Page 26 of Claim Me (Dmitriyev Bratva #2)

It was obvious she had something on her mind. “No, we need to talk.” I closed the file, taking a moment to eject the flash drive. Since I’d need to leave the house, I wouldn’t put it past her to snoop. If she did, she’d get the wrong idea.

“Talk. Yes. I wondered when you’d come clean.”

“What are you talking about?” I moved around the desk, the instant chill between us palpable.

“The family attorney called. As you might imagine, my brother left a will.”

“Yes. I know. He mentioned that before his death.” I walked closer, ensuring she could hear me.

“I’m curious about something.” She walked closer, folding her arms. She was signing at the same time.

Maybe when she was nervous or angry, she resorted to her usual method of communicating.

And she was definitely angry. “How did you manage to coerce him into signing over my father’s business, everything he’d worked to achieve over to you?

I mean, I know you’re a killer. You admitted that without any remorse, so certainly blackmail, extortions, threats, they must be child’s play to you. ”

Admittedly, I was shocked. I hadn’t intended on monitoring her phone.

Maybe I should have. My mistake had been to keep anything from her.

I’d been caught up in watching her hands, the fluency in which she signed amazing me.

“That’s not what happened, Marissa. I had no idea Charlie was going to leave me the resort.

We hadn’t talked in years. Trust me. I don’t want it, but he knew you wouldn’t. ”

“You expect me to believe that? You’re a wealthy man. Why not expand.” Her body jerked from the adamancy of her actions. She was fired up, the venom in her eyes worse than I’d seen at the hospital. What the fuck had the attorney said to her?

Where was this coming from? “Did your attorney try and convince you that I had Charlie killed?”

She appeared uncomfortable, even looking away briefly. Her lower lip was quivering. “Charlie changed his will a week ago. One week. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”

Well, fuck. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Yes, it does.”

“The attorney, or maybe I should say my attorney thought so as well. He tried to talk Charlie out of making the changes. I was left the sole heir as it should be. Why would Charlie do something like that unless he was forced to?”

I walked closer and I’ll be damned if she didn’t take a step away.

“Listen to me. Everything I’ve told you is true.

Charlie called and told me he’d been shot.

I left within thirty minutes on a plane.

I hadn’t talked to him in years. Years. If I had, I would have offered advice and provided protection if asked.

He chose to handle the situation himself. ”

“What situation?”

“Your father took out a loan from a very brutal man.”

She absorbed the information. “Interesting.”

“That doesn’t seem to surprise you.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’d seen the letters from banks turning down requested loans. Suddenly, the renovations started and my father wasn’t interested in answering anyone’s questions.”

“If I’d known, things would be different,” I admitted.

“I wish I could believe you, but I don’t.” She turned away, ready to leave the conversation the way it was.

I tugged on her arm, yanking her around to face me. “What do you think happened?”

“I think you killed Charlie after forcing him to sign over control of the resort.”

Holy fuck. I could tell by her eyes that at least a portion of her mind bought into what she was saying.

“Think logically for a second, Marissa. If I’d really done something so horrible, why would I have him leave a portion of the resort to you?”

“Maybe he did that on his own, which was why you had him killed. Now, leave me alone. I want you out of my house. I need to handle arrangements for Charlie’s private celebration of life, which you’re not invited to.

I need to sort this through and you will give me time to do so.

I don’t need your help with anything.” She jerked away from me and I sensed she’d all but shut me down.

Did she actually think she was dismissing me?

I understood her swinging emotions, but I’d need to find a way to help her understand her only recourse was to place her full trust in me. There was a bounty on her pretty head. Shit. I wasn’t good with this.

Hissing, I moved closer, instinctively wrapping my hand around her throat and pushing her against the wall. “You need to listen to me.”

“No.”

“You will.” I raised my voice, which I hadn’t intended.

“You bastard.” She tried to slap me, but I grabbed her hand, now forced to press my full body weight against her to try to have her calm the fuck down.

I shifted my hand from her throat to her chin, keeping my grip firm. “Don’t. You will listen to me. Let me try and put this bluntly, which I was hoping not to do. Your father owed money to a very bad man.”

