Page 31 of Pregnant Bratva Wife (Vadim Bratva #13)

I parked my car a couple of hundred metres from the meeting point, just off the winding gravel road, on a dirt road hidden inside the pine forest.

I stepped out of the car. It was quiet—the kind of quiet that told you something was about to go very, very wrong.

I closed the door carefully behind me. Manually locked the car to avoid any sounds.

This wasn’t going to be a fair fight.

I didn’t want it to be.

These bastards had taken my sister-in-law, threatened my wife, and endangered my unborn child. Fair went out the window the moment they made this personal.

I checked my gun, loaded a round into the chamber, and slipped into the shadows of the forest. The cold air bit at my face, but I barely felt it.

All I could feel was the pure rage that would keep me focused. Keep me lethal.

The meeting location was down a slope and nestled in a hollowed clearing by the river. A place meant for isolation. Control. Setup.

For about ten minutes, I moved silently through the trees, which provided perfect cover. The foliage was thick enough to conceal our movements, and I finally took my position behind a moss-covered rock.

My earpiece crackled. “In position, southeast corner.” Dante’s voice.

“Northwest secured.” Giovanni.

I kept my eyes on the clearing in the middle of the forest as I responded. “Copy. In position.”

Five minutes passed in silence. Then I heard the soft crunch of leaves behind me. I didn’t turn. I knew who it was.

“They picked the right terrain,” he muttered as he took a position beside me. “But they don’t know we picked it first.”

Gastone appeared from the opposite side, eyes scanning the path, rifle slung over his back. “We’re here. For whatever you need. I’ve given the Ustinov army their orders.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, giving him a grateful look.

“You came for us when we needed it.” He lightly patted me on my arm. “It’s what family does.”

“Technically,” Caspian joked. “We came to bring back a Lebedev. You just happened to be with her.”

“She’s an Ajello now,” Gastone grinned.

“Pity,” Caspian sighed dramatically.

Both men looked at me, and I could tell they were trying to help me remain grounded, trying to distract. I gave them a wry, pained smile.

God.

How I wished I could joke around.

But my mind and body were already at war.

“Where are the others?” I asked Gastone.

“The kidnappers will come in from the south,” he said. “But Carlo, Dino, and Dom have the north, east, and west sealed tight.”

Caspian nodded. “Luca and Achille are in the war room. They’ve got comms, visuals, and thermal on everything.”

They’re with Autumn, I thought. Thank God.

She wanted to be involved. She wanted to help. But she was pregnant, and no matter what she said, this was where I drew the line. She would be seeing everything through our body cams, hearing everything through our comms. This was the closest she would get to this scene.

“She’s handling it well,” Caspian said, reading my thoughts. “Better than most would.”

“She’s stronger than she looks.”

“She’d have to be to put up with you.”

Despite everything, I smiled.

“Federico,” Gastone whispered after tuning in to his earphone. “The woman is ready.”

I felt my heart begin to race.

We had one shot at this.

A female associate, dressed head to toe like Autumn—wig, blue contacts, clothes, hairstyle, everything —was sitting behind the wheel of one of our black sedans, waiting just over the crest.

She wouldn’t fool anyone up close, but she didn’t need to. She just needed to get them to show their hand.

I had Autumn’s phone and pulled it out. Her wallpaper was a photo of her and Megan, both smiling. I pushed the feeling aside and opened the messaging app.

“I’m here,” I typed to Igor Petrov. “Alone. With the money. Where do I go?”

I hit send.

The bait was out.

The response came almost immediately: “Drive to the front entrance. Slowly.”

I passed the message to our decoy.

“All units on standby,” I murmured into my comm. “Action is about to start.”

Seconds ticked by. The fake Autumn revved the engine.

I tuned in to our associate via the radio. Whispered: “You sure about this?”

She answered back immediately. “Just another day at the office.”

“If anything feels off, you abort immediately. Drive straight past if you have to.”

“Copy that, Boss.”

This wasn’t the plan I wanted. It put someone else at risk. But she was trained. One of our brightest.

Seconds ticked by. The fake Autumn began driving slowly toward the clearing, stopping exactly where I’d told her to. She sat still. Brave.

Through my binoculars, I saw a black SUV snake through the woods from the opposite direction down South.

And then another.

The vehicles stopped at the clearing.

And then, he stepped out.

