Bratva Boss

by Flora Ferrari

  Again, one of the bouncers shot a glance at his mate, and then his eyes pitched back to mine.

  "He said he had to solve a problem."

  I gritted my teeth. Across the room from me, I saw all five of my brethren tense. We all knew exactly what that meant; no one was talking crosswords or sudoku.

  "Where did he go?"

  "I don't know?"

  I leveled my gun at the man's skull and his eyes widened. "I swear to you, I do not know!"

  Suddenly there was the sound of a toilet flushing and then a moment later, the swing door to the ladies room pushed open. Maria took two steps into the room before the smile snapped clean off her face and she froze.

  "Get her."

  Minute by minute, I was piecing together a picture of what exactly had happened here.

  Elizabeth grabbed the dancer by the ponytail at the back of her neck, yanking on it hard enough to make her arch her neck back and squeal in complaint.

  "Did you tell Timoshenko where to go?"

  Her eyes narrowed spitefully on me. "You and Mia, you think you're so great."

  "Did you tell him where she is?"

  My cell phone started ringing right at that moment and I pulled it out with an irritated glare, but it faded as soon as I picked up on a stream of fast paced panic.

  "Destiny? Calm down. Do you want to speak to Viktor?"

  "Timoshenko's here and he's downstairs talking to Mia. We tried to stop her, but she said she had to do it."

  I felt the color drain out of the world right in front of me, and ice from the hardest Siberian winters I'd known seep into my bones.

  Right in front of me, Maria's smile curled wider. Elizabeth kneed her in the back of the thigh and she went down hard against the floor. Yuri didn't even protest. The coward knew what was good for him.

  "Don't go downstairs. We're on our way."

  I hung up sharply, feeling a red haze of anger wash down over me. I kicked out at Yuri, letting out a visceral, primal yell that stalled my companions in their tracks.

  "Valentin?"

  "Timoshenko has Mia." Already I was pulling my gun out from inside my jacket, checking and rechecking my ammunition. If he'd laid so much as a finger on her, I was going to gut him. I would pull his entrails out while he was still breathing and feed them to him.

  "Where are they?" Maxim had his phone out in a flash, already making the kind of arrangements that he excelled in. I knew we would have all the firepower in the city at our disposal in a matter of seconds.

  "Back at the hotel."

  "Cunning old git, isn't he?"

  I shook my head, eyes narrowed on Maria. "Spiteful bitch, more like it."

  The woman pouted, throwing me a glower. "Maybe the both of you need to learn not to take what isn't yours."

  I had neither the time nor the inclination to stand around engaging the bitter Maria in conversation, and I wasn't the only one to realize the urgency of the situation.

  "Let's go." Maxim was already by the exit, beckoning to get us out of the building.

  Elizabeth shoved Maria towards the doors, and Ivan grabbed Yuri by the shirt collar, yanking him along too. Every one of us knew far better than to leave any hostile parties where they could make trouble.

  The unfortunate couple were shoved onto the floor in the back of the Land Rover and the six of us crammed back in around them, weapons still at the ready while Elizabeth produced a stash of cable ties from her back pocket and tied the pair of them up.

  Maxim floored the accelerator, burning rubber as we raced away from the curb. No one said a word, but we all knew the race was on to get back to the grand tower of the hotel overlooking the river, before Timoshenko made it famous for more than just the architecture.

  The whole way back, I never loosened my grip on my gun. The only thing I could think about was putting a bullet between Timoshenko's eyes. The image burnt deep into my brain. One way or another, it was going to happen. The only difference was that if he'd hurt Mia, I was going to make him suffer first.

  As fast as Maxim drove, it couldn't have been fast enough. He avoided traffic like a pro, diving down all the side roads and weaving through the city on every diversion possible so that we never sat in traffic. The city streets were a playground to him, and I loved him for that.

  In less time than it had taken us to get to Zhivago's, Maxim screeched us to a halt right outside the main entrance to the hotel and I yanked the passenger door open, jumping out before he'd even fully come to a stop.

  I heard the slam of all the other doors of the car almost simultaneously and I didn't need to look over my shoulder to know that I had all six of them flanking me. My Bratva, right by my side when I needed them the most. You couldn't buy that kind of loyalty and I would never have tried.

  With my gun raised, I shoved past the doorman and the bellboy took one look and darted for cover, like a startled hare.

  A quick glance around told me he wasn't in the lobby and I rounded through the wide hallway towards the bar and restaurant, my eyes scouring over each face, discounting strangers, seeking out the woman I loved.

  Then, across the length of the bar, I honed in on Mia's silhouette. She could have been the only one in the room, except I was all too aware of Timoshenko right there with her.

  The first person who saw me raise my gun right into the air screamed. That didn't stop me from releasing three clear shots into the ceiling that had everyone ducking and covering their ears.

  Women screamed, hotel staff tried to hide their panic. No doubt someone would have pressed a panic button or called the police. I didn't care. I wanted the room cleared so that there were no witnesses when I took Yakov out once and for all.

