Page 58 of Prey of the Bratva

“This is an offshore transfer. The coordinates are routed through a private carrier, so we don’t know where exactly. But… but I can… I can give you the numbers—”

“Do it. Tell me,” I barked, my heart thumping loudly.

He rattled them off quickly, his voice shaking while I memorized every digit. I knew Sera was also writing it all down for backup. It was evident they knew nothing else, but what they had told us was more than enough.

“That’s enough. I don’t think they know anything else,” I said, turning to look at Kliment.

They both looked at me, then with hope in their eyes, but that was their mistake.

“Please,” the first one whispered. “We told you everything—”

“Now, please let us go,” Jared added.

“Yes,” I said. “Thank you for proving to be useful.”

And then I stepped back just as two shots rang out. Clean and simultaneous. Kliment didn’t miss. He never did. The bodies hit the floor seconds later, silence settling immediately after. A part of me did wish to leave them alive, but I could not take the risk. If Anton found out that his intel had been compromised, he would only change locations again, and we did not have a lot of time. A new shipment meant a new auction, and it must be happening soon.

I turned toward Kliment, and our eyes met. No words passed between us, but they didn’t need to.

“We must move at once. I don’t think we have a lot of time,” I said.

The team regrouped instantly, already shifting into extraction formation. Whatever this had been meant to give us, it wasn’t what we came for. But it was a message for us and from us. We exited the warehouse the same way we had entered, our movements fast, precise, and silent.

“Misha, head back to the safehouse with your team. I will head back with mine. I’ll see you there,” Kliment said, glancing at everyone behind us.

I nodded, my mind already plotting interception strategies in order to get to Sidorov before it was too late. But the moment we stepped past the threshold of the warehouse, both Kliment and I stopped in our tracks. The scene that met us was enough to make me worried, but I knew there was no escape now. Headlights exploded across the compound, blinding and sudden. Every instinct in my body snapped into focus as I noticed the vehicles all around the warehouse. They were positioned deliberately to block every exit point.

Weapons were raised even if there was no firing.

Yet.

I went still. I already knew exactly who was in the cars since Chernykh insignias marked the doors. My pulse didn’t spike, but it sharpened. It had been way too long since I had left home without informing anyone, and my brothers had finally found me. The first door opened, and Iosif stepped out.

“Fuck me,” I whispered, sighing deeply as I glanced at Kliment. His face was expressionless.

“I am afraid you won’t be able to run away this time, Misha. But if you do want to, get the girls and leave, and I will handle the situation here,” Kliment offered, but I shook my head.

“No. It’s about time I face them.”

Iosif was composed as always, but there was nothing calm in the way he looked at the scene in front of him. Avgust followed right after him, his expression harder, sharper, and his gaze already scanning the scene. I could see he was assessing threat levels, deciding if an attack was necessary or not. Timofey and Lukyan came next, slower, but the usual ease in their posture was gone and replaced with something far more dangerous.

To my surprise, another door opened, and Fyodor Romanov stepped out. Kliment’s expression changed the moment he saw Fyodor, and I could not blame him. It was not easy to see your own brother, your flesh and blood, siding with the people you considered your enemy. Kliment’s men and my girls were right behind us now, silently assessing the situation. Everyone knew what it meant, but I was not going to let this turn into a battle. It was true that every side was armed and ready, but it didn’t matter. This was not going to cause bloodshed.

Iosif’s gaze landed on me, and for the first time since I had walked into that warehouse, something inside me stilled completely.

“Misha,” he said. There was no relief or anger in his voice, but something more controlled. Something that almost felt like disappointment and confusion. I could see he was trying to understand, but failing miserably.

“Hello, Iosif,” I said, stepping forward.

“You’ve been difficult to find.”

I didn’t move further and didn’t lower my weapon or step back. I looked at him, facing him head-on like an equal. I knew there was no reason to try and hide things from him anymore. If he asked me to explain this situation, I would have to tell him the truth.

“I wasn’t hiding,” I said evenly.

Avgust let out a short, humorless laugh. “You disappear for weeks, and you call that not hiding?”

Timofey’s eyes flicked briefly toward Kliment, then back to me. “Interesting company you’ve chosen.”