Page 1 of Pregnant Bratva Hostage (Dubrov Bratva #17)

This meeting is driving me crazy. For the tenth time, my brothers and the Kuznetsovs are all in agreement that we should wait before we move against the Kroliks.

It’s been months of this same bullshit.

How can they all be so patient with this? Those same rivals kidnapped my brother’s now-wife—I want to tear them apart for thinking they can take advantage of my family.

I’m biting my tongue. Nothing I’ve said so far has convinced them to think it’s a good idea to start making moves.

Staring out the massive glass windows in the boardroom of Niko’s office building, I contemplate everything I think they’re doing wrong and how I would do it differently.

Below us, the city is alive with colorful lights and cars coming and going in the late afternoon streets. Above us, the sky is growing orange as early evening approaches. Traffic is going to start in a bit. I’m wasting my time here. I want to leave.

Sighing, I turn my attention back to the meeting.

My brother, Luka, glances at Rose and smiles.

I turn my head away again as I roll my eyes, impatient and agitated. I’m far too restless, on the verge of doing or saying something reckless.

They are newlywed, in love, all those things. I’m happy for him, but dammit, she’s made him soft.

Actually, all of my brothers went soft and compliant when they got married. Love makes people weak.

My gaze traces over Rose. She’s sweet. I actually like each of their wives. They are good, kind women. But my brothers are not the same men they used to be.

“Ark?” Rodion Kuznetsov stares at me, his brows raised.

“Mm?” I huff, no longer interested in this meeting.

“Are you okay with that? Waiting a bit longer?”

“You’ve heard my opinion,” I blurt out. I was never that good at hiding my true feelings.

“I know, man. But everyone else agrees we need more time to strategize,” Rodion says calmly.

Ruvim leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “We’re all keen to take them down, Ark. We just want to do it properly, as Luka said earlier.”

“Guys, you’ve made up your minds,” I nod, clenching my jaw. “You need to do what you need to do.”

Everyone is staring at me. Niko and Luka have their brows knitted. Yulian’s expression is calm, but the head tilt shows he’s fine with their plan to wait.

Am I seriously the only one who sees the value in taking down these assholes now? Before rumors start spreading that we’re too weak to take them on? Why should they be allowed to carry on doing business in this city after what they did?

I glance at my brothers, then at the Kuznetsovs.

Rodion, Rigor, and Renat are talking amongst themselves now.

Sighing loudly, I stand up. “Cheers, guys. Thanks for the meeting.”

“No, wait,” Rodion says. “We still want to go over the shipment routes for—”

“Niko will have to fill me in. I have some stuff I left unfinished at the warehouse that I still need to do before tonight,” I interrupt him. I can’t stay here anymore. I’m so agitated I can feel myself on the verge of saying something that’s going to piss everyone off.

“Ah, alright, man. We’ll see you next time,” Rodion smiles, nodding. Luka and Niko both threw me angry glances. They know there’s nothing to do at the warehouse. But they also know me well enough to understand I need to leave now.

They’d rather have me skip half of the meeting than cause shit here.

I say a general goodbye to everyone. Then I grab my phone off the table and shove it into my pocket.

They hardly pay attention to me as I walk out of the glass-walled office. They’re already discussing the next topic, and our revenge against the Kroliks has fallen to the wayside—again.

It’s been months, and nothing’s been done to retaliate. This is not how the bratva world works. We don’t take shit from anyone. Why are they all so willing to let this slide?

I sneer, grinding my teeth in frustration as I walk towards the elevators.

I think it has a lot to do with Rose whispering in my brother’s ear, because Tania was her friend.

I don’t give a shit. She still played a role in taking Rose, moving against the Andreevs and the Kuznetsovs.

And that was after they’d already started attacking our trucks.

Anger builds inside me. I’ve tried to reason with my brothers, over and over again. I got nowhere.

My feet echo down the quiet hallway of Niko’s office building.

There are still a few people working at their desks.

Not all of them know about Niko’s bratva connections.

