Page 61 of Prey of the Bratva

Iosif’s gaze locked onto her, something far heavier settling behind it now. “You should have come to us.”

“And then what?” she asked calmly. “You would have burned everything down without proof. Started a war without knowing who you were fighting. Or perhaps you would have told me how this is an unnecessary battle that I didn’t even need to fight?”

“You don’t know that, Misha. We could have been supportive and would have taken care of it for you,” he said.

“I don’t want you to take care of it for me. I want you to trust me enough to believe that I can take care of it myself.”

Silence cracked again, and this time it was louder and more dangerous.

Timofey ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping. “You’re telling us you’ve been tracking a Russian pakhan operating a trafficking network through our ports alone for months and that we should let you keep doing it?”

“Yes.”

“And you thought that was a good idea?”

“No,” she said. “I thought it was a necessary one.”

Iosif exhaled slowly, his composure barely holding. “You’re stepping away from this, Misha. I cannot have you going around, risking your life in god knows what ways. I would rather handle this myself and have you alive and safe. I promise you I will get you the outcome you want if you listen.”

“No.”

“Misha—”

“I have already said no.”

The repetition wasn’t louder. It didn’t need to be. Because it was final.

Avgust’s temper snapped next. “You will get yourself killed.”

“I won’t.”

They stood there, facing each other, neither willing to yield. Neither built to. And before it could escalate further, I spoke.

“She has been handling this without you, without all of you, for months now. And she has been doing a damned good job at that. I have seen Misha run the operations up close, and I have met the team of women she has gathered for her cause, and every single one of them is smart, accomplished and lethal. If anything, you should be proud of her.”

Every head turned, and the room shifted instantly. Not just because I spoke, but because of what I said.

“You are a hypocrite to be saying that after you refused to bring Ilana even close to this life,” Avgust scoffed, referencing his wife and my sister.

“Ilana never wanted a taste of it. But if she had wanted to, I would have been a supportive brother and would have trained her myself.”

There was absolute silence.

Avgust’s expression darkened immediately. “How I act as a brother doesn’t concern you.”

“It does now.”

Iosif’s gaze moved to me again, slower this time. More dangerous.

“You think you understand our family?”

“No,” I said evenly. “I think I understand Misha, and that is more than enough.”

That was worse. Far worse. Misha moved, then, taking one step forward and breaking the line of confrontation before it could fracture into something irreversible.

“I can speak for myself.” Her voice cut cleanly through the room, steady and sharp.

“This was never about rebellion,” she continued. “I wasn’t trying to go against you. This is simply about responsibility and how I feel about this cause. I know I have it in me to be able to help these women, and I will do everything in my power to do exactly that.”