Page 15 of The Bratva's Bounty

"If that is what you want, then I will honor it. Shame because I had a big update regarding Nicole and was about to work out a plan of extraction and exchange with you two since I'm at that step." Okay, big lie, and I have no ideawhy the fuck I let the words fly out of my mouth instead of accepting their withdrawal and sending them on their way out the damn door.

I don't know why, but my gut told me to keep them on the hook with me; otherwise, shit would go haywire. I couldn't let them go because if I did, I feared I might actually lose Nicole because of whatever her parents had planned. I needed to find out what their plan was, though, which would be another pain in the ass all on its own. Hopefully, my lie will be enough to keep their interest.

"Oh? You are that close? I apologize, but if you are that close to bringing our daughter back to us, then I do not want to terminate this contract. I thought you were still in the process of… If you are that far along, then please, we do not want all your hard work to be for naught. Consider the contract still in place, please." Yeah, something was definitely up with how fast he changed his tone.

"Did you find someone else who's going to be more efficient than me? Just curious, won't be upset if you say yes." Well, at least I wouldn't be upset for the reason I gave them. I wanna know who to fuck up later for even thinking about going after Nicole.

"A family friend of ours. We initially reached out to them, but they were busy with an assignment out of the country, which they finished early. They recently came back and asked us about our request about Nicole, and since they are a trusted family friend, well, nothing against you, Mr. Volkov, but family is family, you know? I am sure if you were in the same position as me, then you would make the same decisions." I'd give him credit for his fake ass smile filled with venom that could chill anyone to the bone—not me, though because I was used to that shit.

Matching his fake smile with one of my own, I offered him a nod of understanding. "Of course, it makes sense that you would rather work with someone you are familiar with and trust wholeheartedly. I am but a stranger to you, and the only thing you have to go on is what the public and my previous clients have told of me. I was worried that you had found someone better because not to sound cocky, I am the best there is in Nespin. Well, scratch that,the best in most of California at this rate." Hopefully, one of them will take my bait and run their lips a little.

Mark was quick to shake his head and chuckle somewhat nervously. "Oh, no, no. If Mr. Petrov wasn't someone we trusted and considered family, then we would not have even considered terminating our contract with you." Gotcha, though I kind of wish I didn't because that name made my stomach sink in the mud.

Sure, there were probably many people out there with the last name Petrov, but it was too much of a coincidence in my opinion. The Le's being involved in the mafia and having connections with someone with the Petrov name—yeah, I had my suspicions and doubts. Especially given the fact that the Le's had ties to Lady Qing, something I recently discovered after digging deeper into them at Nicole's little fumble with my revelation. The former triad head had a black-market business going on with Ivan Petrov, a small and upcoming bratva boss who played our bratva. Yeah, see the coincidences? Too much to disregard, in my opinion.

Adding a charm to my smile, I gave out a soft, friendly smile. "Ah, I have heard about Ivan Petrov. He is a formidable one. I wouldn't blame you for defaulting on him if you had a good relationship with him. I have to say, he's a crafty one." Time to chum the water more and see if they swim up for another bite.

If Igor was still sniffling around the area, then I needed to know. Well, our whole family needed to know because he was a wanted man along with his father. Both of them were wanted criminals in Russia for their activities there before they fled to the United States, and of course, us Volkovs have a huge bone to pick with them, especially after they tried to force Nikolai into an alliance with them, kidnapped him, and auctioned him off. I wouldn't mind getting my hands dirty beating their faces in for their activities with human trafficking, too, considering how they weren't so hands-off with their 'product' from what the victims told us after we saved them.

Needless to say, we wanted the Petrovs gone. Besides the father and son, there were two more, one whom we have in custody in our desert holding area, their daughter who tried to rape Nikolai during his time being kidnapped. Her twin, Nikita, was in the wind though. Wedidn't care too much about him since he was really only guilty by association, which sucked, but we weren't going to prosecute him because his family was shitty. So, we only had two rats to hunt and slaughter.

"Oh, you have heard of him?" Hooked line and sinker. "He is amazing and a great businessman, too. Well, Mr. Petrov will be a little disappointed, but I really don't want your hard work to go to waste like that, Mr. Volkov. I am sorry for taking up your time like this today for everything to still be the same as when my wife and I walked into your office."

