Page 68 of Captivated By the Bratva

Oh, I’ve got to find a way to contact Maxim!

“It’s time I deal with those motherfuckers,” Lev said. “At first, when Petrov said they would send reinforcements to bring my bride home, I thought it was about time something was done. I figured the Valkovs wouldn’t have the power to spare after Pavel’s death. I was impressed that Alek would send his brother to assist.”

Erik smiled and shook his head.

“But then the motherfucker tries to stopyoufrom personally retrieving her?” Lev let out a string of curses. “He took her. He stood in the way, fightingyouback, and now my bride’s been missing with him all this time.”

“Yeah,” Erik replied. “She was with him, all right.”

“And probably fucking her nonstop.” More curses filed over the line from Lev. “I’ll beat her. I’ll whip those memories out of her. But I’ll be damned if I don’t make the Valkovs pay. You take my bride to where his brother is,” he ordered, “and we’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

Erik scowled at the phone. “I don’t think all that’s necessary, Uncle.”

“I am the boss!” he roared. “I say what shall be done. We’ve given Sergei Kastava far too much money, far too much funding and backing, and we can override them where Dmitri is concerned.”

That confirmed it. They had him, all right.

“Sergei thinks he can get Alek to step down for the price of his brother’s life.”

Erik chuckled. “Well, I’ve been busy making sure that fucker is just barely hanging on to the last thread of his life.”

You asshole.He was gloating, happy as can be that he’d been torturing Dmitri alongside the Kastavas at that location. I thought it was impossible to hate him even more, but I did. Down to the depths of my heart.

“Take my bride there. I will meet you there. We will show the Valkovs what happens when they interfere with my plans.” Lev disconnected the call.

Erik and his two friends didn’t seem bothered. They continued to eat and drink without a worry, rubbing it in my face. I was starving and dehydrated, and they didn’t care.

“I say we should do what he says, Erik,” the shorter, bald man said.

“No.” Erik shook his head. “I don’t want to mess with the goddamn Valkovs now. We need to eliminatehim.” He jerked his thumb at me without looking my way. “We’ll bring her there but hand her over before we reach the place they’re keeping those hostages. Lev will be infatuated and too busy with her to realize I’m going to kill him. And the Kastavas can do whateverthe fuck they want with Dmitri Valkov. It’s not our concern. All we gotta focus on is getting rid of my uncle. Thenwewill rule. Right?”

They agreed, saluting each other with some sort of hand gesture as they clinked their bottles together in a toast.

“Besides, the bitch will be dead too. As soon as we hand her over to my uncle, I’ll kill them both.Thatwould be just as good as letting him kill Dmitri. It’d be a more fitting message.”

“How so?” the taller man asked.

“Because I tracked Maxim’s last call to his brother. He practically admitted that he loved her. That he wanted to keep her.”

Dammit!That had to be how Erik knew where to find me.

“If this bitch is someone one of the Valkov brothers wants, then she’s leverage.”

The short, bald man nodded. “Yeah. Best way to attack those men is to hurt or kill their women.”

They discussed more details, and I was stuck in a stunned state of confusion.

I didn’t doubt that Maxim cared about me. He had to, and he had to have conveyed that sentiment to Alek when they spoke in order to get his brother’s support in all of this.

But to be consideredhiswoman? I hated it because it made him more vulnerable. They’d hurt Maxim—all the Valkovs in association—by killing the woman he might love. Addressingthat, that Maxim might love me, was too big of a concept to thinkabout right now. I couldn’t. If I let my emotions rule me, I would lose this logical approach to staying alive and getting away.

But now…

I couldn’t get away. Not if that meant abandoning his brother. If they brought me near Dmitri, I could not in good conscience only save myself.

I was sick of being used. I hated being a victim of anything. Now, I had a chance todosomething. To stand for something, or someone.

Maxim had proven time and time again how much of a protector he was. In return, I would rise to the challenge and do the same for him and his family. I would do whatever I could to learn about where Dmitri was being held. If they took me there, I would do my best to help him get out and back to his brothers who were already so worried about his condition.

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