I inhale deeply, steadying myself.
I’ll be okay.
I’ll be fine.
And I will avenge my father.
Chapter 4 – Timofey
I’ve spent most of my life learning one thing: Danger never comes unannounced.
It lingers. It builds. It leaves traces for those sharp enough to see them.
And I’ve always been sharp enough.
Being part of one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the United States doesn’t leave room for mistakes. Every move we make creates consequences. Every alliance brings enemies. Every decision has a cost.
That’s why Valeria Petrova’s arrival doesn’t sit right with me.
It’s too sudden. Too convenient.
A fallen Bratva princess shows up at our doorstep, asking for protection just days after her family is torn apart from the inside. No warning. No buildup. Just…her.
That’s not how the underworld works.
Her story checks out—on the surface. Dimitri and Sebastian confirmed as much. The coup. The deaths. The power struggle in Moscow. It’s real.
But reality doesn’t mean truth.
There are gaps.
There are always gaps.
And Valeria…she’s…she makes me uncomfortable.
I lean back in my chair, letting my head fall against the leather, eyes drifting shut for a second longer than they should. And just like that, I’m back there. Last night.
Her on the floor.
Crying.
Not controlled. Not calculated. Not the composed, sharp-tongued woman who stood in Mike’s office like she could go to war with anyone in the room.
No.
That was something else.
Raw.
Broken.
Real.
My jaw tightens.
Until that moment, she was a problem. A possible threat. A complication I didn’t ask for and didn’t want.
But that….
