Page 43 of Prey of the Bratva

“Yes?”

“If this goes wrong, it doesn’t just affect you. I hope you realize I am a part of this, too, now.”

“I know.” That sounded like silent support.

Our eyes held for a second longer before something unspoken settled between us. This wasn’t just my operation anymore. This was shared ground, and Kliment Romanov was a worthy ally.

***

By evening, the house no longer felt like the place I had been using to recover for the past month. It felt like war. I was already in the main room when the first knock came, adrenaline rushing through my system. Now that things were beginning to start again, I felt alive in a way I hadn’t since I had left my house to go to the docks all those days ago.

Kliment was standing near the far wall, arms crossed, and posture relaxed in a way that was anything but. He was watching. Always watching. The door was opened by the housekeeper, and Sera walked in first. For half a second, I just looked at her, relief flooding my system. She was alive and unharmed. Completely intact right in front of me. Her gaze roamed over the house before it settled onto me, a small smile appearing on her face as if her disappearance had been a joke.

“You disappeared,” I said, my tone accusatory. She should know I had been worried.

She smirked faintly, stepping fully into the room. “I just went quiet. There’s a difference.”

“You weren’t answering your phone, and Diane told me she hadn’t seen you in days.”

“I was busy not getting killed,” she replied dryly.

I crossed the room before she could say anything else and pulled her into a brief, tight hug. Every single woman in my team was a sister to me. I loved them just as much as I love Elisse and Zhenya.

“You’re late, though,” I muttered against her shoulder.

“I missed you too,” she murmured back with a small laugh.

When we pulled apart, her gaze flicked past me and stilled. I already knew who she was looking at. Kliment. The room shifted instantly, and tension snapped tight like a wire. Behind Sera, Diane stepped in next. They must have all arrived separately, I was sure, since I had instructed them to keep their tails clean and stay as low as possible. We could not risk revealing this location, especially right now with my brothers looking for me.

I wasn’t ready to go back home.

Diane walked in calmly, her eyes controlled but observant. Her gaze moved across the room once before settling on Kliment, sharp and assessing. She did not greet him and did not even acknowledge him beyond that look. I already expected that. None of them were supposed to trust Kliment. Just the way I wasn’t supposed to trust a Romanov either. But I did.

The other three followed shortly after, the safe house quickly turning into my operation’s headquarters. Alina was a small woman and remained mostly quiet, but she had eyes that missed nothing. She was in charge of surveillance in the group. Marina, on the other hand, had a stronger build, and her posture always remained defensive but grounded. She was the one who always took care of logistics. And Katya was the still one. She was composed of the kind of stillness that came from surviving something and refusing to break again. All of them had seenit. They were past survivors of the very same network we were trying to dismantle, and they were lucky to have escaped.

As they gathered inside, each of them paused as their eyes fell on Kliment. It was my fault. I knew I should have warned them beforehand, but it felt dangerous to do so even on a burner. If anyone hacked into our calls, it would only be a problem for Kliment, and I did not want that. Not after everything he was doing for me.

Kliment was standing in the same room as us. He was unarmed, but somehow still the most dangerous presence there.

“Are we going to address the fact that he’s here,” Sera said lightly, though her eyes remained sharp, “or are we pretending it is completely normal for all of us to be present inside Kliment Romanov’s safehouse?”

“I have been here since the day at the warehouse, and when I asked Kliment if I could invite you guys out here, he was kind enough to let me,” I said simply, quickly establishing the grounds. Respecting me meant respecting Kliment, even if they looked at him like an enemy.

“I could not have guessed that,” Diane replied, boring holes into Kliment.

Sera’s gaze flicked back to Kliment. “This is concerning, Misha. He is an enemy of your family. Are we sure this isn’t a trap?”

I was surprised when, despite being able to hear everything, Kliment did not react and did not rise to it at all. He remained resolute in his position, allowing me to handle the entire conversation however I wanted to. It almost felt as if he respected my authority, and that was a strange feeling. No one had ever done that before.

“Do you girls trust me?” I asked, my voice beginning to get firm. It was one thing to be friendly with my team, but it was completely different to establish authority, and I knew exactly how to do that.

The room went very still, but all of them nodded.

“We do,” Alina replied.

“Then you should know I have immense faith in this man and everything he represents. I would not be risking my life and your lives in such a stupid manner, obviously. On that day in the warehouse, when the gun was on my forehead and I was moments away from death, it was Kliment who saved and rescued me and brought me here. He is the one who is allowing me to stay here until I heal, and he knows all about our operations.”

Sera’s expression sharpened, and they all looked at one another, as if registering the information.