Page 2 of Pregnant Bratva Wife
But we had no proof it was them. They’d gone about it with strategy. They used a broker. But how the hell did they know where we would be? Could it be that while we were watching the Espositos, they’d been watching us?
God. I was furious. But I had learned long ago to keep it banked in a little corner of my heart. Cold anger led to productive decisions. Hot anger made you stupid.
I planned to let this rage fester, brim, stew. Just until I had enough in me to take the next step.
“We got played,” Dante growled.
“Like fucking children,” I agreed. “Stand down for now. We won’t retaliate until we know for sure who it was. Try to seeif there’s a money trail that can lead us to the broker.” I turned to one of my men.
“Are you serious? Three men are dead, Federico! We need to act now!” Dante protested.
I levelled him a warning glare. “I know exactly how many men we lost. And the Espositos will pay three times over. But we move smart, not angry and reckless. Understood?”
He held my gaze for a moment, but eventually nodded with reluctance. After all, I was his older brother. I was the boss around here.
“Good. Now go home. Cool off. I’ll call when I have something.”
Dante grumbled, but left with his men. I ordered the rest of mine to head home and get some rest.
“But, Boss—” Anton protested, but I waved him off.
“My car’s parked right around the corner, Anton,” I told him. “I’ll manage.”
My right-hand man looked reluctant, but nodded. He had known me long enough to realize I needed to be alone to lick my wounds after what had just happened. Fuck. This was embarrassing. I didn’t know what I would tell our oldest brother, the Pakhan of our family. Caspian would be furious.
I walked out of the safehouse, frustrated beyond belief. I pulled out my phone and called the informant.
“Your intel was wrong,” I told him what happened. “Next time, check your facts. If something like this ever happens again, it’s your head we’ll be coming for next.”
***
By the time I reached by car, I was tired, cold, and angry. I needed to get home, get a glass of scotch, listen to some music, and hit the pool. This morning had taken the fight out of me.
And tomorrow, I would wake up again and plan my next move. The Espositos were a cancer I needed to cut out. They wouldn’t know what hit them. I’d wipe their entire operation off the map, starting with—
“What the fuck?”
I stopped cold, staring at my car—my beautiful, custom-built fuckingBentley.
What the hell happened here? There was a long, wide, and deep jagged scratch cutting into the beautiful black metal along the driver’s side.
After everything today, all I needed was for some asshole to scratch my car.
I was furious, ready to call the garage to see if I could have the car dropped off that evening, when I heard the sound of a woman sobbing.
I would have driven away, had it not been for what she was saying through her tears.
“Seriously? Did you seriously have to go and bang up a car that costs more than what you’ll earn in your whole, entire life, Autumn?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. The person who scratched my car was still there, behind the pillar.
I followed the source of the voice and finally found her. A woman sat on the ground with her back against the pillar. She had her face buried in her hands as she cried.
“—and then my boss fires me because he says I have an attitude problem, which is such bullshit because he’s given my position to his daughter! Talk about nepotism!” she said between sobs, apparently talking to herself.
And then, she threw her head and hands up at the skies as though she was personally taking her day up with God himself.
“And then did Jason seriously have to decide that today’s the perfect day to tell me he’s been sleeping with my roommate for three months? Are you telling me that now I’m homeless too? I mean, I am, aren’t I? Because how the hell am I supposed to live withthem?”
