If I play my cards right, I could turn Katya into the leverage we need. And maybe then I’ll finally get Roman to stop treating me like an errand boy.
As much as I don’t want to give my brother too much credit right now, he wasn’t wrong about my specialty. I’ve been doing this a long time, and blending in is something I’m good at.
Maybe it’s from all my nights spent meandering between different crowds, searching for something to spark my interest, and for substances and people to help take the edge off. Or maybe I was just born that way.
A guy revs his engine, drawing Katya’s attention. She looks over, giving her a nod of approval and seemingly appreciation.
More so than I do, she fits in here. That’s the part I can’t wrap my head around.
I at least expected to find her out of place, standing awkwardly in designer boots, checking her phone every few seconds, maybe waiting for Yuri to call her home like a good bratva sister.
But that doesn’t seem to be her reality, and that has me at a complete loss.
One way or another, she belongs here, and I can’t tell if that makes her more dangerous or just intriguing.
Despite trying my best to stay out of her direct attention, I glance at Katya only for her eyes to meet mine immediately after.
It’s quick. A flicker of connection across the space between us. Still, it’s enough to make me pause.
Her focus on me sharpens slightly, as if trying to place me, or to establish if I’m a new face.
Which, so long as I’ve been doing my job right, I should be to her.
Regardless of how that eye contact sends a strange thrill down my spine, I keep my expression as casual as I can, like I’m just another guy admiring the cars around us. I glance away, pretending to check out a Subaru with a ridiculous orange paint job.
But when I return my eyes to her, she’s still looking.
It isn’t entirely open. No…I assume she’s too smart for that. Still, I catch the shift in her posture, almost like she’s preparing for something.
As much as I want to keep staring at her, I force myself to break that eye contact before it gets out of hand. Before she starts asking herself too many questions about me.
A moment later, I glance at her from the corner of my eye, noticing how she has turned back to her friend and continues chatting.
An odd jolt moves through me, and it feels completely unexpected.
She noticed me, and not just in the way a woman notices a man looking at her, but with a sharpness that betrays her vigilance.
She isn’t oblivious, and while that could pose a challenge for me, it’s also a good thing.
That makes her more fun and more useful.
The crowd continues to shift while the music thumps, and I put in more of an effort to hang back while I push away from the rental and meander around, watching her without interruption.
Katya is animated when she talks, moving her hands in small gestures, laughing while she talks to the others. She’s nothing like the other Brava women I’ve come to know…icy socialites with empty eyes and smiles that never mean anything. Those who are either content with being ornaments or who have never known anything different.
Instead, Katya is alive in an almost refreshing way. And more so than anything else, that makes her dangerous to me.
She doesn’t seem like the type to willingly be persuaded or manipulated, and if that’s the case, then she could very well be Yuri’s equal. Or, she could be a wildcard. I still don’t know those finer details yet.
Regardless, the beginnings of a plan start to form in my mind while I watch her say goodbye to a few of her friends before she slips her helmet back on and swings a leg over the Ducati.
If I can get close enough to her, not as a Bratva soldier but as someone she can trust, then I could use her to pull Yuri out of his current hiding place. And if I bring Yuri to Roman, then my siblings won’t be able to dismiss me so easily.
Then, I won’t be the brother who can’t be trusted with the big ordeals. I won’t just be the indulgent one or the one who can’t be bothered to show up when the others need me.
I’ll make them see, even if it takes time.
Katya revs the engine before pulling out, garnering her fair share of glances. I let her go, waiting a few minutes before slipping back into the rental and leaving after her.
