Page 26 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

“Our numbers have been up on this side, but we need to keep pushing over in the eastern sector. The Levovs recently took down a family here, freeing up—”

Before Alex could finish the thought while he circled an area on the map of the city spread out over the table, his phone buzzed on the table in front of him, and he sighed.

“Jesus Christ…what now?” he asked, grumbling to himself as he reached for the phone lit up with Ari’s name across the screen. “Speak of the devil…”

The rest of us sat back in our chairs, curious all the while Alex answered the call and put the phone to his ear. “What do you—”

“Listen, one of our trades was just intercepted…at least, they tried, anyway,” Ari said from the other side, voice loud enough for us to hear. “Is Damien there?”

At the mention of my name, I leaned forward to better focus on the situation.

“Yeah, he’s here,” Alex replied, pressing the screen to put him on speaker before placing the phone down on the table. “Is everything alright over there?”

Ari’s voice flooded the room clearer then, sounding vaguely irritated. “Good…and we’re fine other than a few casualties. But there’s more to it than just that, which is why I want Damien to hear this.”

“I’m listening…” I said, letting him know I was both present and curious about what else he was about to divulge with us.

“The trade was a bluff.”

I cocked a brow, noticing the mutual confusion on my brothers’ faces. “Come again?”

Despite the odd situation, he kept his voice steady and serious. “Luk came up with the idea to test whoever might be spying in the office…so Benedikt shared some details with Gemma not too long ago, giving up the fake time and location it would take place. Since it was all made up, nobody would’ve had access to that information outside of us. We made it look real, and sure enough, they took the bait.”

Taking it all in, I nodded to myself, understanding the strategy behind it. “Now we know for sure there is a rat…I haven’t just been looking for no reason.”

“That’s right,” Ari said, letting go of a breath. “I didn’t love sacrificing a few men for the test, but now we know.”

“Were you able to find out anything about whose men they were?” Alex asked, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at the phone with interest.

“No. We tried to capture one of the bastards, but they were too slippery. They got away, but at least they didn’t succeed at taking any real product with them.”

It was good that they didn’t manage to get any kind of upper hand over the Levovs, but at the same time, it wasn’t so great that they lost out on the chance to take a hostage and interrogate them. That could’ve been the piece we needed to crack the case without causing any real damage.

“That being said, things could’ve ended a lot worse if it hadn’t been a test,” Ari added, tone more serious and vaguely demanding. “That’s why we need you to get a move on and findthe rat before something serious happens to either one of our families. We know there’s a spy, but now it’s up to you to flush them out, Damien.”

As annoying as it was to feel more of that pressure stacked onto my shoulders, I knew without a doubt that he was right. I couldn’t brush it off or keep stalling.

While I had my main suspects, and it was taking time to figure out who it was, I needed to start making real progress. I couldn’t keep giving them more time to act.

“I will,” I told him, not allowing for a moment of doubt. “I gave you my word and I meant it. I’ll have my evidence soon and get to the bottom of it.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Ari let go of a breath. “I hope so…we’re counting on you.”

To make matters worse, I felt my brothers’ eyes on me all at once, aware of what was at stake, only reaffirming Ari’s statement.

In a way, they were completely counting on me. There was a threat against them all, and they were looking to me to squash it sooner rather than later.

I had no doubt in my mind that I needed to get everything sorted as quickly as possible. The sooner they did, the sooner I could shed those layers of expectation and demand.

Even if being around Sky tempered my ability to focus as I needed to, I couldn’t let her distract me. I needed to be serious, for the sake of everyone around me.

Chapter 12 - Sky

Sipping from my coffee, I scrolled through a document sent to me to review first thing in the morning, and I did my best to try and focus despite how easily my mind slipped back to Friday night—to potentially both the best and worst decision I’ve ever made.

There was no denying how intense and perfect my time with Damien had been. It was thrilling and passionate, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for longer than a few minutes at a time. Having sex with him was more than I ever could’ve imagined myself.

But at the same time, I was supposed to be a professional. I never should’ve entertained the idea in the office. That was beyond reckless and something I never thought I’d do.

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