Page 4 of The Bratva's Bounty

As I waited for my order to come out, I could spot him in the background through the window's reflection. It really was a shame I couldn't pursue him; he really was a catch looks-wise. On the other hand, I couldn't shake this eerie feeling that I'd seen him somewhere before. If it weren't for the nasty, jagged-looking scar running down the left side of his face, then I would have chunked him as some random man.

Not gonna lie, it was a nasty scar, and it gave him a scary look. Shockingly, I didn't care, even though that should have been a big red flag for me to scram and hide out of his sight, not poke at him like I planned to do. Well, the shocking part was me digging it because, fuck it, I wanted a dangerous and rugged man. I was tired of trust fund boys who didn't have a manly bone in their body (the boys my parents wanted me to get with).

Yeah, rebelling inmy mid-twenties probably seemed stupid and cliché, but better late than never, I say. I only wished I'd done this sooner. Thinking back on how long I let my parents manipulate me and make most of the decisions in my life peeved me greatly. More so at myself for being so stupid and blind to let my parents go as far as they did. I can't believe it only took losing everything for me to open my eyes.

Sighing softly, I picked at the hem of my jacket while I waited for my order. I still wasn't completely free yet, either. I couldn't go about my life freely yet.

My fingers twitched as I stared at my phone sitting on the countertop. Call me immature or childish or an addict, but I wanted so badly to log onto my social media accounts. Yes, I was one of those people who wasted my time away on social media, but only because that was one of the only ways for me to connect to the outside world and get any social interaction with people who understood me.

Too bad I couldn't. I would draw too much attention to myself and give my parents a way to pinpoint my location. It was already risky for me to go out and about like this on a near-daily basis, but living in a cabin outside the bustling city limits slowly drove me mad.

Well, if anything ever went wrong, Angel was always a call away. Yeah, I felt kind of bad to lean on her like that, but she owed me big time for all the shit I've done for her throughout the years. Besides, what's the point of having a mafia boss friend if you coukdn't abuse their powers vicariously through them?

Angel Vu-Volkov, wife to the esteemed Nikolai Volkov, Pakhan of the Volkov Bratva. Last I checked with Angel, ever since she overthrew her stepmother, took her mantle of Dragon Head of the Qing triad, and merged it with her husband's bratva, they nearly ran all of Nespin, California. They were working on securing San Diego, San Francisco, more of Los Angeles, and possibly another city or two, last I remember my little business chat with Angel a while back.

I had friends in high places, so might as well cash in my favors. Well, that and Angel was a good friend who would do anything for me to have a happy life. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that she was a mafia wife and head herself with how kindhearted she was as a person. That's all before the fact she was acareer nurse and business owner of a shelter for the abused. Unless she was in a mood and seen in action, it was easy to forget her title as the Bratva's Bride.

I probably could have had it made like that, kind of. If I'd let my parents parade my life around how they wanted, then I'd be living it cushy with my rich husband. Yeah, maybe I was a little crazy for throwing that life away, but dwelling on such a future gave me such an ick. I didn't want to be some trophy wife or a warm body for a rich bastard to come home to.

My thoughts ran away from me at the sight of Lia out of my periphery. "Penny for your thoughts?" Lia questioned with genuine curiosity and warmth.

"Oh, just thinking about life, just in a bit of a rut and trying to get myself out." It wasn't a lie; I was basically in a life crisis.

Even after this shit with my parents got figured out, I had no idea what I'd do with my life. I couldn't pick my company back up, not after my parents and brother were dragging it through the mud and dirtying it with their mafia business. Starting another business was a possibility, but also a shit ton of work. Also, I wouldn't be truly happy running another business because it wasn't really my passion. Maybe I could go back to school and get my engineering degree, but I didn't want to waste time or run around in circles.

"Oh, you're still young with a lot ahead of you. Just do whatever makes you happy, that's all I can tell you, and have fun while you're young and still can. Oh, I miss when I could frolic around freely, give the boys a run around for their money." It was a little hard to imagine nice ol' Lia as she described herself, but one look in her eyes and I could see the simmering flame.

Peering out the window, I bit my bottom lip to suppress my widening smile as I carefully eyed the man's reflection. "You know, I might just take that advice. Have fun while I still can."

Time to fuck around and find out.

Chapter 3

Lev

What the fuck isshe doing?

Weaving around all these people, turning these stupid street corners, and going down the shadiest streets started to get on my nerves. Something wasn't right, I could feel it. It almost felt like I was following a whole different girl around. Yes, I did wonder if she somehow caught on and did some switch-a-roo on me with a friend or something, but then I remembered the fact she basically had no friends from this little act of defiance of hers.

No, this was still the same Nicole Le I'd been stalking around for the past week; those blue, teal, and dark purple streaks on the underside of her long, black hair made her easy to spot out in the crowd. Honestly, she was doing a piss poor job of keeping low with her appearance. Okay, well, never mind, I take that back; it wasn't a completely bad job. I barely recognized her because of the appearance change. From the pictures her parents showed me, she was a complete girly girl with a soft appearance. This Nicole, the one I found and currently follow, had an edgier appearance with colored streaks in her long, black hair which she kept down rather than up all the time like in the pictures.

In a way, she looked nothing like her pictures—respectfully! The female I saw in the pictures given to me and found online was of this soft, rich, shelteredgirl, but this girl a few feet ahead of me—phew! I mean, if it weren't for those fiery eyes, I'd doubt they were the same girl. I wouldn't complain one bit about her change in appearance because, honestly, I dug it. Sure, the lighter colors on her looked cute, but she made black and darker shades of color look stunning on her petite figure.

I couldn't fully comment on the shape of her body because it didn't swing fully one way or another. She may not have some full, hourglass figure, nor did she have very defined curves, but she had an athletic figure. Think maybe my sister-in-law would classify her as a rectangle, politely, of course. Nothing about her body was overtly so, nor were there any areas that were fully accentuated.

Okay, average, almost plain, would be a blunt way to put her, but I didn't mind it on her. Sure, a nice pair of tits or a juicy ass was nice to dig into, but they grew mundane after a while. A model on my arms sounded perfect, but it also sounded boring. Honestly, a huge part of me craved some kind of normality in my chaotic life. A girl was probably the last place to search for that because I seem to attract the crazy ones who only want me for my wallet or reputation.

Maybe that's why Nicole interested me because she paid no attention to me. Granted, she shouldn't be. Otherwise, I'd be doing a bitch ass job of tailing her. Damn, maybe I thought too much into this. Of course, she wouldn't fucking notice me, that's the whole point of this stupid stalking. Would she notice me, though, if she were to cross me on the street? Or if I were to approach her? Or would she shrug me off? What if—

"Blyat'!" I hissed under my breath when she literally disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Picking up my pace, I continued to mutter cusses in Russian under my breath as I went after my target's last known location. I blinked just as she turned the corner, I think. Fucking hell, she was literally here and gone in a blink of a damn eye. No, I was not being sloppy and missed her.

Huffing and growling at myself, I rounded the corner of the building to… Nothing. Well, almost nothing. The alleyway looked like any other rubbish alleyway with dumpsters and litter, but what made me stop was the distinctcrinkle under my shoe, along with a neat little takeout box with a black bow on it.

Slowly, with my eyes still scanning the alleyway, I tried to see if I could spot streaks of color amongst the dull area. When there were no signs of Nicole, I deflated with a long sigh as I bent down to pick up the piece of paper and takeout box.

A little treat for some motivation.