Bratva Boss’ Baby by Winter Sloane
Chapter Twenty
The repeating knocking on his bedroom door made Viktor growl. He opened his eyes. No wonder he’d slept so well despite last night’s drama. Ava lay curled next to him. She pressed her beautiful face against his chest. Viktor was loath to get up and leave her. Last night, Ava chose the right side of the bed and remained there. In the middle of the night, she eventually sought him out for a cuddle. No surprise there. He was irresistible.
Ava had shared a tender moment with him the night before. Viktor clenched his jaw, embarrassed anyone had witnessed him looking so lost. Worn-out. Sometimes, being the Pakhan of the Kotov Bratva took its toll on him. Being responsible not just for the Bratva’s day-to-day operations, but also for the well-being of his underlings, wasn’t easy.
“Viktor, this is important,” came Aleksander’s urgent voice from behind his door. With a sigh, he parted from Ava. Seeing how Ava had armed herself in a shirt and jogging pants, Viktor had worn a pair of boxers, but he usually slept nude. He pulled on a pair of jeans before opening the door.
“What?” he barked. Viktor shut the door behind him. He wasn’t in the best of moods. Viktor didn’t feel fully awake yet and he didn’t get much sleep last night, despite Ava lying so close to him.
“A Mogilevich messenger delivered a package at the front door. We already had the dogs sniff at it,” Aleksander said.
Viktor narrowed his eyes, wide awake now. “Those fuckers worked quick. Where is it?”
Aleksander presented Viktor with a small ornate wooden cigar box. Viktor mentally prepared himself for the worst. Aleksander flipped the lid open. Two severed fingers looked back at Viktor. One still bore a familiar ring. A gaudy silver trinket with the head of a lion on it. It had two small sapphires for eyes. Pavel loved that ugly little thing because it used to belong to their grandfather.
“Pavel will survive with two fewer fingers,” Viktor finally said. “Was there a note attached?”
Aleksander nodded and took out the velvet lining under the fingers and pulled out a hastily scribbled note. The brown spots covering the note could only be one thing. Blood. On the front of the note was an address. Nothing else. Viktor flipped it over.
“Come alone,” he read out loud. The threat was clear. If Viktor arrived with guns blazing, Pavel’s life would be forfeit. He expected this. Really, Goran was so predictable.
“It’s a trap,” Aleksander said.
“Of course, it is,” Viktor said dryly. “Keep those fingers iced, just in case we might be able to re-attach them.”
“You’re really thinking of going there?” Aleksander asked. Viktor understood what Aleksander was hinting at. His third-in-command was nothing but pragmatic. “You always said Pavel was a liability.”
“He’s blood,” he said. “That’s all there is to know. Gather everyone in the meeting room.”
“And the woman you brought in last night?” Aleksander pressed. Apart from Pavel, only Aleksander would have the guts to question him outright about Ava. Aleksander had always been shrewd, ambitious, and unquestionably loyal.
“Will she become a potential liability in the future?” Aleksander asked before Viktor could form a suitable response.
Punching Aleksander’s smug face wouldn’t do Viktor any good. He’d already lost Pavel. Viktor couldn’t afford to lose his best lieutenant, and Aleksander knew it.
“No. Ava will be my wife. She belongs to me and will never betray me. It’s about time I thought about the future. I’ll eventually need an heir.” At this point, Viktor lied through his teeth. Ava said they’d review their relationship once he retrieved Pavel and dealt with the Mogileviches. Let her think she called the shots, but they both knew Viktor was the one in control. Ava must know she had no way out, no one to turn to but him after last night. She’d already chosen her side.
Aleksander nodded. “Very good. I’ll inform the others.”
“Is Katya awake?” he asked.
“She is.” An unexpected look of tenderness crossed Aleksander’s face, but it quickly disappeared. “She just left the house to send Anya to daycare. Should I call her back?”
“Yes, tell her I need her to babysit Ava.”
“Before she left, she told me to pass on the message. The mayor and police commissioner called. They want answers.”
Viktor scoffed. “Of course, they do. I’ll have Katya arrange a meeting with them.”
“Fernandez also wants to talk to you.”
He swore. Of course, the cartel boss heard about last night’s mishap. Either way, it was too late for Fernandez to turn his back on the arrangement they made. To an old-school gangster like Fernandez, breaking a contract was equivalent to a death sentence. Viktor knew the old man would fulfill his end of the bargain, but he’d need reassurance. Viktor had to wade through so much shit and it wasn’t even noon.
“Got it.” He gave Aleksander a dismissive nod.
