Page 12 of Forced Bratva Hostage (Dubrov Bratva #15)

I came in here to tease him a bit, with my dress that is too short and my nonchalant attitude. I wanted to annoy him.

I was even proud of myself when I came up with a decent answer for his business-related question that was meant to embarrass me.

Then, to my surprise, it almost , just for a fraction of a second, felt like we were connecting and having a real conversation.

But that ended abruptly.

Now, I’m outside his office, and my eyes are shooting daggers at him through the closed glass door.

He was so quick to shut me out the moment he slipped up and mentioned his past involvement with my half-brother.

What did he do for Boris? How long did he work for him?

Why did he stop? When did this all happen?

My mind is racing with far too many things, and I can’t get a grip on one single thought.

Fear .

That’s what’s pulsing through me right now. Intense fear. And it’s making it hard to get my thoughts to settle down.

Andrei turns away from the door and walks back to his desk as though I don’t exist. He refuses to look at me, and his eyes are on his laptop.

He slipped up. He never intended to let me know about his connection to my brother, and now that I know, I can’t help but wonder if that puts me in danger.

All this time, I thought he was one of my brother’s rivals —an enemy. I just assumed that this was over business. Maybe Boris stole a client or interfered with one of Andrei’s shipments—but if he used to work for my brother, that means this is far more personal.

And when it gets personal, it gets a lot more dangerous.

There are so many emotions involved.

What did Boris do to Andrei to make him kidnap me?

It’s obviously much worse than stealing a client.

Nervously, I step away from the door, walking backwards for a few feet before I turn and hurry up to my bedroom.

A nauseous tension builds inside me, because I realize now that Andrei is just being ‘nice’ while he bides his time until something he has planned. Something bigger than just marrying me to annoy my brother. He wants revenge for something.

And that might involve a lot of pain for me.

He might have something very cruel planned for the future. Something that he thinks will hurt Boris.

But he hadn’t known that Boris hardly cares about me, not until I told him just moments ago.

In my room, I pace up and down, trying to figure out what I should do.

For the first time since I got here, I am worried that I’m in real danger, that my life might be on the line.

The mafia world is incredibly cutthroat, and when people piss other people off, they tear each other apart.

I’ve heard Boris talking about what they’ve done to their enemies.

I’ve seen some of the things Van is capable of, and I can never get those images out of my mind.

There must be some way for me to find answers. Or maybe I should make a better effort to reach out to my brother and ask him to rescue me. If I can figure out a way to tell him where I am…

Would he even send help?

He would.

Stop thinking like that.

He’s your family.

Of course, he would want to rescue you and get you back home.

I chew at my lip, hoping I’m right despite the tight warning in my chest. Boris doesn’t care about anything except his business.

Okay, that’s true, but maybe I can rely on his ego. He won’t like the fact that someone got one up on him—for that reason, he might rescue me to prove a point.

Anxiety bubbles inside me. I wish my dad were still alive. He would have sent someone to save me as soon as I went missing.

***

Over the next two days, I put a lot more effort into my escape plan.

I try to get access to Andrei’s computer or a cell phone, but everything in the house is locked down with passwords that I can’t crack.

I guess I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

Boris had ridiculous security on his devices.

It was only by accident that I got through his locks after hundreds of tries over the years.

I need to get out , but there is no way past these damned guards. There are so many of them.

Even though I’m on their good side after all the pranks I’ve pulled, they’re friendly with me, but they aren’t exactly going to let me walk past and escape while they turn a blind eye. They still have a job to do.

Frustrated and running out of ideas, I play the last card in my hand.

I storm over to Andrei, who is sitting in the living room, reading the news on the sofa. He doesn’t acknowledge me in any way.

“I need to get out,” I huff, folding my arms across my chest.

He snorts loudly. “I imagine you do, cupcake. But you aren’t going anywhere.” He doesn’t look up from the newspaper.

“I’m serious, Andrei. I’m going crazy. I hate being locked up like this. Boris used to lock me up, and I would lose my mind to the point where I’d have to sneak out and go dancing. It’s the best way to let off steam. Why don’t you come dancing with me?”

