Page 82 of Bratva Menace

Springing back to her feet, she skipped back to my side and slipped her hand in mine, smile still firmly on her face.

“With Lukyan’s kidnapping, the plan will have to change,” I said, bringing Autumn’s hand up to place a soft kiss on her skin in thanks. She beamed up at me. “I’ll have to handle it myself.”

“Again, I ask, how?”

“I’ve been in touch with my contacts in Sergei’s ranks.” I made eye contact with one of them off in the distance. Rurik Gusev. He stood on the verandah surrounding the house, arms folded across his chest. He’d witnessed what just happened, and like I’d hoped, he did nothing to interfere. I nodded. He nodded back before turning around and walking back into the house. “He’s one of Sergei’s brigadiers, and has information about others within the Bratva who are willing to fight for a change in leadership. My father has not been treating his people right, but they’re too scared to stand up to him. That’s where I come in. I’ll present them with another option. If I can get enough of them on board, I can overthrow him without a single loss of life. Well, except for Sergei’s.”

“Why wasn’t this the plan to start with? We could have just done that instead of risking Lukyan.” Illayana’s disapproval was clear as day.

“Because it’s risky,” Nikolai answered instead. “Father is suggesting making a move while Sergei is still alive. That has the potential to be disastrous. If Sergei was dead, there would be no fear of reprisals. The fact that he will still be alive presents the fear element. He’ll still hold incredible influence over them, and that fear could make his people second-guess their decision for an overthrow.”

“He could literally scare them back into submission,” Autumn added.

“Yes.” Nikolai nodded. “Having Lukyan kill him beforehand eliminated that threat. His people would have nothing to be scared of. They would accept the change in leadership without any issue.”

Illayana blew out a frustrated breath. “Okay. I get it.”

“I’m still being watched like a hawk,” I said, scanning the grounds. Some of the other guards had noticed our security detail was out. It wouldn’t be long before a new one was issued to us. Rurik could only hold it off for so long without arousing suspicion himself. I knew that. “I’ll have to do it carefully and discreetly, but for now, that’s the new plan. It goes without saying, though, that finding Lukyan is the main priority. This shit comes second. Reach out to all your contacts. See if anyone has heard anything about this situation. Ask them if there’s been a woman hanging around they don’t know. Fucking anything. I don’t care. Find me some sort of information. I’ll do what I can from here.”

They all nodded.

“Go. Report back as soon as you have something.”

Aleksandr clicked off first. Then Illayana. Before Nikolai could disappear, I said, “Nikolai, wait. I have a job for you.”

He frowned. “Yes?”

“I’m going to send you a photograph of someone. I need you to dig up as much information as you can on him.”

“Who is he?”

“His name is Vernon Miseris. I don’t know who he is. That’s why I want you to find out.” Over the past few days, I’d studied him with Sergei. Their relationship was strange. It was almost as if Vernon was watching him. All the time. As if he was keeping an eye on him for some reason. I wanted to know why. “Dig deep. Find out everything you can.”

Nikolai nodded. “Leave it with me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

LYLA VOZNESENSKY

“How was your day today, my love?” I asked, picking up my glass of wine.

Lukyan sat at the other end of the table, knife and fork in hand, eating his dinner. It had been a few days since the incident in town, and things between us had been slowly progressing.

I’ll admit, I wished they were moving a little faster than they were. The longer it took for our relationship to strengthen, the more time his family had to find him. Although I had covered my tracks exceptionally well, there was always a small, minute chance that they could find us before I had the chance to cement Lukyan’s love for me. But I didn’t want to rush him. He had to get there on his own. See for himself how perfect we were for each other.

He was dressed in one of the outfits I’d picked out and placed in his room for him. A white, long-sleeved button-down shirt and fitting dark pants. He was barefoot, with the first few buttons of his shirt undone to reveal the wide expanse of his chest. How one man could look so good in a plain white shirt was fucking beyond me.

His hair was up in a bun, a few loose strands cascading around his face. I liked that look on him. It was one of my favorites.

I placed my wine glass back down and picked up my fork. Lukyan still hadn’t answered my question, and I was trying not to push him. He was just staring at me, his eyes sweeping over my face, my body, searing my fucking insides.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, instead of repeating my earlier question.

“You don’t want to know what I’m thinking,” he said roughly.

“Yes, I do! I always want to know what you’re thinking.” The smile on my face was wide and encouraging. I wanted him to feel safe to talk to me about whatever was on his mind. Whatever he was feeling. The good. The bad. And everything in between. A healthy relationship required safe and honest communication. At least, that was what my therapist was always blubbering on about.

“I’m thinking about how much I want to fuck you.”