Blazing for the Bratva: A Russian Mafia Romance Novel

by Maura Rose

  Now she was older and understood what happened in wars, the lives lost, the innocent people who died, the politicians who inevitably tried to get their sticky fingers into it, the neighborhoods that were destroyed. If someone went after a big family like the Mikhailovs they had to be prepared for a war. They might even want it.

  She tried going to an art museum, but she felt antsy and couldn’t quiet her mind. She tried jogging, but she kept jumping every time someone passed her. So now she was pacing up and down in her room like a lunatic.

  Pavel had told her that he would be in touch with her and she trusted him to do that. God, the raw sound of his voice when he’d told her that this was his way of protecting her… nobody had ever sounded like that when they talked to her or about her. It had been like he’d wanted to crawl through the phone line to hold her in his arms.

  It was dangerous, what she was feeling for him. It felt even more dangerous than standing on the edge of a cliff or holding a loaded gun.

  She wanted him to be safe. No—she needed him to be safe. She knew that it was right for her to be taking a back seat here. Pavel had a good point: nobody could protect her if Father found out what she’d been doing. Ivan could bear the brunt of Father’s anger, he was the head of another family. But the man’s own daughter? Irena could only do so much.

  It all made sense, she knew that. But that didn’t stop her from wishing she was out there doing something, gathering information or even just being near Pavel, following him around like a bodyguard, instead of sitting around like this and driving herself crazy worrying.

  Soon they would be married, she reminded herself as she hit the wall and turned around to pace to the other side again. Then she could be with Pavel without hiding and without waiting like this, and if she wanted to join him on important missions then she could. Pavel wouldn’t dare try and stop her. He knew better than that.

  Natalia halted in her pacing, nearly losing her balance in stopping so suddenly.

  She was looking forward to the wedding.

  Soon, she’d thought. She’d been glad that it would be soon. She had wanted it to happen.

  Unconsciously, she reached up and placed her hand over her heart, feeling it beat wildly in her chest. Oh, this was dangerous. This was falling without a parachute.

  And yet, despite her terror of all the ways she was feeling, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking over and over again, please let him be okay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Paul, the IT guy that Natalia had spoken to, was clearly nervous when Pavel showed up.

  “I know I shouldn’t have taken the money,” he said, tugging at his shirt sleeves like they were armor. “But times are tough, man. Every time I get one bill paid off, there’s another one.”

  “Do not worry,” Pavel assured him, following Paul into his apartment and through the living room into the computer room. It was quite a setup, similar to the ones the Sokolov-paid IT people had, with computers and monitors covering nearly every inch of space. “Miss Mikhailova has made it clear that her father is not to know about that part of the story.”

  “Going against the old man when you’re on his payroll? Not smart,” Paul replied, settling down in front of his computer. Or one of several computers. Pavel couldn’t be sure.

  “Says the man who took a bribe,” Pavel replied mildly.

  “Fair enough.” Paul began to type away, pulling up documents. “So, Natalia told me that you’re going to want to look and see who digitally has hacked into Mikhailov accounts. I’ve traced one of the accounts to an IT person working for the Sokolov family.”

  “We’re aware of that one and the situation is being handled,” Pavel replied calmly. “Are you able to trace the other person?”

  “The IP address could be traced, you still can’t fake those, hallelujah,” Paul said. “But it was traced to a public account at a local library. The good news is that the person is consistently logging in from this library, the IP addresses all match computers from there, but unfortunately that means it could be anyone who has a library card there.”

  Pavel nodded. He could get some guys to stake out the library, but he’d need them to be discreet. He should possibly do it himself…

  “Well that’s odd,” Paul said, the words slipping out in a quiet murmur like he hadn’t realized he’d said them out loud.

  “What’s odd?”

  Paul hit a few buttons and the printer over in the corner began to spew out pages. “I’m printing it out for you so you have a report for the boss. I hacked into the library system to see what else these IP addresses did during those time slots. Looks like you’re not the only family this person looked into.”

  He pointed at the computer screen. It all looked like a bunch of letters and numbers to Pavel, but it clearly meant something important to Paul.

  “Could you explain?”

  “Those are Saito family accounts,” Paul said. “I know them because when the engagement between Irena Mikhailova and the Saito heir was announced, the two families did an exchange of information to show good faith and make sure everyone was on the up and up. This person isn’t just investigating us, they’re investigating the Saito family too.”

  …well, fuck.

  Pavel relayed the news to Ivan immediately, calling him on the phone as he headed back to base. Ivan was silent for a while—for longer than usual, in fact.

  “What do you think?” Pavel asked.

  He heard the phone fill with static as Ivan sighed. “I think that this is going to have to wait. Contact Natalia and see if she has any more information to shed on this, but we might have to put our side of things on hold.”

  “Why?”

  Ivan sighed again, and then when he next spoke, Pavel could hear the pride and joy in his voice. “Because I’m at the doctor’s office. Kate’s pregnant.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Natalia didn’t hear from Pavel for two days, and she nearly tore her hair out.

