Page 45 of Used By the Merciless Bratva
“I know. Only those who resonate with my level of brilliance can understand what I just said,” she fired back.
“You’re a fraud, you know that?”
“You’re an idiot,” she said matter-of-factly. “You consider yourself smart, but you’re only fooling yourself.”
“I guess only a fool knows a fool,” Konstantin lashed out, his voice cool.
I’d had just enough of their crazy banter.
It wasn’t surprising to me. The two had always had bad blood since childhood. It was either that Konstantin was in heavy competition with Irene or vice versa. I always had to stand between their fights and arguments.
“I swear to God, if you were a man, I would’ve treated you the way you deserve,” Konstantin had said once in high school as we walked out after the final ring of the bell.
“Oh, please, spare me the nonsense of you claiming to be a real man,” she’d dismissed.
Konstantin hadn’t talked all through that day. I felt the slow burn as it showed on his face because she said it in public.
And even though I thought they had decided to move on, here they were in front of me like middle schoolers arguing over who gets to eat a chocolate bar.
“Enough with this bullshit already!” I thundered, and they both looked at each other, wearing large scowls of discontent.
“I sense a sexual tension,” Luka commented, almost silently.
“I swear I’ll fucking kill myself if I find out I let myself have sex with a coward and vagabond like Konstantin. His face is as ugly as his name,” Irene said.
“How dare you?” Konstantin snapped.
“No, how dare you speak with such audacity about my thoughts being insignificant?” Irene asked.
“Silence!” I said once more, and their attention was drawn to me. “I will not tolerate such childishness on my table. Whatever tension you both have, settle it somewhere else. As of now, Katria is the only important person, and we have to keep her safe at all costs.”
“I apologize for my misbehavior, brother. Irene gets on my nerves sometimes,” Konstantin remarked.
“More like every time,” Luka commented, my quick glare making him purse his lips.
“Good,” I said. “I’ve come to a decision, and I want you all to be focused. You’re my eyes and ears here. Anything that’s done in my absence without my prior approval will result in you all being summoned back here while you answer to me. Are we on the same page?”
“Yes, we are,” they chorused.
“Great! Now, back to the matter at hand. We need all hands on deck. I refuse to be silenced by any form of threats;therefore, any slight misrepresentation will lead to irreversible terminal consequences and execution.”
“How are you going to strengthen your forces now that our enemies are on the lookout for your wife?” Feliks questioned.
“We go all the way to protect her. Like I said, I’m willing to go all the way. Be it good, bad, or ugly. I don’t care if we need to carry out intensive operations in order to dismantle other Bratva factions just for both her and our safety.”
Their nods of understanding were all the agreement I needed.
“Meeting dismissed,” I notified.
Feliks was the first to stand and walk to his exit, followed by Luka. Konstantin stood, looked at me, gave a slight nod, and walked out. Irene was the only one remaining seated, and she looked at me with a wry smile that suggested she knew she was in trouble.
Chapter 13 – Kat
I padded down the hallway and into Danil’s private study and home office, grateful to the powers that be that it wasn’t locked.
Since I found the thumb drive in my bag, I had been intent on finding an opportunity to watch it without interference from Danil or anyone else. I had no idea what to expect on the drive, but I was sure it was meant for me, just like the note from the wedding bouquet.
I still depended on one of Danil’s laptops since I couldn’t exactly go back to my apartment to grab mine. That explained why his home office was my top option; it also explained why I had to wait till this night since he rarely left the office whenever he was indoors.
