Page 11 of Brutal Loyalty

“Yes, Viktor. Niko has been most helpful with the books,” the older man managed to say through clenched teeth, and Roman hid his smirk behind his coffee cup. The only reason why Iosif was still alive was because dead men didn’t pay their debts and the man knew that. In fact, the youngest Sokolov brother had been busy of late poring over all the books for all the different businesses to make sure funds were where they should be.

“Good. Then if there’s nothing else, everyone is dismissed.” As Roman pushed his chair back to rise, Viktor snapped his fingers. “A minute, please, Roman.”

Settling back down, Roman waited for the room to clear out. Kostya, Viktor’s middle brother and chief enforcer, was the last to leave, and he shut the door behind him. Viktor got up to pour himself some vodka and filled a second glass, which he set down in front of Roman before taking the chair next to him.

“Tell me about Elena,” he said without preamble.

Roman reached for the glass and twirled the liquid around before taking a sip. “I don’t trust her.”

Viktor barked out a laugh. “Neither do I. Tell me something more.” Sitting back in the chair, Viktor waited while Roman got his thoughts together.

“She’s the daughter of our enemy,” he started.

“I felt the same way about Alexandra, but she proved me wrong,” Viktor countered.

“Da. She did, but her father was innocent. We know that Popov is the one who poisoned your father.” Roman clutched the glass, squeezing. “When Alexandra went to speak with Elena at her apartment, she was packing to leave. She knew something was wrong then, but she didn’t warn your wife. Then she ran, disappearing completely only to suddenly resurface with some sob story about being worried about her father. It’s all very suspicious.” He took a sip of the vodka, enjoying the burn.

“True. But Alexandra has said that Elena is prone to theatrics, which doesn’t mean she’s lying.”

Roman thought about it, but he wasn’t convinced. “I’m sorry, Viktor, but I have a bad feeling, and—”

“Your gut is never wrong,” Viktor finished for him.

“So what do you want to do? Kick her out and see where she runs?” For some reason that idea didn’t sit well with him, and he was glad when Viktor said no.

“Niet. She’ll remain here. If this is her father’s doing, then our best chance of flushing him out is by keeping her close. But I’m going to need another favor from you, my friend.”

“Keep an eye on her?” Roman asked, already knowing that was it.

“Yes. Preferably without Elena or my wife knowing that’s what you’re doing. Whatever the Svodnik has planned, it can’t be good, and I’d much rather it happens on our schedule and not his.”

“I can do that.”

“Good. Now, one other question.” Victor leaned forward and slapped his hand on the table. “What the fuck were you thinking bringing the daughter of a gunrunner to a weapons pickup?”

Roman laughed. “I didn’t realize that was what it was until we got there. Were those the weapons that were meant for him?”

Viktor smirked as he sat back. “They were. I have to say that I took great pleasure in outbidding him. If we end up going to war, they will come in handy.”

Roman took another sip from his glass. He’d been in war—both the sanctioned and unsanctioned kind—and he didn’t relish the idea of it happening here in Boston. There was too much chance of innocents getting hurt, and he knew that Elena’s father didn’t care about that. But Viktor did, which was why he would follow him into war, if he had to.

“Come. Let’s go eat. Alexandra has a dinner planned to welcome Elena, and your presence is required.” Viktor rose from his chair, and Roman did the same.

He would keep a watchful eye on Elena, not only because Viktor asked him to, but because Elena was hiding something. He was determined to find out what it is before anyone got hurt.

CHAPTER9

Elena

Elena stared at herself in the full-length mirror before shaking her head and turning around. All the clothes she’d brought with her were scattered over the bed because she’d tried them all on twice now.

“Get it together, Elena. It’s only dinner,” she told herself, but for some reason, it felt like more than that. She was also wishing that she’d brought more clothes with her, but then again, she wasn’t anticipating being here that long and didn’t want to have anything with her that mattered when she made her grand escape.

Closing her eyes, she reached for the closest dress on the bed and opened her eyes to see what she picked. “Nope.” She finally settled on a vintage piece that’d been worn by Reese Witherspoon inLegally Blonde. Pink, of course. She’d been dying to get her hands on some of the shoes, but she’d heard that the actress had kept all of them.

Giving herself a final look in the mirror, she smiled at her reflection. She looked good, and she certainly wasn’t dressing up to impress a certain chaufferone. Exiting the guestroom, she heard voices in the hall so she paused. Peeking around the corner, she saw Viktor’s soldiers leaving a room. They must have had a meeting. Not wanting to walk into the middle of them, she waited while they left before heading that way.

As she passed the now-closed door, she stopped. She was fairly sure this was Viktor’s office. If everyone was downstairs, maybe she should take a look inside to see if there was anything useful to report back to her father. Placing her hand on the handle, she was about to open the door when she heard her name.

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