Page 22 of Claimed By the Bratva

“This is from your boyfriend,” he said, repeatedly slamming the elevator buttons so the door would close. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Turning, I chucked the flowers in the bin and headed for my office. How could Anton have been so rough? I felt my anger rising again as I sat down behind my desk and buried myself in work.

Chapter 13 - Anton

“Anton, hey, Anton,” I heard Alexandr saying. Turning slowly in his direction, I tried to make sense of it all. Smarting over Joyce was screwing up my balance.

“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else,” I replied, working hard to force the thoughts out of my mind. “You were saying?”

Akim chuckled from beside me as Alexandr shook his head. “What’s going on? You’ve been zoning out more than I can count the last couple of days. Please pay attention.” Alexandr turned his stern gaze on Akim, who instantly fell silent.

“I received a call from Ivan this morning,” Alexandr continued.

Before he could finish, Abram interrupted. “Yes, I heard they were very pleased with us. When do we all get to meet the team, they sent here?”

“They were,” I added. “Ivan said the intel contained more details than they expected. Plus, the handoff was exceptionally executed.” I felt thrilled with myself.

“Yes, their first shipment has come through with no hassles,” Akim chimed in.

“Yes, yes,” Alexandr huffed. “Can I please have the floor?”

Like good little children, we zipped our mouths and focused on him. I was still struggling to keep my focus in the meeting as I wanted to return to Joyce. But as his next words hit me, I was fully absorbed by what he was saying.

“There is just one problem with all the attention this alliance has brought us.” Glancing at my siblings, they had an eerie blank look on their faces.

“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling my heart sinking as my mind made its own conclusions.

Alexandr leaned back in his chair and inhaled sharply. He folded his hands over his chest and then spoke flatly. This was something he only did in dire situations. “It appears that word has reached the streets of this alliance. Ivan called to warn me. He said their inside men let them know their enemies assume we are the weak link.”

“What does that mean for us?” Abram asked hastily.

Taking another deep breath, Alexandr continued. “Let me finish. He said we might be watched, and their enemies could attack us. We need to keep an eye out. We must let each other know if anything seems out of place or happens. Please don’t try and Rambo this,” he finished looking at me.

After a second of staring, he turned his attention to Abram. “Do you two understand?” he asked firmly.

I felt a laugh pushing up and subdued it. Alexandr knew us too well. “Anything else we need to know?” I asked, standing up. As his words finally sank in, I felt panic creeping in. I knew I had to wait for Alexandr to dismiss us, so I tried taking control of the runaway train screeching through my mind.

Keeping my shit together before my family was vital. “No,” Alexandr said, waving his hand. I heard him calling me back as I was about to step out. Turning reluctantly, I tried to smile at him. My face felt stiff and uncooperative.

“Thank you for handling the Morozov delivery and sealing the alliance,” Alexandr said. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yes, yes,” I said, nodding, feeling like my pants were on fire. I couldn’t tell him, but I needed to get out quickly. I hadto ensure Joyce was safe. We didn’t know if they had started watching us and if they had what they knew.

As I entered my small condo, concern was coursing through every inch of me. I paced up and down, trying to determine the best way to move forward. I couldn’t go see her in person, and who knew if our phones were being traced.

I was furious that someone had gotten so close without us knowing. As I paced, surely walking a line into the carpet, the urge to check on her grew to the point of exploding. I had to make sure she was good. Overwhelmed with anxiety, I opened my laptop and sat down.

Deciding to FaceTime her, I stared at the screen briefly before pressing the dial button. I listened intently as it rang and rang. After a bit, the line went dead. No, I thought, why wasn’t she answering?

She must be busy, I assured myself. Yes, that was all it was. Dailing again, I waited patiently. This time, she answered; I noticed she was in her office sitting at her desk. She looked slightly annoyed at me. Her lips pulled a tad sideways as she spoke. I felt sure she was masking her anger. “What do you want, Anton? I am busy.”

I was delighted to see her. But I also knew I had to make things right. The way I had left them wasn’t my usual method. “Joyce, I’m glad to see you. I wanted to let you know how sorry I am about what happened. I know you said you didn’t want to see me. But I had to check in to make sure you were okay.”

The corner of her lips twitched before she spoke again. “You hurt a coworker. He didn’t deserve what he got. Bell is a nice guy. What you did was wrong, do you know that?” Her tone was filled with reprimand.

I nodded and gave her a side smile as I replied. “I am sorry, Joyce. I know I could have handled it better. It’s just when I saw him flirting with you, and you looking uncomfortable, my jealousy took over.” Swallowing hard, I continued. “I am sorry, I didn’t intend to harm him.”

Joyce looked over the screen. I assumed she was looking at her office door. She let out a deep sigh before speaking. “As long as you ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

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