Page 67 of For a Price

“Is there anything I can do? Any way I can help?”

I grunt out a lone laugh. “Helping would mean you are part of the bratva. Are you ready for that commitment, devochka?”

“Probably not,” she admits. She’s curled her arm under the pillow yet still stares over at me as if engaged in our conversation. “But I still feel… I don’t know… weird about being here. Free food, free roof, free everything. All I have to do is hang out in your million-dollar penthouse and suck your dick. A lot of people would say it’s a decent deal. A lot of people who come from the streets like me.”

“And what wouldyousay?”

She thinks on it a second. “I think I’m still not sure why you’ve saved me. I’m not even sure why you weren’t more angry with me last night when you found out about the phone. I hacked into your personal device, Roman.”

“Yes, and?”

“And… most people would be pissed. Most people would consider it a dealbreaker.”

“You have been punished.”

“Nipple clamps and a blowjob aren’t what I had in mind when I thought of bratva punishment.”

“That’s because our usual means of punishment is a lot more… gruesome.”

“Then,” she says, her brows connecting in confusion, “why am I any different? Why didn’t you hurt me?”

“Do you want me to hurt you, devochka?”

“I imagine most men in this world are like your Uncle Leonid. Yet you’re letting me sleep in your bed. You’re treating me like I’m your…” She trails off there, biting her bottom lip as if to censor herself.

I heave a deep breath and then set aside my phone. The same hand extends to stroke her cheek, my gaze linking with hers. “You are a thief. I know this about you. Iunderstandthis about you. You are used to doing what you need to in order to survive. That kind of instinct does not disappear overnight. I know from experience.”

“Are you saying… you… you understand why I…?”

“It was tempting, da?” I ask. “With your skills, you hacked in very easily. A security weakness I berated my men for. I need a more secure phone.”

She laughs. “Um… I actually can hack into most phones. So I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“Impressive. Tell me. What else can my kitty cat do?”

“Pick locks. And pockets. Disable alarms. Forgery. Among other things.”

“And hacking. You can hack into other things?”

“I’m not the best. Finch was our brains for that. But I know some stuff. I can probably bypass most basic computer systems.”

“You are smart. Clever. All things I like. All survivalist tactics I understand.”

“Have you…” she pauses to reconsider her question. “You’ve stolen things before?”

“Yes, often. I’ve told you, I’m from a small village. It was not easy for me and my mother. I had to engage in petty crime.”

She smirks, her eyes lighting up. “Were you any good?”

“Yes… and no. Unlike you, I’m not much of a thief. I was a broad and tall child. Too big to pass under the radar in most places. I drew too much attention.”

“That was why Finch and the others recruited me,” she confesses. “I’m a woman and most people are more suspicious of men. I was the most unassuming. They used to send me in first to scope out a place and learn all the details.”

“Men who use women as buffers for their criminal activities are cowards.”

“Does that mean you have no women in your crew?”

I laugh at her statement that’s surely a joke. “No, devochka. Women are not allowed in the bratva. Nor should they be. It is a violent lifestyle not suited for women. Neither is being a street thief.”

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