Page 1 of Forced Bratva Hostage (Dubrov Bratva #15)

It’s been a year since I felt any kind of freedom.

Being in hiding has been draining, frustrating and lonely. But at the end of it all, it's going to be worth it. I had to stay out of sight. Everyone has been hunting me; some because they want to know I’m okay, and others because they want to make sure I’m dead and stay dead.

Grigoriy’s family, the Andreevs, are the only ones I’ve felt any guilt towards. On so many occasions, I wanted to reach out to them and let them know I’m okay, but I can’t trust anyone. I can’t risk it.

I’m doing this all for Grigoriy, my best friend. Everything I’ve spent the last year planning is for him. Because he didn’t deserve to die like that.

That fucking Enzo family took his life over egotistic bullshit. They didn’t have to be so harsh. But they wanted to make a show of it, a warning to others, as it always goes in the bratva world.

Grigoriy deserved more. He deserved life .

I shift my legs, moving a little because I’ve been sitting still for hours, watching their estate from up on the hill behind the main road that runs out of town. I wonder if the Enzos are aware that someone can see into most of their property from up here.

Moving the binoculars from my eyes, I rub my hand over my face and stretch my back, arching it and yawning loudly.

It’s three in the morning.

I’m used to being up until the small hours of the night, until the sun starts stretching its rays into the dark blue sky. Moving about in the dark is safer. I can get more done and stay out of sight.

Down at the estate beneath me, Boris Enzo is still up, drinking and talking to that asshole right-hand-man of his, Van.

Mafia bosses and their henchmen—they’re inseparable, with co-dependency vibes that make me roll my eyes.

Van goes everywhere with Boris, like his little puppy dog, except that he’s more like a rabid hellhound, frothing at the slightest hint of violence.

They’ve been talking for most of the night. It seems like they’re plotting something.

But Boris is not my main point of focus.

The girl is. Because she is the key to my revenge.

In the bedroom on the top floor, far to the right, there is a girl sleeping. His little sister, Tatiana. At just twenty-one years old, she’s had her entire life controlled by her half-brother.

Boris is highly protective of his little sister. She’s a pampered princess, locked away in her tower, given everything her heart desires except for a life of her own. Fuck—I’d go insane. But hey, some people are fine living in the shadow of others.

I’d never seen her before I started deep-diving and researching Boris after I stopped working for him.

I was shocked when I found out he had a sister, and that he’d managed to keep her completely hidden, even from people like me who have a knack for finding out everything people don’t want others to know.

Boris kept her secretly tucked away from the world and his enemies. I worked for him for many years, in that same estate I’m watching now, and that means that I know almost everything there is to know about this asshole and those around him.

Everything except that he had a sister.

As soon as I found out about her, I knew she was the key to my revenge.

Once upon a time, I was Boris’s go-to guy for anything and everything. Information, weapons, connections, introductions, both messy and quiet tasks—anything he needed. I know this city and everyone in it, and Boris reaped the benefit of that.

Not anymore.

After what they did to Grigoriy, I bailed on them, disappeared into the night, and no one has seen me since. It’s the luxury of knowing the city so well—I can disappear.

Not for much longer, though; it’s almost time for a little surprise party. A welcome back celebration with a twist.

I grin, squinting towards Tatianna’s bedroom. The light is off, and the curtains were drawn closed a few hours ago when she went to bed. On some nights, she wakes up late and pulls them open to watch the sky or read on the windowsill, but tonight she seems to be sleeping all the way through.

I may as well head home and get some sleep, too.

“Soon,” I grin, standing up and stretching again. My body is aching from a lack of movement.

At least you’re alive.

It’s a thought that haunts me often. At least I’m still living, breathing, here to complain about life or pain or the crushing weight of guilt I feel on a constant basis.

I should have been there for Grig. I should have been there.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I push the aching pulse away. I’ve grieved. I’ve dealt with my loss. All that is left now is guilt and anger. And I’m pointing every last drop of it at Boris.

He’s the one who gave the kill order on my best friend. He might not have been man enough to carry it out himself, but he’s responsible for Grig’s death, and he’s going to suffer for it.

My leather boots crunch against loose gravel as I walk in the dark back towards my car. It’s the only car up here, parked on the hill, away from the city and the people and the noise.

When I tug the door open, the light inside the car illuminates, and I blink, groaning at how bright it is.

I’ve been in the dark too long. Not just tonight, but for the entire past year.

It’s time for me to let the world know I’m still here—and to make a few waves in the Enzo shark tank.

***

It’s surprising what little sleep a man needs.

The midday sun is shining through the front window of my car, reflecting with a glare as I pull into the parking lot outside a coffee shop.

Tatiana is inside. I can see her through the window, standing at the counter, talking to the barista.

