Page 236 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
One of the men chuckles at Dmitri while his wife glares at Elena and Grace.
“Sometimes you just can’t help it when beautiful women are around,” Dmitri boasts.
We sit down and fall into a comfortable silence as we eat dinner.
I lean over and kiss Grace on the temple. “I promise I will get you out of here.”
She doesn’t say anything, just picks at her food. Conversations go on around us while I try to work out a plan to get us out.
“Let’s dance,” Dmitri says to the table once dessert is finished.
I take Grace’s hand and follow them onto the dancefloor.
Tonight has been surreal. It’s also not working out how I planned. I pull Grace into my arms as we sway to the orchestra’s music.
“What do you think Dmitri has planned?” she whispers into my ear. “I’m thinking he’s going to knock off his uncle. How do we fit into all this?”
That’s what I’m trying to work out.
“You need to get Grace out of there,” Brooks says through my earpiece.
“No shit,” I hiss. “But all eyes are on me.”
Grace wraps herself tightly around me. “I’ll be okay.”
She looks up at me and I can see the pure, blind faith she has in me. She knows that I will protect her. I lean down and kiss her, showing her the feelings swirling inside me.
Dmitri interrupts our moment. “Wow, by the looks of things, Maxim has fallen for his pet.”
“Fuck off,” I sneer, which makes him laugh.
“Not just yet, I won’t.” He turns Elena around to the music. “If you help me tonight, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll let Grace go. I won’t come for her or her family.”
I don’t believe him. That deal seems too good to be true.
“And what about the other jewels?”
He shrugs. “They are long gone. I’m not wasting any more time on them, not when I can create new ones.” He smiles, and I want to wipe it off his goddamn, motherfucking face, but Grace’s touch calms me.
“What about my sister?”
“She has a choice, to stay or to leave.” He looks at her, and there is love in his eyes, but there’s also an equal measure of hate.
“Let’s see how the night goes, shall we?” Elena strokes Dmitri’s chest, placating him.
“What do you think she’s playing at?” Grace asks.
“I have no idea.”
“Guys, I have some intel,” Brooks’s voice comes through our earpieces. “I called a buddy of mine over at Langley to find out about Elena. He has high-security clearance and found out that she was recruited before she left Russia—her and Anna.”
Before she left.
“Where’s Anna? Is she alive?” If she is, Sergei will be beside himself.
“She is, but I don’t know where. I’ve passed the information on to Sergei. Their deaths were a cover so they could go into training.”
My heart is thumping, and Grace gives me a smile. “But why?”
