Page 35 of Brutal Reign (Bratva Kings #3)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

PAVEL

The locked door at the bottom of the stairs yields to my code. The room beyond glows with blue light from a wall of monitors, speakers blasting some techno-industrial track that makes my skull pound. Dinara doesn’t look up when I enter, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

“About time you showed up,” she says, turning down the deafening music with a remote.

I drop into the leather chair behind her, stretching my legs out. My body aches with exhaustion, and I rub a hand over my face, feeling the stubble there. “Give me a break. I was at the warehouse dealing with…a problem.”

My knuckles still ache from persuading our truck driver that skimming product from us was a very poor career move. Most people know better, but every now and then, someone needs a reminder.

Dinara glances down at my bruised knuckles, then up at my face where I can’t hide the smile tugging at my lips. She tilts her head. “Why are you grinning like an idiot?”

“No reason. Can’t a man be happy?”

“Not you,” she says, side-eyeing me suspiciously.

It’s been two nights since Hope let me fuck her with my gun.

She’s been avoiding me since then by eating dinner earlier with Kin and staying in her room all night, but I know it’s only a matter of time before it happens again.

I’ve noticed the way she looks at me when she thinks I’m not watching, like she’s fighting a war with herself and losing.

Dinara side-eyes me but keeps clacking away at the keyboard in front of her.

Her workspace is a tech genius’s wet dream: six curved monitors forming a semicircle around her chair, each streaming data, code, and security feeds.

Towers of custom-built PCs hum beneath the desk, their LED strips pulsing in sync.

Cables snake everywhere, linking servers, backup drives, and what looks like enough computing power to hack into the Pentagon.

Empty energy drink cans are stacked like a caffeinated fortress around her setup.

I grab one of her drinks and take a long swig. “God, how do you drink this shit? Ever heard of coffee?”

She frowns and swipes the can back from me. “Very funny. And leave my drinks alone. It’s how I stay up all night working on this stuff. And you’re lucky I do because I’ve found something juicy.”

My eyebrows rise. “Don’t leave me in suspense.”

Dinara spins back to her screens, cracking her knuckles. “After you asked me to dig deeper, I decided to look into everyone and everything in Hope’s orbit.” Her eyes flicker to mine. “It’s big. You might want to brace yourself.”

I slide into the chair beside her as she taps one of the screens filled with legal paperwork.

“What the hell am I looking at?”

“Hope’s trust fund. Lai King left her two hundred million US dollars.”

I whistle low and scan the documents. My eyebrows press together as one detail jumps out—she could only access the money after she turned twenty-five. Which she just did.

Dinara taps a few more keys and brings up a series of encrypted messages. “This is communication between Hope and Chen Wei, her father’s personal attorney and the man administering the trust. He’s like an uncle to her. She confided in him, trusted him.”

I frown. “Has the trust been transferred to her yet?”

“No. Apparently, there was some delay with the bank and she wasn’t able to get the money before her wedding to Simon.” The wedding that never happened because of me. Dinara leans back in her chair, arms crossed. “Simon didn’t know about her inheritance, and she didn’t want him to know.”

She pulls up a series of the messages between Hope and Chen, dated before her wedding.

My eyes scan the screen, catching phrases that make my jaw clench.

He threatened me. I had no choice..

I can’t go through with marrying him. He frightens me. I want no part of the Black Company or this world.

Please, I’m begging you. When can I get the money? I want to escape before the ceremony.

In another message, Hope describes how Simon monitors her movements, checks her phone, and isolates her.

He says it’s for my protection, but I feel like a prisoner.

Hope’s desperation makes my gut twist. My hands ache to wrap around Simon’s throat.

Dinara shakes her head. “Her plan was to get the money and disappear to New Zealand with Kin, somewhere she’d never be found by the Black Company and, no offense, by the Syndicate.”

I rake a hand through my hair. “I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

“Because there is.” Dinara’s tone darkens.

“Chen kept telling her there were procedural delays, documents that needed verification, and bank hold-ups. Said the money would be available right after the wedding, knowing full well that once married, her husband would have legal rights to her assets under marital law.”

A muscle in my jaw tenses. “That sounds very fucking suspicious.”

Dinara’s fingers dance across the keyboard, opening new windows.

“I thought so too. So I started pulling at threads. The interesting thing is that, right around the time Hope started messaging him, Chen set up multiple offshore accounts under shell corporations. The kind of accounts people use to hide massive payouts.”

My blood runs cold as the implications sink in. “You think Chen’s working with Simon?”

“It makes sense.” She points to the trust fund documents.

“Because if Hope had done her own research instead of trusting Chen, she would’ve discovered the timing was everything.

Chen made sure she’d only get access after the wedding, when it would be too late.

But if she got her hands on the money before the wedding… ”

“She disappears. Game over.” A slow, violent chill moves through me.

“Fuck me. Simon wants her money.” It tracks.

Hong Kong authorities froze all of the Black Company’s assets, which means Simon has to rely on outside cash infusions.

“So Chen stalling the payout ensured Simon could get his hands on her inheritance.”

Dinara nods grimly. “Exactly. And now you’ve fucked up that plan. He doesn’t just want Hope for her family name. He also wants her two hundred mill.”

The thought that Simon is using her for her money, on top of everything else, makes me see red. “Does Hope suspect Chen is playing her?”

“I doubt it. She contacted him before you left Hong Kong.”

That might explain Hope’s destroyed phone. She didn’t want me to see who she’d been communicating with.

I narrow my eyes. “How do you even find this shit?”

She smirks with obvious pride. “I’m a digital sorceress.”

