Page 6 of The Bratva's Beast

I've never had any problems reading through these files, nor do I ever put too much thought or effort into them. Yet, I couldn't help but spend time with Hanna's file, even if there wasn't much to it, which could either be a good or bad thing. In her case, I felt it wasn't good for me because it meant I had to figure her out.

There was little on her, and there were holes in her file—ones I wanted filled. Why were the holes there? What happened during those times? There were stretches in her record with nothing for years, and I wanted to know just what the hell happened for those years. There were no indications of her moving; she remained in Nespin, California, for her whole life from the looks of it. It seemed like she fell through the cracks of the system, too, because these reports from the state slowly came to a stop with no conclusion after a while.

Hanna was a mystery, and I wanted to solve her. I wanted to figure her out until I knew her better than she knew herself.

God, what is wrong with me?

I shouldn't be getting this hungover on some girl I just met for less than a few hours, but just something about her has me intrigued like never before. Maybe it was the quick, soft, and mischievous glint in her eyes when we locked gazes yesterday before the wall came up. Or perhaps it was the way she held herself confidently but not arrogantly. No doubt she knew her worth and wasn't afraid to show it. Yet, there was something else. It was brief, very brief, and subtle, but I caught it: her body shivered while her eyes softened and downturned for a millisecond before snapping back up at me challengingly.

Few people could hold my gaze, let alone as strongly as she did.

Ugh, maybe I need to get laid. Getting hung up over some new girl who looked at me, fuck.

That had to be the problem. I was just pent up, and my first female interaction in a while got me too wound up. I just needed to take a trip to one of our many clubs and get it out of my system, simple enough.

I saw no other reason as to why I'd be this intrigued by her from a few micro-expressions that could mean nothing. Well, she definitely didn't look at Lev that way, or anyone else we passed.

No, stop thinking into it.

I needed to clear my head of her before she came in today. I didn't need to figure her out, fill the holes in her file, none of that.

Speak of the devil. "Bratok, she's here," Lev announced after knocking on the door and opening it to reveal the little tigress on my mind for the past few hours.

Shutting the file with a smile, I got up behind my desk and rounded it. "Glad to see you back, was afraid you might not show." I teased with a soft chuckle.

"Well, if that's where you've set the bar for me then I've got this in the bag." Her confident and warm smile was more than welcoming and refreshing.

"Someone's a little cocky," Lev grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "Wouldn't get too excited yet missy." He sneered with a soft scoff at Hanna.

"Not cocky, confident." She corrected him with a shit-eating grin.

I couldn't help but smirk a little at her spunk. Again, seeing someone with such a personality who wasn't afraid to dim it for a job was refreshing.

"Alright, well, not too much exciting work today. I will stick you to a case that Lev and I are working on. We're about three weeks into research and just finding some last-minute things before solidifying a plan of attack. You're going to help us with the research, should be simple enough." It would be the simplest of tasks she would have with the job, so if she couldn't pass it, then she had no place in the company.

I had to hold my smirk back when I felt her tiny body shiver under my touch when I settled my hand on the small of her back to lead her around the desk and into my seat. "Since you don't have a desk to work at, this will do for now." I told her while gently pushing the chair in.

Picking up a file, I pulled out a list I had created for her little assignment and set it in front of her. "We already found most of the things on the list, but I wanna see you work. You can use whatever you want to get what the list asks for."

Pulling up a chair from the other desk, I got comfortable beside her while Lev sat on the couch. "Well? Go on." I urged with a smirk, gesturing at the things in front of her.

"Wait, you're going to sit here and watch me?" She didn't sound terrified, more curious than anything.

"Of course, we have to make sure you're not doing anything illegal. We also want to see your workflow and such. Don't worry, just pretend we're not here." It wasn't a complete lie. I did want to see her work a bit and see how she went about getting the information she needed.

She didn't need to know that we didn't need to watch her the whole time; that was more or less for our entertainment to see how she did under pressure and watchful eyes. Also, Lev wanted to see if he could make her sweat a little. On the other hand, I just wanted to watch and admire her.

Maybe if I watched her enough and got my fill, then I'd grow bored of her and move on. Who knows, perhaps I'd see some unsavory habit that would break the deal for me.

Either way, I needed to get over this stupid little schoolboy crush on Hanna sooner rather than later.

Chapter 5

Hanna

Them sitting there and watching me was unexpected, but I won't let it throw me off my game.

Picking up the list, I scanned it to get the gist of what they wanted from me. It was basic research on the bounty, nothing new or strange to me. I had this in the bag. "So, anything? Legal that is." Besides what's available to the public through public records, and what I had access to with my credentials with certain sites, I typically had outside help.