the counter, sending another current of unease through my bones.

His gaze is confusing. Not as if he’s attracted to me and wants to pounce, but as if he’s trying to read my mind and discover all my secret thoughts.

He swishes the caramel liquid around. It sloshes up the sides of the glass but doesn’t spill out. The silence makes my ears ring.

“He won’t stop talking about you,” he finally says.

“He won’t?”

“He won’t tell me much about you. He’s always kept his relationships private. But I could tell by the way he spoke about you, the way his eyes lit up, that he cares about you very much.”

I dissect Vlad’s words in my head.Relationship. Eyes lit up. Private.

My head is swimming. My heartrate beats like a drum. My gaze lifts to Vlad, and a smile breaks across my face. I can’t help it but I quickly make it dissolve. “Does David have a lawyer?”

Vlad smirks at me as if he knows the compliments David made about me boost my ego. “We are working on it. David will be fine.” He strolls around the side of the counter and stops in front of me.

My breath catches. He’s only an inch from me. I smell the whiskey in his glass mixed with the cigar smoke of his breath. I swallow hard, unable to keep eye contact.

He backs away with that plastered smirk. “Thanks for the information about Oleg.”

“What are you going to do?”

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