Page 38 of Chased & Bred by the BRATVA
“You’re sure?” he asks finally.
“Yes,” I say. “I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t.”
He nods once, then looks at Nikolai. “We need to audit the entire supply chain. Quietly. If this is internal—”
“It is,” I cut in. “It has to be. No outsider would have access to the routing software or the code clearance to bypass your accounting systems.”
The room goes still. I can feel the weight of their silence. The fury simmering just beneath the surface.
“You’ve done well,” Maksim says at last. “Keep this between us. I’ll have Roman start digging.”
“I want to be involved,” I say.
Nikolai’s head snaps toward me. “Rachel—”
“I’m the one who found it. I know what I’m looking at,looking for. Let me help.”
For a second, I think he’s going to say no. His eyes are fierce with a look that’s probably made grown men cry. But then he exhales slowly and nods.
“Fine. But you don’t go anywhere alone. Not until we know who we’re dealing with.”
I nod, and Nikolai reaches for my hand, threading his fingers through mine.
“You keep proving me right,” he murmurs.
“About what?”
“About you belonging here.”
Nikolai
I’ve always believed obsession was something I could master. Something I could bend to my will. Discipline is survival in our world, ruthless precision, calculated loyalty. But as I watch Rachel’s fingers dance over the keyboard, hear her voice low and focused as she unravels a scheme that’s been bleeding us dry under our noses, I realize I’ve already surrendered. Completely. Willingly.
And I don’t want to take it back.
She’s a goddamn revelation. No hesitation, no apology. Just sharp eyes, a sharper mind, and that fire in her that makes my blood run hot. She pulls up one more screen, cross-referencing the supplier codes, and then turns toward me, triumphant.
“There,” she says. “It’s him. Anton Antonov.”
The name hits like a hammer.
One of ours.
Rachel doesn’t flinch. “He inserted dummy vendors under the shell companies he managed. You never would’ve seen it in top-level summaries. But when you look at the detailed reports, you see where the funds are being funneled. Here. And here. He is incredibly clever with it all…”
She circles two figures on the screen and spins it toward me.
I stare at the data, then at her.
“Jesus,” I whisper.
She tilts her head. “You didn’t think I was just a pretty face, did you?”
I step closer. “No. But I didn’t expect this. You’re not just brilliant, you’re dangerous.”
Her smile doesn’t falter. “Only for you.”
I call Maksim and Roman to the office and show them what she’s found. Roman whistles under his breath when he sees the evidence. Maksim doesn’t say a word. Just leans forward and studies the screen, his knuckles turning white.
