Page 91 of Virgin Bratva Prisoner

He pulls his mouth tight. “Call me later. I want confirmation.”

I nod, feeling frustrated and exhausted by his constant worry. But again, I remind myself, he is just upset about what happened to Anya.

When Leon leaves, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Rodion is on his way here and I didn’t want to have to deal with both of them in my office at the same time. They both have such intense personalities and I just don’t see that situation going well.

Luckily, Leon is long gone when Rodion walks in.

“Oleg,” he says stiffly.

“Rodion, I’m glad you offered your help.” I nod.

I hold out my hand to shake his and he takes my hand tightly in his grip shaking once, hard. Then he lets go. It seems that he is showing a little more respect these days. Thank fuck. I am so over this drama.

“I had to help. The Sidorov family was after me, not you. It was my enemy. It’s the least I can do.”

“We need to arrange a clean-up around that warehouse before the cops catch wind of what went down. Can you handle that?”

“Yes, I have already put the team together. I just wanted to check with you first. We have the truck ready and waiting for disposal.”

“You can send them in. You and I also need to come to an understanding about our business relationship moving forward.”

Rodion sighs tightly. He wants to say something. I wait, not interrupting him as he gathers his thoughts.

Finally, he steps towards my desk and rests his knuckles against the surface as he leans slightly towards me.

“Oleg, I want my family to be officially allied with you, but not only that, I want to be your equal.”

I smile. He is asking a lot. To be an equal to the Dubrovs is a big request. He is going to have to prove himself first.

I fold my arms across my chest, staring in Rodion’s eyes. He is dead serious. He doesn’t break away.

“Alright. But you don’t just get to be equal to the Dubrovs overnight. This is something you will have to work towards. You are going to have to earn that kind of status. However, I will give you every opportunity you and your brothers should need in order to earn it. Is that to your satisfaction?”

Rodion steps back, folding his arms across his chest, mimicking my gesture.

“It is. That makes sense and I appreciate that you are willing to do that for us.”

“So, we’re good?”

“We’re good,” he chuckles and I realize it is the first time I have ever heard him laugh.

I shake my head. “You are not an easy man to work with, Rodion.”

"I’m sure my sister has told you all about it,” he laughs again.

“Alright, you can join me at a meeting I am having with my allies. You will need to get to know all of them because theywill be your allies, too, by default. I’ll catch you up on all the information on the drive there.”

Later that evening, I walk into my home feeling exhausted but pleased that everything has gone so well.

Before I can really relax with Raisa though, I need to call Leon.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial his number, leaning against the back of the sofa, waiting for him to answer.

“Oleg, give me good news.”

“We are allied with the Kuznetsovs, and Rodion attended the family meeting with me. Everyone is on board. Things are sorted. We won’t be getting any more trouble from them. The remainder of the Sidorov family fled the city after realizing they had kidnapped the wrong sister. If they return, we can decide what we want to do there—but otherwise—everything is good.”

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