“You already said that. Was that you?”

“No. His name is Vladimir Popov. He’s the Pakhan of the Russian Bratva in Seattle. They have control of the port, more than a handful of law enforcement officers and if I had to guess, judges, attorneys, and politicians.”

“Like you?”

She had been checking into my background.

“You didn’t think I read all about your organization? You’re Bratva too. Direct from Moscow.”

This was going nowhere. She was searching for a target to place her hate. I got that too. “Yes, but our organization is different.”

“Oh, you’ve gone legitimate. Right?”

“Yes. We have. Because of the decisions made over a decade before, we are thriving and if you read about our company, we are considered extremely wealthy.”

She huffed. “Why not have more money?”

My God. She was frustrating, but thoughts of driving my cock deep inside kept rampaging through my brain. That needed to stop. “That’s not what happened.”

“Let me ask you this.” She shoved me hard, but I refused to break the connection. She was shaking all over from the fury burning deep inside. “Did you fuck me to try and subdue me? Maybe you lied about killing someone just so I’d feel safe with you.”

Fuck. This was getting out of hand. I threw my head back, groaning loudly.

“You did. You fucking bastard.” Maybe I was shocked or maybe trying to curtail my anger and surprise, but she managed to free her hand, getting off a hard smack that jarred me more than a fist punch did.

I took a step away, instantly rubbing my jaw. “Marissa. What we shared was…”

Fuck. What was I supposed to say?

“Why my brother? Why? You’ve lied to me. All the placating you did was just to keep me in the dark. What were you going to do in the end, sell me off to the highest bidder? Maybe to this Russian freak of nature?”

“I didn’t lie to you about anything.” I simply hadn’t told her the truth. “I was trying to protect you. Yes, there are some things you both need and deserve to know, but not until I understand the implications of what I’ve discovered.”

“Right. If you think I’m going to buy your bullshit, you’re out of your mind.” She managed to sidestep me, storming out of the room.

Groaning for a second time, I raked my hand through my hair and followed her.

Standing by the front door, she threw it open and Simon, who’d replaced Ryker, was shocked. He had his hand on his weapon, ready to attack.

“He’s going to shoot me if I toss you out? Go for it, buddy,” she exclaimed, throwing out her arms as if offering herself.

His eyes opened wide and I shook my head. He took a step away and she snapped her head in my direction while pointing toward the door.

“Get the fuck out of my house. Now!”

“Marissa.” I dropped my tone, the word commanding.

She was having none of it. The shock had completely worn off, tainted and turned to hatred based on the conversation with the attorney.

The night before had been a huge mistake.

I took several deep breaths and walked closer. As soon as I was within a few inches, she stormed toward the chair where my jacket remained, grabbing and tossing it at me. “Take your shit and your fucking goons and get out of my life! I will fight you in court. You can trust me on that.”

After swallowing, I closed and locked the door, pitching my jacket onto the stairs. “Popov had your parents murdered. He was also responsible for your brother’s murder.”

The news hit her hard, her entire body heaving.

“What?”

“I’m sorry to be so blunt, but you need to hear the truth.”

“You expect me to believe that?” She was faltering, tiny fissures leaving her exposed. Hurt, anger, and uncertainty continued drowning her in sorrow.

I pulled out the flash drive, fingering it as she slowly allowed her gaze to fall. “I have proof. Your father made an unscrupulous deal for renovations and unfortunately, things got of hand and collateral was issued.”

“Collateral. You mean the resort. This fucking Russian was about to take over the casino?”

“No. The collateral was something much more precious.”

Her eyes darted back and forth across mine and seconds later, she lifted her head, her expression ice cold. “Oh, my God. The collateral was me. Wasn’t it?”

I hesitated.

She flew at me, pounding her fist against my chest one time. “Wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Marissa. The reason I found zip ties and a syringe full of a muscle paralyzer is that the person I killed was prepared to take you to his master. And I assure you that Vladimir Popov isn’t a gentle man. When he was finished with you, if you weren’t already dead, you’d wish you were.”