Page 21 of Plus-Size Bratva Bride

She tensed slightly, and I cursed inwardly. Way to remind her of the danger, idiot.

"Hey," I said, meeting her eyes. "You're safe here. I promise."

Pippa held my gaze for a long moment before her shoulders relaxed. "I know," she whispered at last, as though she’d battled out her stance in her head before answering.

Those words hit me like a punch to the gut. Though she didn’t say, she trusted me enough to know she was safe with me, despite what she saw.

I finished dressing her wound, my touch lingering perhaps a moment too long. "There," I said, clearing my throat. "Good as new."

Pippa's lips curved into a small smile. "My hero," she teased through her fatigue, but there was a warmth in her tone that made my heart skip a beat.

"Don't let it go to your head," I smirked, trying to regain my usual swagger. "I have a reputation to maintain, you know."

She chuckled, the sound chasing away some of the tension in the room. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of ruining the great Abrahim Ustinov's bad-boy image."

I grinned, settling beside her on the couch. "Smart woman.”

I watched as Pippa's smile faded, her green eyes clouding with worry. She tucked a stray curl behind her ear, a nervous habit I'd noticed before.

"Abe," she said softly, "what exactly did I stumble into tonight? And why did you have to kill that man?"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. This wasn't a conversation I wanted to have, but Pippa deserved the truth. "Listen, Doll," I began, my tone serious. "What you saw tonight… it's bigger than just Tony being a dick. There are dangerous people involved, people who wouldn't hesitate to silence a witness. Letting him live could have spelled more trouble for you, down the line."

Pippa's eyes widened, her full lips parting in shock. "But I didn't see anything specific! Just two men talking—”

I cut her off gently. "Doesn't matter. In our world, even the smallest bit of information can be deadly."

She swallowed hard, her fingers twisting the hem of her blouse. "And Tony was… what? Betraying the Vadims?"

I nodded grimly. "That's what we need to find out. Did someone bribe him to betray the Vadims? Or was he implanted as a spy? Are there others in our midst who could be a danger? But until we know these things for sure, you're a liability. Someone they might want to eliminate."

She nodded, putting two and two together. “And you’re also…The Bratva?”

I took a deep breath, knowing I had to reveal more. Vlad Vadim had told me she was aware of who they were, but she’d never been an actual part of the Bratva. That night had been herfirst tryst with the darkness of it all, and however shaken she had been, I could tell that her very being demanded the truth.

"Not exactly, Pippa. My brothers and I… we're not just employees of the Vadims. We have a contractual agreement with them. My brothers and I formed a group called the Unholy Trinity."

Her eyes locked onto mine, and I watched them widen slightly. Just then, her gaze traveled over my tattoos, as if seeing them in a new light. "And what exactly does that entail?"

"We each have our specialties," I explained slowly, not wanting to scare her. "Ivan's the brains, the strategist. He can hack into anything, find anyone. Vlad's our shadow—he infiltrates, gathers intel, becomes whoever we need him to be."

Pippa nodded slowly, processing. "And you?"

I sat up straighter, stiffening. "I'm the muscle. When diplomacy fails, I make sure our enemies regret crossing the Vadims."

“How?” she asked, her chest rising and falling with anxiety.

“Sometimes with a threat,” I began. “Sometimes, with a kill.”

She shivered but didn’t look away, and I wasn't sure if it was from fear or something else.

Chapter 9 - Pippa

My heart stopped. The world tilted on its axis as Abe's words echoed in my head. The Unholy Trinity. Spies. Hackers. Killers. And he was one of them.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest tightening as if iron bands were constricting around my lungs. My fingers dug into the soft fabric of the couch, seeking an anchor in this surreal moment.

"You're… you're part of the Unholy Trinity?" I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper.

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