Page 32 of Innocent Bratva Hostage

He wasn’t very pleased with his findings; I could tell from the gravelly tone of his voice as he said it.

“Dah.” Yes.I leaned back in my seat, my fingers drumming against the desk. “It’s nothing but a show.”

He was silent for a moment.

“Have you found out anything about the Tyfun-1?” he finally asked. “It’s the reason you’re putting on this show, isn’t it?”

I exhaled slowly and raised my hand to scratch my temple. “Nothing yet. The girl is smart. She wouldn’t give up information that quickly.”

“It’s been two weeks, Andrei,” Egor countered. “That’s enough time to find out if she knows anything.”

“I’m certain she does. Given it’s her lifeline, I’m sure she’s holding onto it for dear life.” I exhaled slowly. “I’ll get the information out of her soon enough. It might take a little more time.”

“We don’t have time. The longer the shipment is out there, the sooner those vultures will find it. We’ll incur losses and lose partners.”

“That won’t happen,” I promised, keeping my voice even. “We have the girl. They can’t find it without her. We need to earn her trust first. She won’t give up anything if she perceives us as enemies.”

Egor sighed. “Her father worked for us. She’d be a fool to think of us as enemies.”

I inclined with a nod. “That may be true, but he also hid the shipment from us, and his last text about it was to her. I’m sure she suspects he must’ve had his reasons. She thinks he didn’t trust us.”

Giselle was too stubborn and clever for her own good. She was loyal to her father despite him having thrown her into a life-or-death game before his passing. I couldn’t quite tell if that was bravery or foolishness.

“I think you’re too soft on her.”

I chuckled. “Soft? She’s not the type of woman who would break under pressure. Earning her trust is the only way to gether to talk. Besides, she’s only a tool I’ll toss to the side after all of this is over.”

“And you’re confident this approach of yours will work?”

I glanced at the sparkling bottle of water I’d placed on my desk earlier. “I am.”

“I’m not a fan of it. We’re men of honor, and we don’t play with a woman’s feelings,” he said plainly. “Make sure it ends as soon as it can.”

I remained silent.

For now, I couldn’t see an end to this game between Giselle and me, and it was against my code of honor to make a promise I couldn’t keep, especially to thePakhan.

Egor must’ve suspected the reason for my silence. He cleared his throat. “There is something more going on between the two of you.” It wasn’t a question. He knew. He could tell.

I’d never been the type to make excuses. I usually switched tactics if one didn’t work in my favor, no matter how cruel it seemed. But here I was, choosing the easy way out with Giselle.

“Finding the Tyfun-1 is more important than whatever’s going on in my private life,” I said icily. “We should keep our focus on it.”

I couldn’t see him, but I could’ve sworn Egor’s brows furrowed when hearing me say that. “In this case, what goes on in your private life determines whether or not we find the shipment. If the girl becomes a liability, I’ll have no other choice.”

I gritted my teeth, and my chest flared with rage. I kept it under control, though. I knew how things in this part of the world worked and how liabilities were cut loose. I’d been at the executing end a couple of times, so it was rational for Egor to give a warning like that.

Still, his threat awakened something in me—the need to protect her even from my own family.

“She won’t become a liability,” I said, my tone sharp and leaving no room for discussion.

There was a brief pause before Egor exhaled a slow sigh. “I’ll take your word for it. Have Dobryn keep an eye on the other rats, just in case they somehow get their hands on it first.”

“I will. If someone got their hands on it or has gotten close to finding it, we would know. They’d be in a hurry to get it onto the black market, and the news would spread like wildfire.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Egor muttered. “And about the girl, you better be careful. You said she wouldn’t become a liability, and as much as I trust you, it will be dangerous for the wrong woman to have you wrapped around her finger.”

My jaw ticked. “Giselle is not the wrong woman. Her father worked for us for years. And like I said before, all of this is a show.”

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