“Dancing?” he says is disbelief, finally looking at me, but his stare is skeptical and through narrowed eyes.

“Yes. Dancing . The night you kidnapped me right out of my bedroom, I was getting ready to sneak out and go dancing.” I sigh, rolling my eyes and slumping down on the sofa opposite him. “Please, I really need this,” I beg.

He shakes his head. “Why in the world would I risk letting you out to go dancing, Tatiana?”

“Because you’re not an asshole like my brother?” I say, full of hope.

If he takes me dancing, there is a high chance I can sneak off for a moment and use someone’s phone, or find a computer in the club, maybe in a back office, I don’t know. I have to try.

“I’m so bored .” I drag out the last word, trying to emphasize it and add drama.

Andrei folds the newspaper and leans forward on the sofa, glaring at me as though I’ve lost my mind.

“Why the fuck would I care if you’re bored or not? Do you think it’s my job to entertain you? You are here for a reason, and the reason does not involve dancing or going out to have fun,” he snaps with such a harsh tone that I jump in fright.

He’s never been this nasty with me before, not since we arrived at the mansion.

His eyes are cold and pale green, filled with agitation. My mind flashes back to how Boris used to speak to me. He looked at me with hatred and distaste as though I were something disgusting and unwanted.

Hurt by the way Andrei has turned so cold, I stand up, defiant and angry.

“Don’t speak to me like that. I was just asking a favor. You don’t have to treat me like shit. You could have just said no and left it at that.” I am on the verge of tears, but it’s more to do with my past than what is going on in this moment.

Andrei stands up too.

He shakes his head.

“Oh, and you would have listened if I just said no? You would have accepted my answer and left me alone? I’m not stupid, Tatiana,” he snarls. “You push until you piss people off, and then you’re surprised when they’re annoyed with you.”

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t have to push if people just let me live my own life instead of being a prisoner in their stupid plans.” I’m shouting now, all of my pain and frustration pouring out in a rush of anger.

The longer I glare at Andrei, the more he reminds me of Boris.

That same coldness.

That same immovability.

That same selfish, uncaring attitude.

“You’re just like him,” I shout.

Andrei’s face turns to stone. “The answer is no, Tatiana. Now get out of my face.”

I spin on my heel and storm from the living room, bolting up the stairs before he can see the tears streaming down my cheeks.

I’m going crazy here. I’m falling apart.

At some point, I tricked myself into thinking this place was an adventure. I pretended like it was a break from my horrible life at the estate.

But it’s not. I’m a prisoner. This isn’t a game or a holiday.

Andrei is not my friend.

I’m such an idiot for convincing myself that I was safe here.

I have to get out of this place .

Even if Andrei doesn’t have some twisted plan to hurt me, it still means I’m trapped here, married to this asshole, and that my life will be exactly the same as it was with Boris—but this time, it will be forever.

At least with my brother, I could dream of leaving when I got a job or got old enough for him to realize he couldn’t control me.

With Andrei, this situation is permanent. I’m his wife.

There is no getting away from that unless I do something really drastic.

In my room, I flop down onto the bed and roll onto my back to stare at the ceiling. Tears spill down the sides of my face, wetting my hair.

I guess that was the wake-up call I needed. His harsh treatment hurt me, but it also woke me up to reality.

And now I have to start making plans.

If I don’t, I will die here, locked away in this house, suffocated and trapped like an animal. I will never get to travel or know what it’s like to live my own life.

My mind races over options. I think about everything I’ve seen or found in this mansion and how I might be able to use it to my advantage.

***

It’s over an hour before an idea sparks in my mind.

I get up in a hurry and rush to the first aid kit. This one is basic, but I wonder what other medications Andrei has stocked up on in this place. Opening my bedroom door, I speak up and down the passage. No one is around. I want to get into his room and see what he’s got in his bathroom cabinet.

I run on tiptoes down the passage and duck into his room, hurrying, because if they are watching the security cameras, they’ll have seen me going in here. I won’t have much time to find what I’m looking for.

Then, I’m going dancing.