They just assume he’s hosting a client meeting.

People don’t ask. I think it’s because they’re so absorbed in their own lives that they don’t really care.

I punch my finger against the elevator button several times, impatient for it to get here. It’s claustrophobic in these offices. I hate feeling trapped like this.

The elevator chimes as it opens, and I step inside.

As soon as the doors close behind me, I let out a deep, loud breath of air.

“Fuck’s sake. These morons are making us look like fools,” I mutter to myself, pushing my hand over my short-cropped hair. I lean my back against the mirrored silver walls and close my eyes as the elevator descends to the parking garage beneath the building.

I only open my eyes when it chimes again, letting me know the doors are open.

I’m so tired of always holding back.

For years, I’ve been keeping my inner beast on a short leash to keep my brothers happy.

But now, when I look at them, and how patient and understanding they’ve become, I can’t help but feel disappointed.

We are so powerful that we could own this entire city, and my brothers are too cautious and patient to move against an enemy.

My car beeps as I approach, orange lights flashing when I flick the button in my pocket to unlock it.

The matte black body gives the Mustang Dark Horse a dangerous appeal that makes me smile.

“Hey, beautiful,” I grin as I run my hand over the roof of the car. She’s the only girl I need in my life.

I tug the door open and duck inside.

Lucky for my brothers, there is still one Andreev who has not been pussy-whipped into submission by a wife. There is still one of us who’s willing to do whatever it takes to hold our position of power amongst the enemies always closing in on us.

The Mustang growls to life, and I smile again.

I have plans to finalize.

And those plans have nothing to do with being an obedient, understanding brother.

Those days are over.

I waited long enough for them to unleash me by choice. And now they are going to see me unleashed, whether they’re ready for it or not.

My tires screech as I accelerate out of the parking garage and into the streets. My windows are down, and the cold, fresh, crisp city air floods into my car. Pressing my fingers against the steering wheel controls, I turn the music louder and lean back, enjoying the drive.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, the message popping up onto the dash monitor. It’s from Niko.

Niko: What are you doing, Ark—there’s no warehouse shit that’s waiting to be finished.

I use voice-to-text to reply.

Me: I need a drink. Couldn’t sit there anymore.

Niko: Alright. Just stay out of trouble.

A snort of laughter spills from me. Yeah, okay, man, I’ll stay out of trouble.

The slightest tinge of guilt flickers through me. I’ve always done as my brothers asked, even though I did it my way; I’ve never been so blatant about going against them like this.

But now, it’s for the best. No one else can see what’s happening, and they’re all willing to delay this retaliation, but they can’t see that taking down the Kroliks is the key to our family finally becoming fully established in this city.

And if we don’t do it now—like, right fucking now—the opposite is going to happen. The Kroliks will gain power, and our rivals will start teaming up with them.

I can’t let that happen.

Pulling into the parking area inside the building where I live, I glance up at the top floor. My penthouse. Life is good. I don’t want to lose any of this. I can’t let my brothers’ wives turn them so soft that they don’t fight for our family anymore.

I stay in the penthouse on nights I don’t feel like driving all the way out of the city to get home. I also have a mansion away from the noise and chaos of city life.

Rose is hell-bent on protecting her friend, but Tania is the key to everything. She’s the base of my plan.

The car door slams, and the sound echoes against the side of the building.

Stepping into the building, I’m greeted by the doorman.

“Mr. Andreev,” he smiles, nodding. “I hope you are having a lovely day.”

“I am, thanks, Stanley.” I throw him a wide smile.

This elevator opens silently as I step inside.

I’m still smiling when I glance at myself in the mirrored walls.

It’s obvious how much happier I am, having finally decided for good that my brothers aren’t going to change their minds, and this is now up to me.

The relief of knowing that I’m not going to wait anymore is so much better than I thought.

I’m fine with taking on this burden. The burden of doing what’s right for everyone.

They’ll be angry at first, but in no time at all, they’ll be thanking me.