  She hadn’t realized how she’d grown used to talking to him all the time, even if it was just over text, until she couldn’t anymore. She was worried, dammit, worried sick about him and even if she wasn’t, the fact that she couldn’t even text him something like saw this and thought of you was driving her nuts.

  When her burner phone finally vibrated, her hand shook as she yanked it out of her pocket. She kept it on her at all times, even when asleep, although she kept it on silent so nobody would ask what that noise was. Pavel was the only reason she had the phone, so there wasn’t anyone else it could be.

  She locked herself in the bathroom to read his text.

  Can we meet again?

  Natalia frowned. That could be anyone texting her with Pavel’s phone. He could be in trouble and this could be a trap.

  If you tell me what kind of puppy you are, she replied.

  The reply was instantaneous—too fast for someone to have scrolled through previous texts and found the answer.

  According to me, a mastiff. According to you, a Yorkie.

  This was accompanied by a winking emoji.

  Natalia found herself smiling so wide it hurt her face. All right, I’ll meet you. Usual place?

  That works.

  Her heart was pounding when she got to the park. What had Pavel found that meant they had to meet in person? Was everything all right? Was her family in danger?

  Pavel was already at the bench when she saw him, and suddenly it was like something was yanking on her heart and she couldn’t get to him fast enough. She ran over, plopping herself down in his lap and kissing him before she could even think about whether it was a good idea or not.

  Pavel wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back passionately, his tongue sliding into her mouth and his teeth nipping at her lower lip. It was like he owned her. Natalia found she didn’t mind. She wanted to be claimed, at least by him.

  Her skin was on fire. She wanted him to take her back to his apartment and fuck her until she couldn’t move, until she wa
s floating in that liquid ecstasy feeling, until she couldn’t even cry out his name anymore.

  She had no idea how long they kissed but it was definitely long enough for Pavel to slide his hands all over her, as if relearning the curves of her, and it was long enough for her to shift so that she was straddling him properly and could roll her hips down onto him. Natalia wanted to laugh a little. Here they were, two full-blown adults who had important information to discuss, and they were frantically making out in a park like teenagers.

  Pavel pulled away first, his eyes now dark and his chest heaving against hers. “Natalia.” His voice was hoarse. She waited for him to say more, but it seemed that he’d only said it just for the sake of saying it out loud. He pushed her hair back behind her ears, then kissed her neck.

  Natalia shuddered, her eyelids fluttering. Oh, God, she wanted him so badly, she was wet and her body felt empty and aching. “You had something to tell me.”

  Pavel pulled away again. “Right.” He gently pushed her off his lap so that she was sitting next to him. His mouth was swollen and red from her kissing him and she was sure she looked just as bad. “We found out that your family isn’t the only one being investigated. The Saito family was looked into as well, by the same person.”

  “Who was it?”

  Pavel shook his head. “We don’t know yet. They used a public library in neutral territory. We could stake out the library in case they do it again but we don’t have enough information—we could stake it out but who knows if the person will come, and how will we know if it’s them, that kind of thing.”

  “But you’re not giving up, are you?”

  Pavel shook his head. “No. I’m just letting you know it won’t be easy to catch them. And… and Ivan is going to be a little distracted.”

  “The wedding for Irena is only in a few days,” Natalia whispered. She stamped down on the panic rising in her chest. “Father would want to go to the Saitos with this information before the marriage.”

  “Sometimes we don’t have a choice. Ivan’s wife is pregnant.”

  Natalia sucked in a breath. The Sokolovs would have a proper heir, now, and of course it was joyful for any couple to hear they were having a long-hoped-for child. “That’s wonderful for them.”

  “It is, but it means they’ll be focusing on that rather than on the investigation.”

  “Is this because of the marriage?” Natalia suggested. “Both families are powerful but there are other powerful families around. The Italians, the Irish… someone going after both my father and the Saito family, that must have something to do with the union.”

  “They are both powerful families, like you said. This person probably thinks either an alliance would be dangerous, or that once the alliance happens they can attack both at the same time, two birds with one stone.”

  Natalia let out a shaky breath. “Either way, our families are in danger.”

  Pavel nodded, his face grave. “We’ll do what we can to find out information before the wedding. But just be on alert.” He reached up, his thumb stroking her cheekbone. “I want you to be safe.”

  “I want you to be safe too, you know. Your text scared me earlier, I thought that someone might have taken your phone.”

  “Should I call next time?” Pavel asked. He didn’t smirk or look smug that she’d been worried, or try to defend his choice to text her that way. He just asked her what he could do better next time.

  Natalia felt her heart swelling. “Well, hopefully next time you can call me on my normal phone, since we’ll be officially engaged. The engagement is being announced at the wedding and that’s only a few days away.”

  Pavel looked like he’d been struck by lightning for a moment, and then a slow, pleased smile spread over his face. “You’re right.” He reached up, taking her face in his hands so that he could hold her gently in place to kiss her. “I can do this…” He kissed her again. “…and this…” He kissed her once more. “…as often as I want.”

