Page 1 of Captivated By the Bratva

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MAXIM

For the second time today, I rushed into Alek’s office. My oldest brother wasn’t the same kind ofPakhanour uncle was. Alek was fair and never told any of us brothers to knock first.

But I did slow in my steps and try to be as quiet as possible once I spotted him pacing slowly. And bouncing in his step. Alana was only two weeks old, and if my niece was proving anything, it was that she was a colicky little girl. That, and she had us all wrapped around her tiny finger already.

Alek raised his brows, glancing at me as I entered. He didn’t stop doing the baby walk with her, trying to soothe her back to sleep.

“Mila’s still sleeping?” I whispered.

He nodded. “Yeah. She needs it too after a whole night of being up trying to quiet her.”

Alana kept her eyes closed as her father held her, giving no indication that she could ever be a terror of an infant.

“What is it?” he asked me.

I’d come earlier to ask if he could give me a job. A mission. An operation. Something in the field. For weeks, I’d been hinting that I wanted something more than the busywork that I did behind the scenes for the family. The Valkov Bratva was a large organization with many men hard at work, but since Alek took over asPakhan, a nagging sense of idleness had bitten me. The bite festered. Every day I headed to the office in the basement here at the Valkov mansion, I felt like I was in a rut. Doing the same old. Behind a computer. Seated and restless.

Whenever I suggested that I could do something on the “front lines” and participate in the same kind of things my brothers did, Alek hesitated.

I got it. I was the baby of the family—the youngest of us five brothers. I wasn’t as rough as Nik, Ivan, or Dmitri. My “baby face” always seemed like such a disadvantage, but I liked to think it lowered everyone’s expectations and I could be more manipulative to get my way.

Except with him.Alek didn’t seem ready to relent. He wanted to keep me busy with more administrative tasks rather than give me a chance to go out there and prove I was just as much of a Mafia man as my brothers.

His tone said it all.What is it?Like he counted on my asking the same thing again.

This time, I had a legitimate argument prepared. “I can help find Dmitri.”

He sighed, shaking his head as he paced slowly, still bouncing in his step to keep Alana happy in his arms. Mila was exhausted and sleep deprived, but Alek showed signs of fatigue too. Not just because his baby was fussy and his wife was tired. We’dreceived word that Dmitri was captured an hour ago, and that news didn’t sit well with any of us.

“You already have been helping,” he countered.

True enough. I had assisted. With the tracking and surveillance tech, I had looked high and low for our brother. It was a work in progress. Soldiers were still out there on the streets and looking for him. Dmitri’s being captured during a fight wasn’t the first time one of our men was taken, and it wouldn’t be the last.

“I can go out there and follow up leads,” I told him. “I can try to find him from the last spot his tracker registered.”

Alek narrowed his eyes, cutting me a stern look. “Until the tracker was disabled, you mean?”

I knew what he was emphasizing here. That the tracker Dmitri had implanted beneath his skin was removed—forcibly cut out. I had no doubts that my brother was being tortured. I also had high faith that he’d get out of the situation without any assistance. He was a tough bastard like that. We all were. Even me. But I’d never had a chance to prove that I was, always delegated to stay here and do things in the office.

“I can help, Alek.” I stood straighter, careful not to raise my voice at all. I loved my new niece too much to bother her. “With everyone else so busy…” I gestured at his sleeping newborn. “Nik is staying close to Amy before the twins are born. Ivan and Becca are dealing with Emily and the pregnancy. You and Mila are busy with Alana.” I shrugged, knowing he had to see how tied up they were.

“That’s what I’m telling you. You already do help, Maxim. I understand that it might seem like what you accomplish isn’t as important as what the rest of us do, but your work is critical.You’ve always been good with the computer and tech aspect of the businesses, and we rely on your intelligence and skill behind the screen to guide us.”

I hung my head, exhaling long and hard. “But now that Dmitri is gone too…”

“He’s notgone.” Alek grunted slightly. “He’s competent to find his way out of being captive. Especially withthemtaking him.”

I arched a brow. “Do you think the Kastavas aren’t qualified to pull off keeping Dmitri captive?”

He shook his head. “Not for long.” After a glance down at his baby in his arms, he smirked. “Sergei Kastava took his time to retaliate.”

A year ago, Alek interfered with Sergei’s plans to throw a coup for the Valkov power. By dragging Mila—Sergei’s daughter—out from her wedding, Alek claimed her as his wife and practically dismantled the smaller, rival Kastava Family. Sergei had been planning slowly and surely, though, because he’d taken Dmitri during a turf war.

“And I fail to see how he can have the manpower or strength to keep Dmitri captive for long.” Alek’s expression turned deadpan, but I didn’t miss the note of worry he couldn’t fully mask. This was our brother. Dmitri was a strong killer, a lethal man in executing discipline and punishment to our enemies, but he was still taken. Captured. Torture was torture, after all.

“However, if Dmitri needs help, I won’t send you out there to retrieve him from the Kastavas.”

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