Viktor returned to his room. Ava’s soft snores filled the room. He watched her for a few moments. Viktor needed to shower, get dressed, and tackle the rest of the day. Pavel’s kidnapping had a ripple effect. The Kotov Bratva would be put to the ultimate pass. The fact Viktor let Goran’s men take his own brother was a guaranteed sign of weakness. Even now, Viktor could imagine his enemies closing in on him, making alliances and schemes to take him and his operations down. He gritted his teeth.
Part of him was pissed off at Pavel for letting himself get taken. Viktor knew no one had counted on the ambush right outside the gala, but still, it grated on his nerves.
“Viktor? Are you awake? Isn’t it still early?” Ava asked in a sleepy voice. Viktor approached her. He pressed a gentle hand on the curve of her back, then leaned in close for a kiss. Ava must still be dreaming or had conveniently forgotten she was mad at him, because she smiled when he pulled away.
“Go back to sleep,” he told her.
“Won’t you join me?” She held out her hand toward him.
Her shirt rode high up, exposing the swell of her tempting breasts. Her nipples poked through the thin fabric of her shirt. Viktor’s boxers felt a little tight. So tempting, but he didn’t have the time. He needed solutions to his problems and Ava was a distraction of the worst sort.
“Later,” he answered her. “I need to work.”
“Work? I need to get to the office. There are reports I need to—”
Viktor pressed a finger to her lips. “Stay here. Take a day off.”
“I can’t do that.” She still sounded half-awake to his ears.
“Then I’ll have someone bring your work computer here. Your personal belongings will also be here by the end of the day.”
This time, Ava rubbed at her eyes. She sat up and finally seemed to realize she wasn’t waking up in her own bed. She studied her surroundings, then her gaze landed on him. “Oh.”
“That’s right. You finally remember?” he asked her.
Ava bit on her lower lip. “Yes.”
“You’ll stay here until this problem is resolved,” he reminded her.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” She punched the pillow next to her in frustration.
“No,” he told her. “Unless you want to end up dead in a ditch, your body in pieces.”
A lesser woman would’ve cowered from him. Ava just crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him. Fuck, but Viktor got hard whenever she showed him this sassy side of her. “Thanks for painting me that gruesome picture. Now I can’t unsee it. How did you even get a key to my apartment?”
Viktor shrugged. “I can be very persuasive.”
“You didn’t have your guys break into my place, did you?”
“We’re not thugs. No, one simple phone call to your landlord and he amiably agreed to hand the keys to my man.”
“You threatened him?” Ava asked him warily.
“Bribed,” he corrected. Viktor made sure the greedy landlord knew who he was dealing with. At least the bastard understood it was wiser to cooperate or get in his way.
“I never liked Mr. Miller anyway,” she muttered. “And Gina? My mom?”
“You’re free to talk to them. Right now, they’re on a first-class flight to the destination of their choice.” Viktor paused. “You will, however, keep my secrets and tell them the bare minimum.”
“Of course. What do you think I am, a tattletale? Besides, I don’t want to drag them further into this mess.”
“Very well. I’ll need to leave you for now.”
“Crimes to plan and people to kill?” she asked.
Viktor decided he found this sarcastic side of Ava a little charming. After all, his future wife needed an iron stomach. Not anyone could easily stand by his side.
“Something of that sort.” Viktor began to leave, but Ava grabbed his hand.
“Please do what you can for Pavel. I didn’t like your brother at first, but he kind of grew on me.”
Viktor nodded. “Katya will be home soon. She’ll provide you with anything else you require.”
“Except freedom,” she said in a soft voice.
Viktor turned, cupping her chin. “Little bird, you’re free to leave. No one will stop you. Not even me. Just know that once you step out of this house, you’re free meat.”
Viktor was purposely baiting her because his patience had reached its limits. Ava swallowed. Of course, Viktor would never allow her to leave this property. His enemies would love nothing more than to snatch her from his grasp and use her as leverage against him.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said.
Viktor certainly didn’t expect her to apologize.
Ava continued, “I know I’m acting like a brat, but I just feel so lost, so uncertain about everything.”
“I forgive you.”
Ava touched his hand. “Viktor, do you really care about me, or are you just worried your enemies would use me against you? Am I just a liability?”
So, Ava had overheard snippets of his conversation with Aleksander. Viktor wasn’t worried. Sooner or later, his future wife would be privy to his deepest and darkest secrets. Any other woman would’ve been frightened out of wits after seeing him murder someone right in front of her eyes. Ava hadn’t exactly embraced the darker part of him, but she didn’t shy from it either.
“Aren’t they one and the same? If you were ripped away from me, it would devastate me,” Viktor simply answered. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
She said nothing for a few seconds. Her expression was hard to read.
“Does that answer satisfy you?” Viktor prodded.
“Yes. Thank you for being honest with me.”