  Behind me, I heard two more shots release and the shattering of glass. I didn't have to look around to know that Maxim and Elizabeth had taken out the CCTV cameras.

  What happened next was not going to become public knowledge.

  Aware of the room clearing of other guests and my brethren encouraging them to leave, I strolled the length of the room, my eyes burning into Mia's. I couldn't understand why she wasn't running to me. Why she was just sitting there, eyes wide.

  "Valentin!"

  And then I saw the gun he had pointed at her, quiet subtly beneath a folded newspaper.

  "Let her go, Yakov. This is between you and me."

  I leveled my gun towards him, but that was the moment Mia chose to stand up, positioning herself squarely in front of him.

  "Valentin, stop!"

  "Mia, get out of the way."

  "No. You've got to listen to me."

  "Move, Mia. This ends now. No more games."

  "Valentin, please. It's not like that."

  "He tried to kill us, Mia! What else do you think it is like?"

  "He didn't, Valentin. It wasn't him!"

  "Mia, get out of the way. He has been feeding you bullshit. Maria told him where to find you because she is a jealous, talentless bitch who can't deal with the fact that you are a million times better than she is. And Timoshenko ordered a drive by last night. I can't let this stand. I won't let it stand."

  The man himself cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I did not, Valentin."

  "Shut up. I have heard too many lies from you. You don't get to say anything anymore."

  Mia looked at me pleadingly and it was all I could do not to give in to whatever she wanted on the spot, no matter how irrational she was being. Only the knowledge that as soon as I backed down, Yakov would shoot her in the back kept me strong.

  "Tell him, Mia."

  "Your father came here to ask me to ask you for a second chance. He changed his mind, Valentin. He wants to go for your deal!"

  I shook my head. "I don't believe that for a second."

  In the distance I could hear the dull whine of sirens coming closer and I knew that I was running out of time. I had to do this now, or my chance would never come. Maxim and Ivan could work a police connection, but only as long as they had nothing to directly witnes
s.

  "You want to know who tried to shoot you? Ask Maria."

  I frowned, and so did Mia. She turned to look at Timoshenko, confusion all over her face and just the slightest change in angle opened up a shot.

  I didn't think. I only aimed.

  "Oh my God. It was Yuri!" Mia's voice cut through to me like a beacon of light through the storm of my anger.

  What had made no sense suddenly tumbled into place and my focus shifted. Timoshenko's hand wasn't on the gun. His eyes were full of regret, partly closed in anticipation of the shot I was about to fire.

  Everything felt like it had turned to slow motion.

  Yuri had tried and failed to make a hit. Timoshenko never would have been so sloppy.

  My heart beat a thousand times in my chest before I lowered my gun, and all of a sudden, my arms were full of Mia as my future wife curled herself in tight against my chest.

  "It wasn't your father, Valentin. He came here to strike a deal. You have to believe me."

  Slowly, I felt myself nod, stunned that Mia had somehow managed to get to the truth where I had been too blind to see it.

  "I believe you."

  Timoshenko visibly sagged in relief and he visibly pushed the gun he'd been hiding closer towards me, across the table.

  Roman stepped in to pick it up, tucking it under his arm like it was just another paper as he reholstered his own gun.

  The world seemed to spin around us. Behind me, I knew that at the entrance Maxim and Ivan would be dealing with the police, calling in our contacts and spinning a plausible story for what had happened. If they pulled it off well, I might even get an honorable mention in the news for my part in an undercover operation, but for that moment I couldn't have cared less.

  Timoshenko stood up slowly from the table he'd been sitting at and stretched out his hand towards me, offering an open palm with the clear intention to shake.

  "Your future wife is a formidable young woman, Valentin. I am looking forward to having her as a daughter in law. And I am looking forward to seeing where you take the Bratva, as the new boss, from today onwards."

  Numbly, I shook his hand, throwing him a stiff nod. In all the eventualities I'd thought of, this scenario had never crossed my mind. Behind me, all was chaos, but in front everything was serene and calm.

  Ahead of me lay my future with a beautiful woman at my side, five of the best a man could ask for backing me up, and my father joining them behind me.

  Mia glanced up at me, and reached to tip my jaw down to her, standing on tip toes as she sought out my lips. I kissed her hard until we were both breathless.

  "Mia Peterson, I think you must have cast a spell on us all. Did I tell you how much I love you?"

  My fiancé’s smile was bright enough to light up the room, making her eyes gleam and sparkle. "You did. But I can always do with hearing it again. I love you Valentin, and don't you ever forget it."

  "How could I, my love? I owe you my whole life."

  EPILOGUE

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  Valentin

  We married in the summer when the skies were deep, deep blue and Moscow had calmed again, after the storm that we had nearly waged on it. Everything was right in the world.

  I flew Mia's parents in a week before the ceremony, and I took them around Moscow, showing them all the sights while Mia was busy with her rehearsals.

  As much as I might have wanted her to stop her position, I knew that wasn't something I could ask her to do. She was determined to work out her contract with the Bolshoi before she switched to working with Yolanda's company as star soloist.