  “You can do a lot more than that,” Natalia promised him. She slid her hands down his chest and then up underneath his shirt, relishing the taut muscles and warm skin under her palms.

  Pavel growled and dragged her sideways into his lap, her legs draped across him. He kissed her hard, his hand dipping just underneath the waistband of her pants. “I have a very long list of things I want to do to you.”

  Natalia shuddered. “I want all of it,” she promised him. “I can take it.”

  “I know you can.” Pavel kissed along her neck again, apparently loving how she shuddered when he did that. His hand was dipping lower and Natalia squirmed around until her back was to his chest and he could get his hand into her pants properly.

  This was the definition of reckless. They were in a public park, for crying out loud. Nobody was around for now but if someone turned the corner…

  Natalia didn’t care all that much about reckless at the moment. She’d missed him, missed him so much it had physically hurt, and she wanted to chase the pleasure she could feel building up underneath her skin, buzzing in her fingertips.

  Pavel’s hand slid into her underwear and she both heard and felt him gasp when he felt how wet she was. “You’re so ready for me.”

  “I touch myself thinking about you,” Natalia blurted out in a frantic whisper. It was true—she’d finger herself in the shower, muffling her cries into her arm, imagining Pavel was fucking her.

  Pavel growled, biting down lightly on her neck as his finger circled her clit. “That makes two of us, then,” he whispered, kissing just underneath her ear. “I dream about you. About being inside you again.”

  She shivered, gasping as he slid a finger into her. “I want—I want that,” she whispered. “I want you.”

  He began to slide his finger in and out of her, and when she looked down Natalia could see the shape of his hand moving underneath the fabric of her pants and a fresh rush of arousal shot through her, coating Pavel’s fingers even more.

  Pavel groaned, adding a second finger and moving a little faster. Natalia began to thrust her hips in short, sharp little movements. She could feel him hard against her ass as well and circled her hips, grinning as Pavel buried his face into her shoulder to muffle the noise he made.

  “I want to make you scream,” he whispered, kissing the back of her neck. “Fuck, Natalia, I want you so badly… the moment it’s announced, the moment we’re engaged I’m dragging you off—during the reception, I’m finding somewhere, even up against a wall…”

  “Yes,” she gasped out, biting down hard on her lip to muffle her moan as he finally began to touch her clit, his thumb rubbing in hot tight little circles that made her see stars. “I want—please—”

  She was definitely losing coherence. It felt so good, but it wasn’t what she wanted, she wanted more, she wanted him inside her… but this was all she was going to get for now. Fuck, she hadn’t been this reckless in, well, ever, but she loved it. Her head fell back onto Pavel’s shoulder as she thrust her hips shamelessly up into his fingers, his touch merciless. He wasn’t teasing her. He was touching her relentlessly in the perfect way to make her come as hard and as fast as possible.

  Pavel’s teeth tugged lightly at her earlobe. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. His thumb continued to rub hard and fast, until she felt herself shattering apart like so many shards of glass.

  Natalia sagged in his arms, struggling to catch her breath, her body shaking uncontrollably with pleasure. Pavel groaned, his hips thrusting up hard into her ass a few more times, until she felt him shaking and jerking a final time.

  “We’re both going to need showers when we get back,” she laughed. Maybe it was the orgasm talking but it felt hilarious to her.

  “Worth it,” Pavel replied, his lips against her neck so that she felt every word. He kissed her softly. “Only a few more days. Then we can be together properly.”

  Just a few more days. She could handle that, she told herself. She could make it.

  If o
nly they knew that they’d solve this mystery of who was investigating them in a few days. That might take longer, and every day that slid by was another opportunity this unknown enemy had to strike at her father and the Saito family.

  Natalia shoved those thoughts aside. It wasn’t worth worrying about, not when she couldn’t do anything about it. At least in a few days, she could see Pavel whenever she wanted and however much as she wanted. Focus on the positive, she told herself.

  She turned in his arms so that she could kiss Pavel properly. She wished they could just cuddle together like this—and she was glad no jogger or, god forbid, a mom with a child had come across them while they’d done that—but she had to go. If she was gone for too long, one of her sisters was sure to notice.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Pavel promised her.

  “Soon,” she repeated, kissing him one last time, slow and lazy like they had all the time in the world.

  Then she got up and carefully adjusted herself so she looked less like a woman who’d just gotten fingered in a public park, gave him a final wink, and left.

  It took everything in her not to run back to him. Especially considering the look on his face, one so full of longing that she’d felt like she was—pardon the expression—leaving a puppy out in the rain.

  You’ll see him soon, she told herself.

  The damn wedding couldn’t come fast enough.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The wedding, as Pavel had expected, was a grand affair.

  He, Ivan, and Kate where the only ones from the Sokolov family invited. It made sense. They still weren’t quite high up enough for anyone else in the family to get an invitation to such a lavish event. Pavel was pretty sure he was only going because of the announcement about the wedding. Normally the lieutenant of such a small family, even one that was on the rise like the Sokolov family, wouldn’t warrant attention.