Page 41 of Beautiful Beast

“We want to work with you,” Sergei says, cutting straight to business. “Dante Moretti wants to start a war, and we need all the allies we can get. We need you on our side, Ivan. Can you do that for us?”

“Sergei, you and I have worked together before, but I’m looking to retire soon. I don’t want to get pulled into a war.”

“It could help save your daughter,” I say. “You don’t want her to get hurt, do you?”

“Well, no. Of course not.”

“So, work with us. The more power we have, the weaker Dante will be.”

Ivan looks uncertain. “Can you promise me that?”

I smile down at him. “I promise.” I’m a man of my word after all, but that doesn’t mean I’m telling the truth. Ivan could get hurt. Any one of us could get hurt in this war.

But what Ivan doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“I would want my Elena safe,” he says.

“Of course,” Sergei responds. “If you work with us, she will be.”

Slowly, Ivan nods. “All right. Let’s discuss more. I’m interested.”

I glance towards the stairs and spy Elena sitting there, eavesdropping. She’s so young and tiny. So innocent.

All I can think about as I look at her is that girls like her only get hurt during Bratva wars. I should know.

I’m already hurting my wife.

Chapter

Seven

ERIK

Viktor Smirnov is seated near the back of the restaurant. Stern and unsmiling, he would be an intimidating figure for most people.

Good thing I’m not most people.

It took me a couple days to track him down here. He’s a bit of a hermit, though I don’t understand why. He’s a conventionally handsome. In his thirties. I’m not sure why he would hide himself away.

The only things I know about him is that he raised his younger sister from childhood and he’s a fierce Bratva man. He brings in a steady income and seems to show loyalty to the men he works with.

He would be the perfect ally.

“Hello, Viktor.”

He doesn’t even glance in my direction. His eyes are glued to the menu before him. “What do you want?”

“Erik Koslov.”

“I know who you are. I spotted you the second you entered. What do you want?”

“I’m in the process of finding men to work with, and I want to work with you. Since you know who I am, I assume you know what kind of power I have. That power could be yours, too, if you wanted to work together.”

“You sound like a car salesman. I don’t care for car salesmen.”

I sit down across from him, which finally gets his attention. “I know you’re a Bratva man who likes to do his own thing. You like to stay out of other people’s business. Why is that?”

“I’m not going to give you my life story. The reason I do things are my reasons.”

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