I rest my ankle on my knee. “Any activity on the tablet? Has she tried to contact Chen recently?”

Dinara raises a pierced eyebrow. “Not yet, but my guess is it’s a matter of time.”

“Good. Let her. If she’s still waiting on that money, she might try to contact Chen. And if he’s working with Simon, it might be our only shot at finding him.” Simon has gone underground in Hong Kong, where we have few allies.

I don’t like using Hope this way. If I had a choice, I’d tell her the truth, but I don’t think she’d believe me. She trusts Chen, and she doesn’t trust me… yet. But I’m working on it.

I stand and grab the last of Dinara’s energy drink.

“Hey!” She makes a swipe for her drink, but I bat her hand away.

“It’s mine now. Get your own.”

It’s fucking gross, but I have a feeling tonight’s going to be a long one.

I squeeze her shoulder affectionately. “Good work, Dinochka. Email all of this to me. I’m going to forward it to Maxim and the others. Her messages to Chen make it clear she never wanted to be part of his world. They can see the truth about Hope for themselves.”

I leave Dinara to finish up and head upstairs to the main floor.

“Ready or not, here I come!” Hope’s voice carries through the hallway.

Before I can take another step, Kin darts into view, all messy hair and mischief, eyes darting around like he’s searching for something.

His face lights up when he sees me, and he makes a beeline in my direction.

“Hide with me!” he whispers urgently, casting a glance back in the direction of Hope’s voice.

I have a mountain of work waiting, calls to make, and the Chen situation to handle. He must see my reluctance because his face falls.

“Please? Mama’s really good at finding me.”

How could I say no to that face?

Yarik appears, and we exchange a silent nod. Hope must have asked him to keep an eye on the kid. It’s clear Hope has a soft spot for my old boxing coach, and the feeling is mutual. Can’t blame him.

“Alright,” I whisper back, scanning the corridor. “Where to?”

I wink at Yarik, letting him know I’ll take over Kin watch.

Kin leads me into the game room, past the vintage arcade machines and pool table, straight to the far corner where a large leather couch sits against the wall.

“Behind here!” he announces.

I look at the tiny gap, then down at my six-foot-four frame, and nearly laugh out loud. “You sure I’m going to fit back there, buddy?”

“You gotta squish!” he says with certainty, demonstrating by crouching down and making himself into a tiny ball. “Like this!”

Against all logic, I follow his lead, lowering myself behind the couch. I awkwardly squeeze into place, my knees practically touching my chin, shoulders wedged against the wall.

Kin scrambles in beside me, fitting easily into the space. I’m sure I’ve never looked or felt more ridiculous, but for some reason, I don’t care.

He gives me a thumbs-up that’s so serious it’s adorable.

Being this close to him, I notice details I’ve missed before. The way his eyelashes are impossibly long. How he bites his bottom lip when he’s concentrating. The small scar on his chin that he probably got from some tumble or adventure I wasn’t there for.

“She’s coming,” he breathes, pressing closer to me, as the door to the room swings open.

“I wonder where that sneaky little boy could be hiding.” Hope’s voice carries into the room. “He’s so clever. I bet he found the perfect hiding spot.”

Kin covers his mouth with both hands, barely containing his giggles. I fight back a smile at his obvious delight.

“Maybe he’s behind this plant?” Hope continues her theatrical search. “No, not there. Could he be hiding under the pool table? Hmm, doesn’t look like it.”

Her footsteps get closer, and Kin grips my arm like this is life or death.

“Is he behind the arcade machines? No. Is he inside one of them? That would be impressive.”

Kin grabs my shirt, and I put my arm around him instinctively. I peek out from the side to see Hope’s lower body from our hiding spot. She’s wearing a casual summer dress, her feet bare, with red-painted toenails that somehow turn me on despite the circumstances.

I force myself to focus on Kin instead of the sexy way she moves.

“Should we surprise your mom?” I whisper.

He nods enthusiastically, and suddenly, I understand why people play games and hide behind couches and do other ridiculous things for the sake of a child’s joy.

“SURPRISE!” Kin explodes from our hiding spot like he’s been launched from a cannon.

I extricate myself more carefully, unfolding my cramped limbs, while Kin throws himself into Hope’s waiting arms. She catches him easily, spinning him around as he giggles and exclaims, “We won!”

I didn’t realize there were winners in hide-and-seek, but that’s beside the point.

Her deep brown eyes widen when she sees me. “How did you manage to fit back there?”

“Not comfortably,” I admit. “But Kin recruited me, and I couldn’t say no.”

“Mama, now you need to hide with Pavel,” Kin declares, wiggling out of Hope’s arms and planting himself between us. “I’m gonna find you both!”

Hope’s mouth flattens into a firm line. “I’m sure Pavel is busy with?—”

“I’m not busy at all,” I cut in smoothly, folding my arms. “Guess that means you and I get to hide together.”

She flashes me a hard smile, her nostrils flaring slightly. “Looks like it.”

Kin’s whole face lights up. “I’ll find you! Yarik can help me!”

I glance toward the hallway. “Yarik! You’re on Kin’s team,” I call out.

Within seconds, Yarik appears, looking mildly confused until Kin barrels into him and starts explaining the rules at high speed.

“But stay on this floor like I said. Okay, sweetheart?” Hope touches her son’s cheek gently. “And give us a little head start.”

I’m not sure how four-year-olds define a head start, but Kin immediately slaps his hands over his eyes and starts counting at the top of his lungs.

I turn to Hope, my pulse ticking higher at the thought of having her to myself, even for a few stolen minutes.

“Better move,” I say, my grin sharp with anticipation. “Before your little hunter catches us.”