Page 2 of Beautiful Deception

But people talk within my circles. You hear names. Whispers. I heard that some Bratva man named Gleb Petrov was down on his luck but other than that, I never cared to listen to more.

“I am going to kill you.”

Gleb gasps and bends forward. “No. Please. I have a daughter to take care of.”

“Then you shouldn’t have tried to steal from me. Well, you shouldn’t have tried to kill me first. I’m not sure which one is a worse offense.” I shove my hands into my gray slacks. “You’re a stain on the Bratva. You go against everything we believe in. You don’t go against your own kind.”

Gleb sits up straighter. “That’s rich. Coming from you. You’re at war with Erik Koslov. How is that not going against your own kind?”

My eyes narrow and my spine straightens. “I’m at war with Erik Koslov because he fucked me over. He’s the one who went against me. It’s only fair I return the favor.”

My history with Erik is a long one. He pulled me out of the darkness and wanted to work with me, so I agreed. He gave me his sister-in-law’s hand in marriage but then Nadia was kidnapped by Dante Moretti, a Mafia man.

Here’s the fucking kick to the stomach: they fell in love.

Erik allowed them to marry so he could make peace with Dante.

I got fucked over there. But then Erik made a deal between me and Ivan Romanov – another Bratva man – to marry his daughter Elena.

Until Elena was kidnapped by Aiden Murphy, an Irish hitman who worked for Dante.

And they fell in love.

I could have forced Elena down the aisle but I didn’t want a woman who has fucked the enemy. My pride won’t allow it.

I declared war on Erik after that. He kept making me look like a fool and Ihatelooking like a fool.

So, this war that I have now found myself in is not of my own choosing. It’s one I have to partake in to get a little fucking respect. I am a high ranking Bratva man with a lot of power in this city. It’s Erik’s own fault that he kept fucking me over.

“Don’t act like what you did is the same,” I growl.

“I just need some money. That’s it. And you’ll never have to see me again.”

“That’s rich. If you were good at keeping money, you would never have been in this position in the first place. How is it that a Bratva man could fall on such hard times?”

“Because I don’t have the riches like you and Erik Koslov do. Because none of you welcomed me into your inner circles. Because I was always treated like an outcast.”

“And why is that, I wonder? It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the fact that you’re terrible with money and no one wanted to touch you, not even with a ten-foot pole.”

Gleb narrows his eyes. “You think you’re all high and mighty. But you’re not. You’re just a man like the rest of us and you will crash and burn too.”

“Stand up,” I snap. “It’s time.”

There’s no way I’m killing this fucker in my office. The stains alone would be a bitch to clean up.

Gleb does as I tell him to and I walk him out of my office and into my nightclub. My two guards stationed at the door are currently dead – since Gleb killed them.

That’s how he was able to get into my office in the first place. He just shot them in the head with a silencer so no one was the wiser.

Now, their bodies are slumped against the wall. I’ll have to deal with that before anyone else sees. It just shows how desperate Gleb is that he’s willing to commit murder in a room full of people.

I walk Gleb past my dead guards and out a back door for employees only.

The second we’re outside, he takes off running. I give chase but the little weasel is faster than I thought he would be. He’s smaller and with that comes more speed.

Enough of this.

I pull out my gun and shoot him in the leg. Except, my shot misses. Gleb manages to duck around the corner before I can actually hit him.

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