I bet she’s as much of a stuck-up snob as all of the Enzos are. Her brother’s a pretentious fucker, and she’s probably the female equivalent of him. Arrogant, bitchy, and full of herself.

I watch her laughing with her friend as she walks out of the coffee shop holding what I imagine is a vanilla, oat milk, sugar-free blah blah blah of some sort.

It’s always got to be complicated with people like her.

Guards follow her—five of them, with guns on their hips and blank expressions on their faces.

She glances at my car, her dark glasses are covering her eyes, so I can’t see if she’s looking at me or not.

She wouldn’t recognize me, anyway. Even if she caught a glimpse of me while I worked for her brother, I’d just have been another worker in the business; she has about ten servants who wait on her hand and foot, and she probably doesn’t even care to tell them apart from each other.

People are toys to the Enzos.

Things to be used and discarded.

Tatiana says goodbye to her friend while her bodyguards stand and wait, looking bored as fuck.

My eyes follow her across the road towards her car.

She’s carrying shopping bags and that carryout coffee.

Her long brown hair is tied up in a big bun on top of her head.

She walks with a sway in her hips. Despite not liking her very much, I’m still a man.

I’m not blind. It’s impossible not to notice how gorgeous she is.

She’s petite with curves in all the right places.

Her jeans are tight over her ass and high around her narrow waist. The long-sleeved crop top she’s wearing shows off just a hint of skin, enough to distract me for a second before I manage to pull my thoughts together and remember what I want from her.

The idea of torturing a woman doesn’t exactly appeal to me. It’s a necessary darkness in the puzzle of revenge I’ve pieced together. Unavoidable, unfortunately. But the end result of her suffering will be her brother’s suffering, and that is what I’m after.

A rush of adrenaline spikes inside me. I could take her now.

She’s surrounded by bodyguards, but they look bored and distracted. Following around this spoiled brat while she hops from store to store has them hating their lives, thinking about other things, and not doing their jobs properly.

I could take her now…

But it would be a rushed decision, and too easy to make a mistake.

Stick to the plan, Andrei.

I’ve been drawing it out for months already—why the hell would I want to do something stupid like change it on a whim? It’s broad daylight, there are people everywhere, someone would see something. That many guards are sure to make a scene.

No.

At this point, I don’t have long to wait anymore.

I’m taking her tonight.

After months of watching her, I’ve worked out exactly how to do it, and surprisingly, breaking into the estate and kidnapping her right out of her own bedroom is the easiest route to getting her.

I know the best ways in and out of that place. I’ve studied the property blueprints, even the parts of the estate I didn’t see when I worked for Boris—I know it all.

Tonight.

In just a few hours, I will have her, and then the real adventure will begin.

A dark smile stretches over my lips. That pretty little thing isn’t going to know what to do. She’ll probably be terrified and frozen like a little mouse.

She climbs into the back of the car and the guards pile in after her, as well as into another identical one parked behind it.

Both cars pull out onto the road, and my eyes stay locked on her Mercedes until it’s far down the road and out of sight.

I should get going.

I’ve got some last-minute things to do before it gets too late.

***

It’s not a long drive to the cabin I’ve been staying in. It’s out of the city, in a quiet area of the woods, away from the hiking trails.

The ground is a little muddy as I walk towards the wooden door.

It started raining on the drive home, and the temperature is dropping as the sun begins to dip low in the sky.

Winter is over, and the weather has been steadily warming up as the end of March draws closer, but it still keeps you on your toes.

Spring in Boston is my favorite season. It drifts between the extremes, with some warm days and then a few cold snaps.

I guess tonight is going to be on the colder side.

I purchased a mansion in the city a few months ago, in silence, under the radar. I intend to move into that once things get going with my plan. Once I have her.

It’s weird, but I’m going to miss the quiet solitude of this cabin. It’s been my refuge and my safe haven during what has been the most difficult time of my life.

It’ll always be here, though. I can escape to it anytime.

My life is no longer about comfort and peace. I have one purpose, one sole purpose—and that is to avenge my best friend’s murder.

Nothing will stand in my way.

Nothing will distract me from my goal.

I ’ ll make sure they pay, Grigoriy.

***

I move silently along the perimeter of their property line.

It’s the darkest night I’ve seen in a very long time, leaden with tension and an ominous undertone that rests heavily on my shoulders.

The black jeans, black hoodie, and black mask I’m wearing make me invisible in this thick darkness as I creep into the estate.

Right now, I’m questioning my choice not to use a flashlight, but I remind myself I’ve got this. I know exactly what I’m doing and where I’m going.

Trust yourself, Andrei. You’ve been planning for months.

Within the grounds of the estate, I press myself against the stone wall beneath her bedroom window above me, on the upper floor.

The light just came on. She’s up late.

I smile, chuckling quietly. She’s going to be very surprised to get some company in a few moments.