Page 60 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

I raise an eyebrow and wait, noticing that the rumble of the helicopter has finally stopped. I tell Artyom in Russian who then barks out an order to one of the men behind me to start pulling up some maps of the area.

“Let me call Antonio. I can get the information out of him.”

I snort out a disbelieving laugh. “You expect me to believe you’re going to be able to pull this off?”

“I can do it,” Mayor Stephens begs. “Just give me a second to pull myself together. I can do it, though. I promise.”

I think about it for a second and point the knife back at him. “If you fuck this up and make this worse for them, then I swear to you, I’m skinning your dick next.”

He pales so much that I’m afraid he might actually throw up, but he gives a quick nod and takes a few deep breaths. “My phone is in the inside pocket of my suit jacket.”

Artyom reaches inside and grabs it, handing it to me without a word. I use one of the mayor’s fingers to unlock it and then swipe through his contacts.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I hold up the phone so Artyom can see the contact for Antonio R. He laughs and smacks the mayor on the shoulder.

“You are one stupid bastard. You’re in way over your head here.”

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know,” the mayor mutters, finding his voice again.

I hit dial and put it on speakerphone. “Don’t fuck this up,” I say right before Antonio answers.

“Sorry I had to leave on such short notice, but it was unavoidable.” Antonio’s thick accent fills the room, and I have to grit my teeth to not yell at him that he’s a fucking dead man.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” the mayor says, and the fear in his voice makes it all the more believable. “You took his fucking fiancée!”

Antonio laughs over the line. “She’s a feisty one. She’ll be a lot of fun to break.”

Artyom shakes his head at me, begging me with his eyes to keep my mouth shut. I do it to keep Charlie and Yuri safe, but that motherfucker is going to die a slow death for this.

“He’s going nuts, Antonio. He stormed through my damn fundraiser looking for her, and then he left, but I’m guessing it’s not the last I’m going to be seeing of him. What the hell are you going to do with her?”

“None of your concern,” Antonio says quickly.

The look on my face kicks the mayor into action. “What? You’re just going to keep her at your house? You think he won’t fucking find her there?”

Antonio laughs. “He can try. I have guards all around the place. He won’t be able to get in, and even if he does, he won’t like what he finds. I’ve been trying to get my territory back, and now I finally have some leverage.” He gives another harsh laugh and yells in Italian for one of his men to take them to the basement before turning his attention back to the phone call. “Don’t worry about it, Mayor Stephens. Go back to your little fundraiser and leave the dirty work to me and my men. That’s what you pay us for.”

The call ends, and I take a second as I listen to Charlie’s scared whimpers when Antonio’s men start to drag her inside. I unmute my end of the earpiece long enough to say, “I’m still here, baby. I know where you’re at, and we’re coming to get you. Just hold on a little bit longer,zaichik.”

She lets out another soft whimper, and I don’t know if it’s because she’s happy to hear my voice or if one of those fuckers hurt her again. I mute it and turn back to the sack of shit in front of me.

“I own your ass now,” I tell him, pointing the knife at the computer and then back at him. “Do you understand me?”

He shakes his head, sweat dripping from his brow and down his pudgy face.

“You no longer work for the Rossi family. You work for mine. If I think for one second you’re double-crossing me, I will do everything I just promised and then some.”

He shakes his head quickly, letting me know he understands.

“Let the police know that I’m to be left alone and that goes for my men too. You’re damn lucky that your death would be more of a hassle than keeping you alive right now.”

“What about the Rossi family? They’ll kill me when they find out I’ve switched sides.”

I clean my knife on his shirt before tucking it back in its sheath.

“There won’t be a Rossi family after tonight,” I say before turning my back on him.

My men and I forget about the mayor. He’s useless now and no longer warrants any attention. Switching to Russian, I turn to Sergei who’s holding up his phone so I can see the map he’s pulled up.

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