  Being with me was everything she wanted, but ballet had always been her primary dream and I saw no reason to take that away from her. Her parents couldn't have been more proud of her, and they went to watch her every chance that they had.

  Timoshenko let them use the Bratva's box, and for at least a week, it was full of not just her parents, but all of my Bratva brethren and their wives, determined to see what a star she was for themselves.

  Every performance, I made sure that I had men in the audience there to protect her, and there were always people I trusted in the theatre staff. Timoshenko had taught me well enough to realize that there was no benefit to being arrogant and assuming I was untouchable. I was never going to gamble with Mia's life like that.

  At the doorway of St Basil's Cathedral, beneath the multicolored domes, I got my first glimpse of my bride in a beautifully embroidered gown. Gold lace topped the creamy silk beneath, flowing over her strong body in an elegant silhouette. She couldn't have looked more beautiful.

  I didn't even take in what anybody else looked like. Eva, I knew was behind her somewhere, acting as her maid of honor, and her parents were there, as well as all the men that I had brought together under my leadership.

  Their wives had befriended Mia easily, welcoming her enthusiastically into the fold and I knew that she had no doubts about fitting in.

  Half the city had turned up, as though we truly were royalty, but in truth there was only one person aside from Mia who could have claimed to be the draw for that.

  Our wedding was historic because right in front of the altar, Timoshenko gave us his blessing.

  Instead of Maxim, I had asked him to act as witness to our nuptials, knowing the symbolism that held. When he signed our names in the book, he identified himself as my father on paper for the first time in my life, and everyone there witnessed the legacy that he was passing on.

  Neither of us said a word about it, but Mia squeezed my hand just before the wedding crown settled on my head and I squeezed hers and I knew that whatever else life brought us, we would tackle it together.

  When we had a child together, I would be there to be the father, there was no question of that. History never had to repeat itself. Together we could make a better family than I had ever had, and our child would be able to do whatever he or she wanted in life without being funneled down a path.

  I wanted that freedom for all of our family, and I knew that luxury only came from where I was and the position I had reached, along with all the opportunities it gave. To do this to get to the top was one thing, but to do it for my family was another.

  For the first time, the prince of the Bratva didn't have to be lonely. Neither one of us would have our crowns if it hadn't been for her. But now, I was king in my own right and Mia was truly my queen and all we had to do was rule the Bratva wisely, and to live happily ever after.

  EXTENDED EPILOGUE

  SIX MONTHS LATER

  Mia

  Behind the heavy fall of the velvet curtain I could hear the odd cough and murmur from the audience waiting in suspense for the orchestra to start. The stage was set in darkness and I was poised waiting for the heat of the spotlight to hit my arms, the only dancer in the centre of the stage.

  The curtain rose and the first notes from the violins reached me, swirling around as I started to move, awakening from the trance that I had been put into.

  The soft whisper of blocked silk shoes against the boards of the stage drew in around me as the lines of dancers assembled while I rose, en pointe, turning in the most graceful pirouette I could muster.

  This was my first night. And I could feel the breathless tension of the audience on the other side of the impossibly bright stage lights. Somewhere up there in the dark, Valentin was watching from the box that he still bought out every night, but this time I knew he was not the only one I had transfixed.

  I danced like I'd never danced before, uncaring about old blisters and calluses, because every graceful placement of my steps and gesture of my hands and arms was perfectly in my memory. But this was more than just a remembered series of moves. There was grit and passion in every jump and lift and turn I made, because now, thanks to Valentin, I truly understood what those things were.

  I'd come to the Bolshoi Stage as a girl who only knew the dance, but Valentin had taught me that there was so much more a dancer had to give. He'd shown me lov
e and passion, and adventure of my own and I couldn't have asked for more from anybody in the world. He'd shown me what it truly meant to live, and only now could I channel all those things with every single step.

  Every movement came without thinking, as inevitable as the next. I jumped without fear because I knew my fellow principal dancer would be there to catch me. And I knew without doubt that his focus was entirely on his own steps, his own body, his own moves. Valentin was the only one who held me like he never wanted to let me go.

  As soon as I took my applause, he would be the one I went to and that was the way it was always going to be now that I was Mrs. Rohzkova.

  After this run of shows, I would have to take a break because my belly was already starting to swell as my womb made room for our child.

  It wasn't the life that I had thought I would have - or at least not this soon - but now that it was mine, I couldn't imagine anything else. I was the wife of one of the most influential men in Moscow, supported by our Bratva family at every turn, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The world we brought our child into would be brimming over with opportunity and love, and I couldn't wait to see where the next chapter of our lives together led me.

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  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS

  Book 1: Baby Lust

  Book 2: Veteran

  Book 3: Built

  Book 4: Bambino

  Book 5: Rescued

  Book 6: Leader

  Book 7: Professor

  Book 8: Burned

  Book 9: Worldly

  Book 10: Pistol

  Book 11: Policed

  Book 12: Driven

  Book 13: Lucky 13

  Book 14: Lumberjacked

  Book 15: Protector

  Book 16: Carpenter

  Book 17: Italian Stallion

  Book 18: Gardener

  Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin