Page 19 of Pregnant Bratva Hostage (Dubrov Bratva #17)

“Well, the good news is that the asshole took the bait,” Niko says, walking into my office. I stretch my arms behind my head and lean back in my chair, yawning and trying to focus on what he’s telling me.

“What did you say?” I ask.

“Boris left town this morning, according to my spotters. He’s off on a wild goose chase to hunt down the Sokolov family to confront them.”

“Excellent,” I laugh. “That is good news. He moved on to that quite quickly.”

“Yeah, it just so happened that the Sokolovs went on vacation to visit a family member, and basically, it made it look like they were making a run for it. Boris thought they found out that he was onto them and bolted straight after them.” Niko smirks.

“And when he does eventually catch up with them, he’s going to accuse one of his strongest allies of betrayal.

And we all know Boris. His ego doesn’t let him back down from a fight.

He won’t even give them a chance to speak.

He’ll launch an attack on them and embarrass himself in front of everyone,” I summarize his fall from fame in a nice short story, enjoying how it looks in my head.

“He’ll end up cutting himself off from the rest of his allies.

His strength will fade, and anyone who used to have respect for him will be questioning themselves,” Niko adds as he sits down on the sofa in the corner of the office.

He lifts his boots onto the coffee table and leans back.

“Man, it’s been a long week and it’s only Tuesday,” he groans.

“I’m just happy that idiot is out of our hair for a while. We can focus on other things.”

“We still need to get that new product out by lunchtime tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, I’m already almost finished with that.

It’ll be done,” I say, glancing at my to-do list scribbled on a piece of scrap paper on my desk.

All I have to do for the shipment is sign off on it after I’ve taken a look to see if the guys loaded it properly in the truck this afternoon.

Then it can leave the warehouse first thing tomorrow morning.

“Seriously? Thanks, man. That’s good news,” he says, sounding relieved. “Do you want to go for a drink tonight? It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“No, I’m good. I’m heading home soon to catch up on some sleep. Haven’t been getting much lately.”

Niko sits forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his hands over his face. He looks exhausted.

“Since when does the great Arkady turn down an invite to go for drinks?” he glares at me with suspicion.

I start laughing and wave off his comment. “Whatever, man, I just need to catch up on sleep, that’s all.”

“Well, I only really came here to check up on that delivery. If you’ve got it covered, that saves me a ton of stress.

I’m going to head home early, too. I’ve got a home-cooked meal waiting for me—and a beautiful wife.

” He smiles as he thinks of her, and it stirs something inside me.

Someone to go home to. I never knew what that felt like until I met Tania.

But that’s silly. She’s just…a house guest.

“Enjoy, man, I’m probably going to end up grabbing takeout again.”

He pushes himself off the sofa and walks towards the door.

“I’ll keep you in the loop if I hear anything else about Boris.”

“We need to know the moment he gets back to town. Just in case.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Niko says, waving his hand in the air. “Later, have a good evening.”

He leaves, and I stare at the open door for a moment. That is good news. Boris is out of the city.

In truth, what I’m really excited about is that with Boris out of the way for a week or two, I can make some plans to take Tania out somewhere without worrying that her uncle is going to show up or see us.

With him out of town, along with the bulk of his security team, it’s safer for us to get out together.

I’ll pick somewhere private and out of the way, but it’ll be good for her. A nice change from just being at her place or my place.

I glance at my watch. It’s not too late yet, but I’m over sitting here. I need to move. Get going—and see if Tania wants to go somewhere with me tonight.

I’m not really tired like I told Niko. But I don’t want to go for drinks. I want to see her.

On my way out to the car, I dial her number and my heart flips, waiting for her to answer.

“Hello,” she says, her voice makes her sound like she’s happy to hear from me.

“Hi, darling. Are you busy tonight? I got news that your uncle’s taken a trip out of town, so I was thinking you and I could go for dinner.”

“Oh, like out in public. What will all of your girlfriends think if you take me out in public?” she teases.

“Mm. Well, I suppose they will be jealous. But I’ll just have to explain to them that you’re my favorite right now.”

“Right now,” she huffs, still laughing. “Where did you feel like going?”

“I know an incredible pizza place near the yacht club. It’s not the most popular place, so it’ll be nice and quiet, and we can relax.”

“That sounds perfect. I’ve been craving a salami and mushroom pizza. What time?”

“I’ll come pick you up now. You can stay at my place while your uncle is away.”

“That sounds great,” she says happily.

My smile grows wider.

“See you in a bit, darling.”

***

Tania is sitting across from me, staring out over the water from the little wooden deck of the restaurant.

She’s wearing high-waist tight jeans and a cropped hoodie.

Her hair is up in a messy, wild bun on top of her head.

She looks cozy and cute, her white sneakers complementing her outfit.

I love that she’s comfortable enough around me to know that she can wear whatever she feels like wearing.

She never has to dress up or cover her face in make-up. She looks beautiful in anything.

Our table is next to the big stone fireplace outside, so we’re both sitting cozy and warm in our seats.

“I didn’t even know this place was here.” She grins, her eyes shining, reflecting the glow from the string lights around us as well as the flames of the fire.

“It’s one of my favorite spots when I just want to get away from everything,” I nod, looking at the water.

She looks back out at the view. “I can see why.”

“Wait till you try the pizza. You’ll fall even more in love with it.”

Her eyes meet mine, and for a moment we stare at each other. My heart beats a little faster, and I force myself to look away, grinning at the nervous flutter she gives me when she looks at me like that.

On cue to break the tension, the waiter arrives and sets two pizzas down on our table. One is bacon with avocado and pine nuts, and rocket leaves. The other is salami and mushrooms. They both smell incredible.

“Will there be anything else?” the waiter asks.

