My mind reels, the pieces snapping into place and flipping everything I thought upside down.
Dimitri isn't the head of the snake.
While it looks like he legitimately handles operations in Europe, Ivan is the one who controls the empire.
Which means Dimitri is running a rogue syndicate right under his brother's nose. He's using the Volkov name to fund trafficking and distribute drugs, keeping the profits entirely off the Bratva's official books.
And since he's hiding the money, it means Ivan has no idea.
I rub my face, a bitter wave of self-disgust washing over me. How the fuck did I miss this? How did I not know Dimitri wasn't the leader?
It doesn't take me long to find my answer.
Because I went rogue as well. Not in the fuck over my family type of way. But in the i'm a selfish bastard who couldn't see past my own agenda kind of way.
If I had looped Lucian in, if I had used our full intelligence network before hopping on a plane to Italy, our guys would have caught this. I would have known exactly who was holding the reins. But I was so blinded by my own ego, my need to handle this revenge myself, and my complete obsession with catchinga certain blonde Russian cleaner that I walked blindly into everything.
Fuck.
Danika's loyalty to Ivan makes perfect sense now. She doesn't know about the trafficking because her boss doesn't know. To her, the Volkovs are clean, and I just looked like a man who was mistaken.
I need to get this to our tech guys so they can fully expose every dirty deal Dimitri has buried. This is leverage. I can use this to pit the brothers against each other, feed Ivan the proof of his brother's treason, and take Dimitri out for good.
A slow smile flashes across my face.
Maybe Danika leaving this data wasn't the betrayal I thought it was. She just handed me the keys to the kingdom.
I close the laptop and stand, carrying it with me as I walk to my suitcase. My phone sits on top, the screen lit up with notifications.
Two texts from Lucian.
CALL ME.
WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?
I wince. Lucian's going to be pissed when I tell him everything, but the data on this hard drive will smooth it over, I hope. Like me, Lucian respects results.
I check the time. Just past nine in the morning. The files are too massive to send over a hotel connection. I need to shower, pack,and fly this laptop straight to Bucharest before Dimitri's men figure out where I am.
I grab a fresh suit from my suitcase and head into the shower.
The hot water hits my shoulders, and I close my eyes, letting the steam fill my lungs.
Last night replays in my mind without permission.
Danika on the table, her legs wrapped around my waist, her nails digging into my shoulders. The way she gasped when I buried myself inside her. The heat of her skin. The taste of her.
The way she looked at me when I pinned her wrists above her head, like she wanted me to take everything.
My cock hardens, aching and insistent.
I wrap my hand around it, stroking slowly at first, then faster. I should be furious that she slipped away. I should accept that getting involved with a Bratva assassin is a toxic, fatal mistake. But all I can think about is her body arching beneath mine, her blue eyes locked on me, daring me to keep going.
I grit my teeth, my hand moving faster, chasing the release I need to clear my head.
I squeeze my cock, imagining her tight heat wrapped around my shaft.
The thoughts are overwhelming, and it doesn't take long.