Igor Petrov. Thin face, beady eyes. Flanked by four men. One of them dragged a figure behind him.

Megan.

My throat tightened at the sight of her. Even from this distance, I could see she was in bad shape. Her head lolled to one side, hair matted to her face. She stumbled as they pulled her forward, barely able to stand on her own.

“Bastards,” Dante hissed through the comm. “They drugged her.”

My jaw clenched so hard it popped.

Our decoy stepped out of the car, the bag of cash clearly visible in her hand. She walked forward slowly, exactly as we’d instructed. Igor gestured for her to come closer.

Through my scope, I watched his face. The moment of realization hit him when she was about ten yards away. His eyes narrowed. His head tilted. He knew.

“It’s not her,” he barked to his men. “It’s a setup!”

Guns appeared like magic, pointed at our decoy. She dropped the bag and dove for cover behind the car as the first shots rang out.

“Now!” I shouted.

We erupted from the trees like vengeful ghosts. Bullets tore through the air around us as we advanced, using the trees for cover. I took down the guard on the left while Caspian handled the one to my right.

Gastone covered our backs.

I sprinted toward the warehouse, zigzagging to avoid the gunfire. Dante and Giovanni laid down covering fire from the right, forcing Igor and his remaining men to retreat back, away from their cars, dragging Megan with them.

The Ustinovs’ army appeared from the eastern flank, forcing Igor’s group to split their attention. I used the distraction to close the distance.

I was twenty yards from Megan now. Her eyes were half-open, unfocused. Blood matted her hair above her right ear. The sight sent a fresh wave of rage through me.

“I’ll circle around,” Caspian said, already moving to flank the warehouse. “Keep them busy.”

I nodded, then raised my hand to signal Giovanni. He understood immediately, laying down a barrage of fire that forced Igor and his men to duck for cover, leaving Megan with another group. I used the moment to sprint forward, closing half the remaining distance.

I dropped and rolled, coming up behind a concrete pillar. Three men were left guarding Megan.

But then—

“Espositos,” Gastone barked beside me. “Look! On the ridge!”

He was right.

A second group of men emerged from the north hill. Different build. Different gear. Moving in sync with Petrov’s forces, but not his men.

My stomach turned.

“Petrov’s not acting alone,” I muttered. “He’s working with the Espositos.”

So that’s why he got greedy. The Espositos bought him and Petrov? Caused trouble when he didn’t have to. When we had made a fair bargain in the first place.

He teamed up with our enemies.

I was going to kill him.

Someday— soon —I was going to make Igor Petrov beg for mercy he’d never get. And then, I’d kill those bastard Espositos.

But now wasn’t the time.

The world narrowed to a single focus—Megan, slumped against a tree, guarded by three increasingly nervous men. I signaled to Dante and Giovanni, marking targets with quick hand gestures. They nodded.

“Three. Two. One.”

We moved as one, firing simultaneously. Two guards dropped. The third managed to get off a wild shot before Dante put him down.

I sprinted to Megan, reaching her just as gunfire erupted from the south side. The Espositos were engaging with Gastone’s men.

“Megan.” I touched her face gently. Her skin was cold, clammy. “Megan, it’s Federico. Can you hear me?”

Her eyes fluttered. “Fed...rico?”

“I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” I scooped her up, cradling her against my chest. She weighed nothing, like a child. “Giovanni, cover us.”

“On it.”

I turned to carry her back toward our vehicles when I saw Igor. He was nearly at the SUV. He scrambled into the SUV as bullets sparked off the metal around him. The engine roared to life, and he sped away in a spray of gravel.

The firefight behind us was intensifying. Our men were holding their own, but the Espositos had brought heavy firepower. I could hear Caspian coordinating our forces through the comm.

“We need to move!” Dante appeared at my side, breathless. “They’re bringing in reinforcements from the east.”

“Call it,” Gastone shouted. “We’ve got what we came for—fall back!”

“Everyone retreat now,” Caspian ordered through his comm. “Megan is secured.”

We moved quickly through the trees, away from the gunfire. Megan stirred in my arms, mumbling something I couldn’t catch. Her pupils were dilated, uneven. Concussion, probably. And God knows what drugs they’d pumped into her.

The SUVs were waiting for us, ready to go. I passed Megan to Dante as I opened the rear door, then took her back, gently laying her across the backseat.