The elevator opens right outside my door on the top floor of the building. I turn towards it.

My thumb presses against the keypad on my door. It beeps, and I kick it open with my leather boot and walk inside.

No matter how long I live here, I’ll never stop being grateful for that view.

At least I didn’t lie to Niko. I do need a drink.

Walking straight over to the bar beneath a portion of the window that stretches around almost the entirety of my penthouse, I throw a few blocks of ice into a glass and splash vodka over them.

I’ve been careful not to lie to my brothers.

Yes, I am planning things behind their backs, but I haven’t lied to their faces. It hasn’t been necessary, and I hope it stays that way.

I’m not doing this for any reason other than keeping our family where they belong—at the top of the food chain in this beautiful city.

Boston wasn’t always my home, but it is now. And I won’t let some asshole rival family take that away from me.

Sitting at the dining room table, positioned so that I can still enjoy the view, I tilt my laptop open and navigate to the encrypted program I have on here.

My screen brightens as it opens, the notes of my plan spread across the monitor.

Leaning back in my seat, I fold my arms across my chest, the glass of vodka still in my hand, and smile at how far I’ve come already.

I’ve arranged the paperwork that Tania will be forced to sign in order to secure our marriage. I’ve got men tracking her movements, and as soon as she is somewhere convenient, I will be informed so that I can snatch her.

I won’t bring her back here, though; I’ve prepared a room at the mansion instead. I’ve stocked it with all the comforts she might need.

And she will become my wife.

It will be a forced union between Andreevs and Kroliks.

Boris will be raging over this, and it will be the first step towards him walking into my trap, ending with his ruin, his family name burned down to ashes.

He won’t be able to hold back from retaliation against me for marrying his niece.

It’s perfect. Once he acts, my family will have no choice but to move against him, too. No more waiting.

Double-clicking on an icon, I open a photograph of Tania. One that my men took during one of the stakeouts over the past two months.

Her face fills my screen.

Dark blonde hair, bright brown eyes. Peach lips that dimple at the corners when she smiles—but she never smiles. This, out of the hundreds of photos they’ve sent me of her, is the only one where she’s actually smiling.

I chew on the inside of my cheek as I think about her.

It sucks that she has to be involved in this. I know she tried to do good by Rose at the end of the day. She’s innocent in the bigger picture. But I’ve got to do whatever it takes—and that means that Tania is just going to have to accept her fate.

It is amusing that I’m using the same tactics that Luka used.

Kidnapping.

I chuckle, a cold, emotionless sound. Whatever it takes.

This one isn’t going to end in some grand gesture of love, though. I’m not that stupid. I’m not like my brothers with their perfect little wives in their perfect little marriages.

This is just going to result in an enemy ruined, and for my family name to move up another step on the ladder.

Tania just happens to be the perfect pawn to make it all happen.

My phone buzzes, probably one of my brothers checking in to make sure I’m not causing hell somewhere. I guess the meeting ended.

But it’s not any of them.

It’s the man leading the stakeout on Tania.

Maverick: She’s left her office building, walking along the streets. She’s alone. Looks agitated. Possibly headed towards the waterfront.

Me: Stay with her. Send me your location. I think it’s time to make the move. Notify the guards at the mansion to be ready for our arrival later.

Maverick: Yes, sir.

My heart beats faster as I stand, downing the last of my vodka.

It’s finally time. No more patience.

No more Mr. Nice Arkady.

After today’s meeting, my brothers confirmed once and for all that I have no choice. This is on me now, because they aren’t willing to take the risk.

So, I don’t have any reason to wait another moment. And with Tania out in the open, on her own, everything is lining up perfectly.

Glancing at my watch, I growl. I am going to have to floor it to make it to the waterfront before traffic. At least coming back this way, it’s less, but going there, the fastest route is through the city center.

I grab my keys and run for the door, excited to finally be doing what I want to do. No one is stopping me. No one holding me back.

It feels good to let the beast inside me loose.