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“And how would you like to do that, Alexie?” Katia asks, sounding genuinely curious.

“I will call Jaxxon again, using this power struggle for the throne to our benefit. We can use it to help us draw Ivan out.” He moves around the table towards Nat and I. Picking up Nat’s hand, he brings it up to his lips and kisses it. “My love, this is where you come into my plan.”

“I will do anything. You know I’m down. I want Ivan to suffer in his death.”

“That is my girl.” He grins at her, turning back to the head of the table. “I will call Jaxxon, telling him to reach out to Ryan, the man who leaked info before. Tell them sweet Natalia here wants to be my equal heir for power. She wants to sit on the throne beside me since, after all, she was also raised by my papa. She is the printsessa, so she has some right to it. She is just as much of an heir as I am. A woman wanting the throne will spread like wildfire among the Russian men.

“Oh, I like this idea,” Nat preens.

“Yes, so how will this plan help us get to Ivan, Russian?” King asks the question that I know a few of us are thinking.

“You see, Prince-y, Ivan will have no choice but to come out of hiding to make his play to either take her or state that he is against her as the ruler of the Bratva and that he will not follow or endorse her claim.”

“As great as I think your plan is, Alexie, I just don't know. We just got our girl back, and I am not ready to just toss her to the wolves, putting her out as bait like that just to be snatched up by that psychopath. With everything she just went through, that may just be too much.” I look to my left, giving Nat an apologetic look, but she just rolls her eyes at me and huffs.

“Nope, I am more than good with this plan. Sounds fun!” She grins at everyone sitting around the table. “Please, don't ever mistake me as weak. I will fight until the last breath leaves my body, whether it is taken from me or comes naturally. I am ready to play my part to take down this monster.”

You can see the pride swelling in Katia and Alexie’s chests as they watch her speak.

Nat stands from her chair, bending to kiss my temple, then walks over to Alexie.

“Give me your phone,” she demands of him, and he hands it over without any hesitation. She begins scrolling through it before her face lights up, telling us she has found what she was searching for.

She hits send and places the phone on speaker so we can all hear what is happening on the call.

A man answers after only a few rings, and we hear him say, “This is Jaxxon.”

“Jaxxon, this is Natalia. I need you to listen carefully, you need to do and say as I tell you. Understood?” Her tone is low and serious. I have never heard her speak to someone this way. It is like she is an entirely different woman.

“Yes, ma’am.” You can tell he respects her, and I realize we still have so much to learn about her and her life before us.

“You are going to reach out to all the men in the Bratva, tell them I am not the weak, needy slut Ivan portrays me to be. I am just as much of an heir to the throne as Alexie, and I am here to stake my claim. I want you to spread the word far and wide that Alexie is backing me as the heir to the Volkov empire. It is time for a woman to run things around there.”

I hear Jaxxon suck in a deep breath before saying, “Are you sure about this, Princessa?”

“Yep, spread the word.” She’s about to hang up on him before he can reply, but Alexie pipes up. “Jaxxon, you do as she says, no questions asked.”

“Yes, please, give me some time to spread the word.”

Alexie grabs the phone from Nat’s hand and growls, “You have twenty-four hours, we need to end this.” He hangs up on him.

Looking over at Alexie, I can see the lust coming off of him in waves. Stryker and King look like love-sick puppies too. Seeing Nat in this light, owning her voice and the power within, makes me swoon. She demands respect, and it is so damn hot.

Nat

Alexiehascomethroughwith a plan. Now, we can only wait and hope Ivan takes the bait. I’m confident he will because Ivan has one thing on his mind: me. And I plan to be his downfall. We all left the meeting feeling a little more confident about taking the offensive and luring Ivan to us instead of constantly looking over our shoulders. That isn’t to say we are completely safe. Conrad still can’t find Ivan, or Ginger, for that matter. He’s really struggling with not having all the information. Conrad is used to having all the answers, and it hurts to watch him tell everyone that he has nothing new to report. I can see the disappointment and shame on his face when he talks to the team in meetings.

Sitting in my room, looking out at my favorite view, I decide I want to see Conrad. He needs to know he’s still important, and it’s his work that will lead to our victory in the end. He also needs to know that while that victory may be a long-term event, he is always important to me. I don’t measure his worth in his ability to use his tech skills. I love him for him.

Before I can get up from my seat, there is a soft knock at the door. It’s not closed all the way, but enough so that I can’t see who’s in the hall. I already know it’s not Alexie or King because they wouldn’t knock. Plus, I just saw them minutes ago, racing in the backyard.

“Come in,” I respond.

The door pushes open, and Conrad stands on the other side.Looks like we were on the same wavelength. He doesn’t say a word as he crosses the room and sits on the loveseat next to me.

“How are you feeling about everything?” he asks in a gentle tone.

“I feel great,” I reply. “Alexie’s plan seems solid, and I have faith it’ll pull that lunatic out of his hidey-hole.”

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