“Shhh. You’re safe now.”

I slid in beside her.

As we pulled away, I caught glimpses of the ongoing battle through the trees. Another day, I would have stayed to finish it. But not today. Today, I had more important things to protect.

I wanted to call Autumn, but Megan was in bad shape. I kept speaking to her, trying to get her to murmur. To stay awake. I looked over at Dante. “She needs medical attention. Have Luca call Dr. Brandt. Tell him to meet us at the house in thirty minutes.”

Dante got on the job while I held Megan’s hand. “Shhh,” I whispered, over and over again. “You’re okay. We’ve got you.”

Megan was safe. Autumn was safe. Our child was safe. For now, that was enough.

***

Dr. Brandt was waiting when we arrived, his medical bag already open on the kitchen table. I carried Megan inside, laying her on the couch while the doctor immediately began checking her vitals.

“Pulse is weak but steady,” he murmured. “Pupils dilated. Consistent with Rohypnol, possibly mixed with something else.” He examined the wound on her head. “Concussion, but the skull feels intact. She’ll need fluids, monitoring. Probably a CT scan to be safe.”

I nodded. “Whatever she needs. Set it up.”

He worked quickly, inserting an IV, cleaning the head wound, and checking for other injuries.

I stood back, giving him space, my mind already racing ahead.

The Espositos’ involvement with Igor meant this went deeper than I’d thought.

This wasn’t just about the money. This was a calculated attack on my family.

And I would respond in kind.

But first, Autumn. I needed to be here when she arrived.

Autumn had just left the war centre. Caspian had told me she’d insisted on staying to monitor our route back, refusing to let anyone shut off the live feed until she saw Megan and us drive through the gates.

I needed to explain what had happened, what we’d discovered. I didn’t know how she would take it—if seeing her sister like this would push her away from me again. The thought made my chest tighten.

I heard the front door open, followed by the sound of quick footsteps. Then she was there, breathless, eyes wide as she took in the scene.

“Megan!” She rushed to her sister’s side, dropping to her knees beside the couch. “Oh God, Megan.”

Dr. Brandt stepped back, giving her space. “She’s stable, Mrs. Lebedev. The drugs will take time to leave her system, but she’ll recover.”

Autumn’s hand trembled as she brushed the hair from Megan’s forehead. “Thank you,” she whispered.

The doctor left to give us some privacy. Said he would be outside.

“I should have been there,” Autumn said softly, not looking at me.

“You were where you needed to be,” I replied. “Safe.”

She finally turned to me, tears shimmering in her eyes. “You brought her back.”

“I promised I would.”

She stood up slowly, and I braced myself for her anger, disappointment, and withdrawal. Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face against my chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I held her carefully. “Autumn. The loan sharks weren’t after you or Megan. They’re tied up with my enemies. If I’d never interfered, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. I’ll give you time,” I said softly. “After all this. To figure out what you want. What’s best for you and Megan.”

She pulled back just enough to look up at me, her blue eyes fierce despite the tears. “I don’t need time, Federico. I know what I want.”

My heart stuttered in my chest. “Autumn—”

“I want you,” she said simply. “I think I’ve always wanted you, even when I was fighting it. Even when I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. I love you. God help me, I love you.”

I stared at her, unable to process what I was hearing. “After everything? After what I did? After Megan got in trouble because of me?”

She nodded. “After everything. Because of everything. The man who manipulated me into marrying him wouldn’t have risked his life to save my sister.

Wouldn’t have respected my need to be part of the rescue.

Wouldn’t have put my family on par with his.

You’re not that man anymore, Federico. You’re a man I trust.”

I cupped her face in my hands, hardly daring to believe this was real. “I love you,” I said, the words I’d been holding back for so long finally breaking free. “More than I thought it was possible to love anyone.”

“I know,” she whispered, rising on her tiptoes to press her lips to mine.

The kiss was gentle. This was something new. Something built on truth, on trust, earned the hard way.

Behind us, Megan stirred on the couch. Autumn broke away, turning back to her sister. But she kept her hand in mine, fingers intertwined, anchoring me to her.

“We’ll get through this,” she said quietly. “All of it. Together.”

I looked at her—this fierce, beautiful woman who had crashed into my life and changed everything. My wife. The mother of my child. The keeper of my heart.

“Together,” I agreed.