The Enemy in My Bed by L.K. Shaw

Chapter 14

Pierce

“We have a situation.”

Since the night we rescued Brenna, Jacob and I have been meeting in his home office. He’s wanted to stay close to her, as though reassuring himself that she’s all right.

He leans back in his leather chair, the glass of whiskey hovering near his mouth. He lowers it to his desk. “What kind of situation?”

“The Russians are selling women to the Polish. They have a house somewhere in Brighton Beach near the water.”

“I take it you learned this from our guest?” Jacob asks.

“Yes.”

“Anything else?”

“She says she doesn’t where any of the weapons stores are. The only thing she heard Mikhail discussing with his men was deals that were happening and his plans to steal from us,” I say.

“That isn’t helpful. Did she say what she was doing at the compound in the first place?”

I nod. “She was there to kill him. Apparently, Mikhail murdered her mother.”

Jacob’s eyes widen. “Jesus.” He takes a drink. “How long are you planning on keeping this woman locked in that house?” There’s a tinge of disapproval in his tone.

“What woman?”

I slowly pivot to face Brenna, who’s pushed the door fully open and stepped into Jacob’s office, her expression twisted in anger. Her chest heaves and her fists clench at her hips. Fuck. This woman has developed a bad habit of eavesdropping outside offices.

“Brenna, love,” Jacob rises from his chair.

She shoots him a glare before whipping her gaze back to me. “What woman, Pierce?”

I respect her. Their marriage has changed her from a timid mouse to a bold lioness. Despite my growing affection for her, the only person I answer to is Jacob. I remain silent.

“The woman from Mikhail’s compound,” he finally responds in my place with a sigh of reluctance.

Her eyes flick between us. “You mean the young woman who helped me? It’s been almost a week. Are you telling me you’ve been holding her prisoner all this time?”

Jacob doesn’t immediately respond. “Yes,” he finally says.

“Why on earth would you do that?” Brenna doesn’t wait for a response. “I want to see her.”

“No.” The single word escapes from me like a bullet from a chamber.

She opens her mouth, to argue no doubt, but my cousin cuts her off with a slash of his hand. “Leave it alone,” he says sharply. “There are certain aspects of our organization’s business that I will share with you. This is not one of them.”

Brenna’s head jerks back a fraction at Jacob’s harsh tone, as though he slapped her. Her expression flattens. “I see. I’ll leave you gentlemen to your business, then.”

With a steel spine, she turns and strides out of the office. The door slams behind her.

“Fuck.” It’s a rough whisper behind me.

I pivot and face my cousin again. His eyes are trained on where his wife just stormed out. A pained expression crosses his face. There’s also indecision, like he’s warring with himself whether to chase after her or not. With a small shake of his head, Jacob’s gaze meets mine and he lowers himself back into his chair.

“Have you gotten anything else from her?” he asks.

“Her name is Mila.”

He eyes me expectantly, as though that can’t be the only other thing I’ve learned from her this entire time. I find myself reluctant to share more. “She has a younger sister.” I pause a beat. “Mikhail was the girl’s father. He allegedly sold her to the Polish. Or to a man named Krzysztof, at least.”

“Gornak?”

“She didn’t get a last name. But it fits. He’s one of the lead members of their organization. And we already know the Polish are neck deep in trafficking. We had just never connected them with the Russians before today,” I say.

“I assume this situation you think we have involves us going up against a formerly neutral organization.” He doesn’t wait for my response before he continues. “You planning on rescuing your little captive’s sister I take it?”

“She’s not mine,” I bite out. Isn’t she, though?

Jacob raises a brow. “Are you sure about that? Because you seem to have taken a surprising interest in this woman.”

“My only interest in her is continuing to learn what things she overhead while infiltrating Mikhail’s estate,” I say firmly.

My cousin studies me with a look in his eyes I don’t want to try and decipher. “Do you have a plan, then, for locating this house in Brighton? Or are we engaging with the Polish first? Set up a meeting in a neutral location. Try and find the girl?”

Instinct has me wanting to continue taking any power from the Russians. Ruining them. But the expression of grief and hope on Mila’s face, something I’m not even sure she was aware of, is burned into my mind. If she thought I could help find her sister, why hadn’t she told me about her sooner?

Have you given her any reason to think you’d help her?

“Set up a meeting with the Polish,” I finally say. “See if we can find the girl.”

I ignore Jacob’s knowing stare. “I’ll contact them tomorrow. In the meantime, keep trying to get more intel from…Mila, is it?”

“Yes.”

He nods as though he didn’t know perfectly well what her name is. “I also plan on heading to the hospital. Brenna wants to check on Giovanni. I understand from Francesca he is awake and receiving visitors.”

I hide my surprise. This is the first I’m hearing of it. “That’s good news. I’m sure my sister and Brenna are both relieved.”

“They are. Now, if there isn’t anything else pressing, I need to go and try to soothe my wife’s Irish temper.”

“See to your wife. Let me know what you hear back from the Polish.”

Jacob heads toward the door. He pauses and glances over his shoulder. “You’re my best friend. I’ve always trusted your judgment, because you make decisions without involving any emotions. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but whatever it is you’re doing, I think you might be making a mistake.”