God, I think I might puke up acid if this man didn't stop being nice and grateful—fake nice and grateful. If he was genuine, then I wouldn't care, but he was being overly so. Plus, his voice held any weight to it—empty words. I didn't like this man, not one bit. I couldn't say much about his wife, though, because Mrs. Le always kept her mouth shut with a stiff smile every time I've seen her. She didn't seem too happy with the situation, though, with the irritation in her eyes; there was something malicious storming in her eyes, something that made me worry for Nicole.

Which was all kind of stupid because I shouldn't be worried about her to this extent. Hell, if anything, I should forget her and let her fend for herself because she sure as hell could—my damn face still aches at the thought of her taking a plank to it. Ishouldterminate this damn contract and remove myself from Nicole's life and burn her existence from mine. Yet I can't. The thought of leaving her to fend for herself when I could protect her gnawed at my burning heart.

I hated the effect she had on my life ever since I looked at her picture for the first time. Yes, I was enamored with the little spunky Asian the moment her parents slid her image across my desk. Never mind, that was a lie; I fell head over heels for her the moment she whacked me in the face and broke my nose. Anyone who had such guts to strike out against me like that got props in my book, and a hot woman at that—what more could I ask for?

Nicole wasn't afraid of me. Hell, she straight up approached me, yapped off to me, and persisted even though I showed no interest in return, or at least pretended to. No one ever approached me unless it was to pick a fight or theyhad a death wish, and no woman ever really approached me unless they had an ulterior motive or were drunk in the club. I had a handsome face, but it was also one of those faces that only a mother could love, thanks to the nasty scar that ran from my hairline down past my lips. I mean, sure, some girls dig the look, but for the most part, it scared a lot away because I didn't look the most welcoming out of all the men in the world.

Wonder if Nicole is put off by my scar.

She didn't seem like a shallow person, and she didn't outright stare at it. But she might have ignored it to be nice; who knows? And it's not like I should care what she thought about me. At the end of the day, it was my job to make sure she stayed safe, and she just saw me as a means of entertainment in her strange life right now. She'll probably forget all about me the moment she returns to a normal life. In a year or so, she'll probably be posting a slew of pictures on Instagram showing off her shiny new rock from her newly dubbed fiancé, who will probably be some suave businessman or hotshot actor. Yeah, I probably had a shot with her if I really tried, but an innocent woman like her didn't belong in my ruthless, bloodied world, no matter how much I wanted her.

"Don't worry about it. Do be safe out there, and I will come in touch with you within a few days once I have a solid plan about Nicole." Or at least a few days until I bring my wrath onto them after I figure out exactly what they're up to.

Chapter 9

Lev

"Why does he looklike that?"

"Uhh… Is he high? Please don't tell me he's fucking strung out. I am way too fucking tired to be dealing with this crap at home."

"Lev!"

A harsh slap to my face snapped me completely out of my little daze and pissed me off. Instinctively, I lashed out in the direction the hit came from while cussing them out in Russian, only to have another smack come to my face from a leather bag. "What the fuck was that for?" I snapped at Alexei with a sharp glare after I settled back into the couch with my arms spread across the back.

Alexei stared at me blankly and blinked a few times before shrugging his shoulders softly in a dismissive way. "You were looking a little too happy for our liking."

Unconsciously, I reached up and lightly rubbed my healing tattoo. "Can I not be happy?" I retorted with an offended sneer, lashing my arm out and catching Alexei softly in the midsection, causing him to grunt softly.

Turning my head to the other side, I watched Nikolai groan and rub his temples while hanging his head. "What did you do? Who did you kill? Whatdid you collapse? What's the collateral? How much is this going to cost us?" Nikolai basically went on autopilot whenever it came to me, which I didn't blame him for. After all, I was the problem brother. Nothing good ever came from me coming home smiling like a goof—except this time!

Scrunching my face up, I followed my sister-in-law as she walked over and stopped right in front of me. "Lev, look at my finger," she directed me after she held a finger up in the air and pulled out her penlight from her scrub pocket.

Rolling my eyes, I gently lowered her hand. If it were Alexei or any of our other male employees, then I would have smacked their hand away. However, I was raised with manners by my mother and brothers. I would never hit or harm a woman, intentionally, at least. If a woman attacked me, then I would defend myself with the least harm to her in return—duh. But I would never abuse a female or raise a hand against them for any reason—if that made any sense.