“You can bring us another round of drinks. Thanks, man,” I reply.

He leaves, and Tania leans over the table to see the pizzas.

“Oh no, I have food envy,” she giggles, peering at mine.

I reach out and grab the edge of her chair and pull it right next to my seat. Our legs brush together. I’ve wanted to pull her closer to me since we sat down.

“We’ll go half-half. Then you can try them both.”

She smiles so wide it lights up her entire face and warms my heart even more.

I break off a triangle of pizza for her and hold it out for her to bite into. Melted cheese pulls from it, and she grabs the frayed piece, tilting her head back to put it in her mouth.

“Oh my goodness,” she says, still chewing. “This is incredible.”

I brush my thumb over her mouth to wipe away a little bit of sauce.

She blushes peach pink and looks down.

“I love seeing you so happy,” I say, without thinking. Then quickly, try to cover my tracks so that I don’t sound like I’m saying anything too emotional. I add, “It shows how good the pizza is.” I laugh, a nervous sound that doesn’t sound like me at all.

She doesn’t pay attention to any of my stammering and picks up a piece of the other pizza to try it too.

She’s happily chewing, doing a little wiggle-dance in her seat as she watches the boats rock on the water. She’s swinging her legs beneath the table and brushing up against mine. It feels good.

“Maybe I want a sailboat,” she muses. “I could just leave—go anywhere—never come back.”

“Someone will miss you if you disappear like that.”

She narrows her eyes and shoots me a smile. “Who?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just someone. I’m sure there is at least one person out there who would miss you,” I grin.

She rolls her eyes. “You’re full of shit, Arkady Andreev.”

“So I have been told, quite a few times actually.”

We eat quietly for a while. I lean back in my seat and wrap my arm around the back of hers. She leans against my arm. “It’s so nice to be out, having an amazing time, and not have to worry about anything,” she says quietly.

An amazing time.

I smile.

“You’re a lot of fun to hang out with, darling. We should make this a regular thing. Pizza night at the docks every Tuesday.”

“Oh, please, you’ll get bored being so repetitive. We can hang out, but it has to be a new place every time.” She laughs.

“How do you know me so well?”

The sound of her laughter brings a wide smile to my face. After everything she’s been through—all the trauma in her life—I am so happy that I can give these moments to her, to take that stress away and see her light up in the way she’s meant to shine.

I think she still has to realize just how special she is.

She’s been held back by her uncle, not given the space to be herself without judgment.

And the more she gets away from him, the more she’s going to find herself.

And I have a feeling she’s going to love that person she finds within herself.

The one I can see when I look at her now.

“You’re staring,” she says, a beautiful smile on her lips.

I am staring. At her. Lost in thoughts about her.

“Mm. I was just worried you were about to eat that last slice of the best pizza.”

She playfully punches my arm. Then lifts the pizza slice and offers me a bite. I wrap my hand around hers to pull it closer to my mouth. I bite into the slice slowly, letting my fingers brush over her skin as I do so.

She blushes again and bites at her lower lip, sending a delightful thrill through me.

“Do you want to get dessert here or at home?” I raise my brows, mischief in my eyes.

“Home. I need to do some cardio to work this pizza off.” Oh, she is playful.

“Teamwork.” I laugh.

I settle the bill, get the rest of the pizza in a take-away box, and as we walk back towards the car, I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her against my side. It’s strange how easy it is with her. There is no pretense. Only a peaceful comfort having her near me.

And, of course, a wild pulsing desire that never seems to fade.

***

Tania is upstairs. We did our cardio, and now I want the leftover pizza. I head down to the kitchen, shirtless, wearing my sweatpants. It’s only nine. I warned her not to shower because I’m not done with her yet.

She’s demanded hot chocolate as an interlude.

I’m smiling to myself as I throw a few slices of pizza on a plate and into the microwave.

My brother’s voice comes from behind me and makes me jump in fright.

Luka laughs. “Sorry, man, you forgot you gave me the spare key.”

“Jeez, no, I knew you had it. I was just in my head.”

“Pizza?” he says, lifting his chin towards the microwave.

“Yep. You want a slice?”

“No, I’m headed home to eat now. My wife will kill me if I have pizza first. I’m already late. I just wanted to stop by and grab those files you said you had for me.”

“Dude, I e-mailed those this morning already.”

“Fuck. Okay. I must have missed it. Damn, that pizza smells good. Maybe I will have a slice.”

I laugh, taking it out, hot and melted again, and offering him the plate.

He takes a slice just as Tania walks in—wearing nothing but my shirt. His eyes go wide, mid-bite into the pizza, as he stares at her.

“Oh,” he says, muffled.

“Um. Oh my word, I didn’t know there were people here. I’m going to get changed,” she says, her cheeks redder than I’ve ever seen before.

“No, it’s cool. I’m leaving,” Luka says, but Tania is already running back up the stairs.

He turns to glare at me. “You’re sleeping with her,” he says sternly.

I open my mouth to protest, but there’s no point in denying it. I shrug.

He shakes his head, still enjoying the pizza. “You’re playing with fire, Ark. As usual. It’s a bad idea to sleep with the enemy. You never know what their true intentions are—and you might end up hurt in the process.”

“Hurt?” I stammer, snorting.

“Yeah, when you fall for the girl and get your heart broken.”

I’m not soft like my brothers. I don’t get broken-hearted. That’s not who I am. He’s got this all wrong.

Now it’s me shaking my head, “It’s not like that, man. Tania and I just get on well. This is a fun thing going on between us—when the plan against her uncle is over, she’ll be on her way and I’ll be back to doing whoever it is that I do,” I shrug.

Luka narrows his eyes at me. “Are you sure she feels the same way as you do?”

“Yeah, man, this is just a bit of casual fun. Nothing serious.”