Page 48 of Claimed By the Pakhan

The door bursts open, revealing two of his men, hidden behind black balaclavas. They each have a gun at their hip, standing perfectly still, perpendicular to one another like trained soldiers.

I narrow my eyes down on them, noting their rigid shoulders.

“You run a tight ship, Alexander. Your soldiers should loosen up a bit.”

“I don’t want my soldiers loose. I want them ready.”

“For what exactly?”

“Good question,” chuckles Alexander, rising from the chair. He’s an entire foot shorter than me, but that doesn’t faze him as he walks over to me, taking confident steps, holding eye contact the entire time. “While you were cozying up to your little plaything, sticking your cock into something warm and forgetting about your troubles, one of your men was feeding me data about your latest shipping reports. We all lose eventually, and your reign is coming to an end,” says Alexander, challenging me with his soulless eyes. “You had a second chance, Emil, but you refused to take it.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Yes, indeed we will,” chuckles Alexander. “If you were a truepakhan,you would have abandoned Fia in that hospital, taking her amnesia as a sign from the gods to focus on the things that she caused you to lose sight of.”

Alexander tilts his head to the side, assessing me. “Who are you without power?” A smirk crawls onto his face. “I’ll let you answer that question in your own time, the next time you’re losing yourself in pussy instead of being the man your father wanted you to be.” Alexander keeps looking at me. “I’m glad that man crashed his car right into her, weakening her forces, and yours, because now you’re back to square one, running after a girl who wants answers again. And second chances are extremely hard to come by in this world. There’s only so many times a young woman can walk through a dangerous dockyard and come out unscathed…”

I shove Alexander into the control panel, anger bursting at the seams. Loud clanking booms through the dockyard, metal scraping like a domino effect until an eerie silence washes over the expanse, the howling wind the only movement.

Alexander turns to me, a spark in his eye. “Congratulations on disabling the cranes. You’re closer than you think to handing the power over to me.”

“The power would obliterate you,” I sneer, sliding my blade under Alexander’s chin, ready to see blood.

The two soldiers jolt into action as if powered by a remote control. They’re half my size and age. Disarming them is too easy. I fling my arm around both of their necks, squeezing until they have no other choice but to drop the weapons.

I release them, taking a step back. “You still want that ceasefire?” I say, staring dead into Alexander’s cold eyes.

“It involves you standing down.”

“You might want to rethink your definition of a ceasefire, then.”

“You’ll be the one begging for it when you continue acting recklessly and cause harm on Fia and the twins.”

Rage burns through my veins, my blood turning to steam. “How the fuck do you know she’s pregnant?”

“You underestimate me, Emil. I’m more resourceful than you think,” says Alexander, taking a step forward. He tips his chin, challenging me again with all the confidence in the world. “Threaten me or any of my men with your knife again and Fia faces the consequences.”

I clench my hands into fists. The initial anger passes, making room for a sudden realization to dawn on me. “You said a man crashed into Fia. How do you know this?”

“Like I said,” Alexander says, smirking. “I’m more resourceful than you think.”

16

FIA

Pregnancy fatigue keepsme glued to bed for the rest of the morning. I tear away the covers at two in the afternoon when my full bladder is impossible to ignore.

I grimace at my reflection in the mirror while washing my hands in the sink, looking paler than a vampire who is experiencing blood withdrawals.

While Emil is out committing crimes, I decide to investigate the documents Chloe forwarded to me. Last time I looked into the numbers, I was attacked at the dockyard, which seems to be a regular occurrence for me.

I nibble my lip, highlighting several inconsistencies in the reports. Most of these numbers make sense, knowing Emil runs a Bratva. But my gut tells me that I’m still missing answers, like these reports are part of something bigger.

I ring Chloe, pressing the phone to my ear. “Hey, I need you to do me a favor.”

“You can start by telling me what the fuck happened at the docks, since you’re being ambiguous in your messages to me.”

“I’m safe,” I reassure her.