Page 17 of Brutal Loyalty

Not that the little bird didn’t deserve to be spanked. She’d absolutely deserved it. A part of him regretted spanking her when he was so angry, but he had enough sense to stay attuned to her shift in emotions and he’d stopped before she reached her breaking point. With that, he’d been careful, had mostly kept his head despite how angry he’d been.

Fucking her afterward…it hadn’t been hisheadthat had made that decision, and he felt a little ashamed of himself. She deserved better than the backseat of a car. But she’d been wound so tight, and he’d wanted to give her the release he could tell she needed.

Roman started paying attention when Niko pulled up the files on the background check on the Popov family.

“Do we have any idea where the bastard is hiding?” Kostya asked, but Niko shook his head.

“Not exactly. He fled the US shortly after Boris’s murder,” said Niko.

“So, he wasn’t home when Alexandra went to his house on Oakdale?” Viktor asked, and Niko shook his head.

“No. Even if she had gotten to his door, she would not have come in contact with him,” Niko told him, and Viktor smiled in relief. Alexandra, viewing Popov as a family friend, had gone to him for help when things had gotten bad with Viktor—but Viktor, who had just figured out who had truly killed his father, had chased after her to protect her. That was the point when their marriage had healed, finally gaining a solid foundation of love and trust.

“So is true, what his brat of an offspring is claiming?” Rostislav, another one of Boris’s original soldiers, asked. The man had been slow to swear allegiance to Viktor, and it had cost his family financially.

“I have everything I could put together here.” Niko lifted up a thumb drive and Roman held out his hand.

“I’ll take it.”

Rostislav scoffed. “And what good will that do? You are what, the transporter?”

Viktor slammed his hand down on the table, and all eyes turned to him. “Roman is much more than that, Rostislav, which you would know if you paid attention. Perhaps you should speak less and listen more,” he advised, his tone making it obvious that the warning was truly a threat.

Viktor stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. “It’s been a long day. You have your assignments. Go.” As everyone got up to leave, Viktor gestured for Roman and Niko to remain. After the room emptied out, Niko slid the thumb drive over to Roman.

“I was able to go back about ten years. I’m waiting on some intel from Daniil’s contact with the Obshchak and will get it to you when it comes in.” Standing up, Niko nodded to the both of them. “If there’s nothing else, I will leave you to it.”

“Thank you, brother, for doing this,” Viktor told him. They both watched as Niko grabbed his laptop bag and left.

Watching him walk out, Roman realized he was wearing tweed and chuckled as the door closed. “How is it that he manages to look so damn stylish in tweed? Any of us would look like our grandparents dressed us. But on him? He looks like he belongs on the cover of a magazine.”

Viktor went to the bar and poured them each a few fingers of vodka. Setting the glass down in front of Roman, he settled in the chair across from him. “My father attempted to dress him like me and Kostya when we were teens. It didn’t go over well.” Waving his hand holding the glass toward the door, he continued. “This suits him much better. And for the record, Niko has always been the pretty one in the family. I’m glad he’s finally comfortable enough to embrace it.”

They sat quietly for a few moments, both lost in thought. Roman fingered the drive. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, or did you just want my company so you don’t have to drink alone?” he asked him with a smile.

“I was going to thank you for going to see Ruslan, but if you’re going to be an asshole, forget it.” Viktor tried to glare at Roman across the table but his smirk said something different.

“Did you get what you needed from him?” Roman asked. They’d been waiting for a list of Popov’s known associates at the different US ports of entry, and Ruslan had been only too happy to supply that information in exchange for a piece of the drug trade Viktor wanted no part in. Thanks to Boris’s murder, Anatoly Popov was gradually losing all the inroads he’d made in the US over the years. Even if they never found him, if Viktor’s plans worked out, the older man would be bankrupt and friendless within the next year.

Granted, that would also make him that much more dangerous, which immediately had Roman worrying about Elena.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door, and they both turned to see Alexandra pop her head in. “I’m sorry to bother you two, but I saw that everyone else had left. Will you be coming to bed soon?” she asked Viktor, who pushed back his chair and gestured for his wife to join him.

Alexandra smiled at him and came closer to the table. As soon as she was within reach, Viktor tugged her onto his lap, making her giggle.

“With that, I will bid you both a good night.” Roman stood and finished off the last of his drink before grabbing his things.

“Goodnight, Roman,” they both told him, and he gave them a wave. As he shut the door, he could hear Alexandra squeal and he swallowed down a small flare of jealousy. He was very happy that his friend and pakhan was so deeply in love with his wife, but seeing them together made him yearn for a similar relationship built on mutual respect, love, and desire.

Shaking his head, he pushed that thought away. His life was never meant to be shared with someone else. He’d learned that a long time ago.

* * *

Roman sat in his room with his laptop, skimming the files Niko had given him. The financials weren’t particularly surprising. A couple domestic bank accounts with minimal balances along with several safe deposit boxes spread across different banks in Boston, Manhattan, and Chicago. The international banking was harder to track but Niko had managed to cobble together quite a bit, as always.

The real estate holdings showed apartments in most major cities including Moscow, Zurich, London, and Dubai. The last was concerning if Popov was hiding there, as he would be difficult to retrieve.

Roman switched over to the other files and found a record of Elena’s social media activity. From the looks of it, the last time she’d posted anything new on Instagram or TikTok was the day before Alexandra had gone to visit her at her apartment. The records also showed what apps and online services she accessed. She’d been a heavy user of both Delivery Club and Uber Eats while she’d been staying in Moscow.

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