Page 42 of Sins He Taught Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 3)

Matvei

I head up to my office after I get back from meeting with a few of my contacts. Before I even make it all the way to the door, I notice the laptop sitting there on the carpet. Almost immediately, my mind goes to Nikolas. He must’ve taken it with him but wasn’t able to get the door open to return it.

I carry it back to my desk and return it to its proper place, pausing. Nikolas stealing the computer doesn’t make much sense, though. He knows that there aren’t any games to play on it. I’ve told him plenty of times. His tablet is for games. My laptop is for work.

He wouldn’t have grabbed it out of the room unless he had a reason, but nothing dawns on me. Slightly annoyed, I put my keys on the desk and head to his room. He sits on the floor with an action figure in each hand, slamming them together to make them fight.

“Niko,” I say, taking a seat on the bed.

He fidgets without even bothering to look at me. Figures.

“I have a question to ask you, and I don’t want you to lie to me.”

“Okay …”

“Did you take my laptop out of my office?”

There’s a pause. He slaps his toys together over and over again. “No.”

“Niko. Tell me the truth.”

He looks up at me guiltily. He’s terrible at keeping a straight face, which makes this easier for me. “I’m sorry,” he says. His eyes are starting to fill with tears. It takes all my effort not to get furious with him.

He’s just a child, I remind myself.

“Why did you touch my computer? I’ve told you multiple times that it’s off-limits. You know not to touch my things.”

“I know, but …” He covers his mouth with one hand and turns around, trying to get back to his action figures.

I kneel next to him. “But what? Who told you to get the computer? Was it Victoria?”

I don’t want it to be true, but Nikolas nods and looks up at me ashamedly again. “She said that it was a game…”

I don’t know how to react. Part of me wants to charge down the hall and grab Victoria so she can explain what the hell she was trying to do with my computer. The other part wants to take this slowly.

I take a deep breath and feel the calmness settle over me. I’m back in control of myself. I rest my palm gently on his shoulder.

“Okay, well I’ve got a new game for us, Niko.”

By the time I’m finished explaining the secret I want him to keep, Victoria appears in the doorway looking for Nikolas. She meets my eye, then turns her gaze away, like she’s too ashamed to even look at me.

“It’s bedtime, Nikolas,” she says, forcing a smile. “Time to get you into your pajamas, buddy.”

While Nikolas finishes his game, I watch Victoria lean from side to side, impatient for him to finish up. I can feel her discomfort. She must be scared shitless right now, because she keeps glancing at the laptop sitting on my desk. She knows I know, and that’s the fun part in all of this.

Sure, I could blow up in her face and punish her for trying to break into my computer with all kinds of business information that would put my entire family in jeopardy with the law, but that wouldn’t have the same kind of satisfaction.

She needs to learn her lesson.

If I erupt now, I won’t get to enjoy the sight of her squirming, practically begging Nikolas to hurry up so she can get away from me. It’s almost enough to make up for her snooping in the first place. Will she blame Nikolas when I tell her that I know what she did? Or will she take responsibility and put this all on herself, the same way she did with her father?

I’m not sure. All I know is that when she finally gets Nikolas off to bed, I can practically hear the sigh of relief escape her. The poor thing doesn’t even know yet that this isn’t the end of it. I’m going to make her suffer for quite some time.

Maybe then she’ll learn not to fuck with the boss.

* * *

Over the next few days, Victoria’s entire demeanor changes. Before this incident, when I ran into her, she seemed friendly enough. She told me all about what she and Nikolas did that day and how he was starting to open up more and not be so quiet.

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