Page 49 of Broken By the Bratva

He cut me off yelling like a madman. “You are lying! You were there and did nothing to help him. You did nothing!”

Sighing, I tried speaking again. “I did try and help. But by the time I got close enough, it was already too late. He was gone when we reached him.”

Iosif glared at me, his eyes narrowing. Lowering the blade to my side, I got ready to strike. “You know as much as I do that none of this would have happened if your father didn’t take such big risks. And all for the sake of power!” I shot at him hoping to pull his attention to me.

He turned slightly looking at me intently. I could see hesitation creeping into his eyes. My words hit deep but he wasn’t quite there yet, so I added more doubt. At least he was focused on me now. “If I can be honest with you, I have to add that your father was making us do worse and worse jobs. He was getting riskier and making bad choices.”

Iosif smirked at me as he spoke. “You had orders, what are you then saying, that he deserved to die?”

He was twisting my words. The way he perceived them wasn’t going to have the effect I wanted. Biting back my anger, I spoke slower. “No, that’s not what I said. The missions he had us do were nearly impossible. It was the conflicted interests and carelessness that got him killed.”

As he glared at me, I could see the gears in his head turning. But I had more to add. I wanted him to think hard about his father. “If he wasn’t so power hungry, seeking things he couldn’t obtain, we would not have been exposed. The rivals wouldn’t have found us if we only stayed clear of the last mission.”

There was a change in Iosif as he absorbed my words. He froze for a moment as the wheels started working in his head. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. Lunging at them, I firmly stepped in behind him and placed the blade to his throat. “Put the gun down, Iosif!” I huffed into his ear.

I wanted nothing more than to pull the knife to the side and let the blade slit through dislodging his puny little head from his body. I was willing to throw out all the regulations the Chernykh’s had in place.

But before I could execute anything Tasha turned out of his hold and grabbed my arm. “Calm down, Vadik,” she said softly. “Please remember that he is mourning his loss and can’t think straight now.”

Iosif dropped the gun. As Vadik pulled the knife away, he fell to his knees defeated. Tears started rolling down his face. Tasha knelt next to him placing a hand on his back. “There’s no more need for conflict and mayhem. Please end this here.”

I knew she was right, and he wasn’t actually a bad guy, he was clearly lost. Even so, I couldn’t just let things stand. Moving to stand before him, I spoke harshly. “Let’s make things clear,Iosif! You will never touch her again, not even a single hair on her head. Believe me when I say, I will bring your family to their knees if you do!”

Taking a deep breath, I took his arm and pulled him up. Speaking a tad softer, I handed him to Makari who stood waiting beside us. “Go home, be with your family and deal with this. We will speak in more detail at a later date.”

He nodded as Makari took his arm and led him out. I pulled Tasha into my arms as we stood watching. Kissing her head, I was relieved that things turned out good. She was safe and I would keep it that way.

Tasha tapped my chest lightly as she spoke. “We will have to set up a meeting sooner than later. Something needs to be done.”

Smiling at her, I replied confidently. “Yes, we will. Tomorrow we can sit down and device a plan.”

Chapter 26 - Tasha

“This has to work,” I huffed as I placed down the phone. It took us all day to come up with some kind of plan we felt would have the best results.

Vadik pulled me into his warm embrace as he replied. “It will.”

Sighing, I handed him the phone. With a cheeky smile, I spoke in a sensual tone. “Now it’s your turn.”

Vadik laughed as he took the phone from me. He dialed the number. Letting go of me, he started pacing up and down as it rang. This I had learned was one of his habits.

Leaning against the wall, I listened to his side of the conversation.

“Hi there, Iosif. I hope you are well. I have something to ask you.” Vadik rolled his eyes at me as he spoke.

Placing my hands over my mouth, I kept my laughter in. As I watched him listening to Iosif.

“I want you to sit down with the Dubow family. We think there might be a way to work out the differences. Do you think this is possible?” Vadik asked.

There must have been a pause as I could see Vadik’s frustration as he lightly tapped the phone against his head. This made me want to laugh even more. But I knew that if I did, it would be bad. Walking to the window, I inhaled deeply before turning back to him.

“I know all about that,” Vadik said. His tone had changed to a deeper but calmer one as he continued. “Isn’t that why this would be a better option?”

There was silence again as he listened once more. “Great then, I’ll set it up and send you the details,” Vadik said before hanging up the phone.

Pulling my back into his arms, he kissed me passionately. “See,” he boasted. “I told you it would all work out. They have agreed to a meeting.”

Hugging him tightly, I felt my feet lifting from the ground as he picked me up and turned in a circle. Making dinner turned out to be a lot more fun than expected. We worked together but also played around. It went so far that we ended up having a food fight.

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