Page 29 of Bratva Prisoner

“It’s okay. Her death hit Aleksei the most, but we all miss her.”

“What are they like? Your brothers, I mean.”

The question makes me smile despite myself. “Aleksei’s the responsible one, keeps us all in line when we get too carried away. Dimitri’s the quiet one, and he has a different mother than the rest of us, but he can talk his way out of anything when he needs to. Grigor’s the mediator of the group; he stays calm no matter what. Akim’s the troublemaker, but he’s smart as a whip. Nikolai’s the baby, though he would probably kill me for calling him that.”

“You sound close,” she comments as the corner of her mouth lifts.

“We are. Growing up the way we did, we learned early that family is the only thing you can really count on. Everyone else will eventually disappoint you or betray you, but your brothers…” I trail off, realizing I’m revealing more about our background than I intended.

“Growing up how?”

“Let’s just say our father had an unconventional career path.”

She nods like she understands, and maybe she does. Maybe she’s pieced together enough clues to know that the Barkov family business isn’t exactly conventional, even though I haven’t outright said we’re in the Bratva.

“I always wanted siblings,” she admits. “Being an only child in my house was lonely. Having five brothers sounds chaotic but wonderful.”

“It is. They drive me crazy most of the time, but I’d do anything to protect them, kill anyone who tried to hurt them.”

“I believe that. You get this look in your eyes when you talk about protecting the people you care about. Like you’ve actually had to do it before.”

Perceptive little kitten, just as I suspected.

“Everyone’s had to protect someone at some point,” I deflect just as my phone rings. I glance at the display and curse under my breath when I see Akim’s name. “I have to take this.”

She rolls her eyes with a smirk and replies, “Of course you do.”

I walk a few yards away from the log before answering. “What’s up, Akim?”

“We need you back at the house,” he rushes out. “Now.”

“I’m busy.”

“With your houseguest, I know. But this can’t wait, and Ravenshollow is the closest secure location.”

Something in his tone gets my attention. “What’s going on?”

“We caught a break on those bodies. Got our hands on someone who might have answers, but he’s not talking voluntarily. Grigor thinks a change of scenery might loosen his tongue.”

Fuck. The last thing I need is my brothers conducting an interrogation at my house while Alyssa is there.

“Find somewhere else.”

“There’s no time. We need to do this now before his friends realize he’s missing.”

I look back at Alyssa, who’s pretending not to eavesdrop on my conversation while obviously hanging on every word.

“How long do you need?”

“However long it takes to get him talking. Could be an hour, could be all night.”

“Fine. But we stay in the east wing. She doesn’t need to know about this.”

“Understood.”

I end the call and return to Alyssa, who’s watching me with those too-knowing eyes.

“Family business again?” she asks.