Page 30 of Prince of Control (Bratva Heirs #1)

Chapter Twenty

Baron

After Lara and I shower, we make it downstairs to find Melinda curled up on the couch with Anders.

Her face is pale, and her eyes are red. She somehow looks even skinnier than usual. Frail breakable. It makes me want to pop someone’s head off their neck for hurting her.

She sends me a teary glare. “You can’t ban me from your house after what happened.”

Christ. I feel terrible for hurting her like that.

“Of course not.” I walk over and lean down to give her a tight hug. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

“I guess you were right,” she said, her voice clogged with tears. “I did bring unwanted attention to your house.”

“No. I had it backward. We already had the attention, and they used you to get to us. Instead of keeping you away, I should’ve brought you closer in.”

Anders clears his throat. “That’s good because she doesn’t want to be alone right now, and I said she could stay in my room.” He looks like he has a litany of arguments prepared to throw at me when I refuse, but it’s a good idea.

I need her closer, so I can protect her. If her dad becomes Vice President of the United States, and they put Secret Service on her, I’ll deal with that problem then. After this morning, I suspect they already know who I am and what I might be up to. I doubt much gets past Black Shirt.

“Good,” I say. “I want you here where we can protect you.”

Relief sweeps over Ander’s face, and Melinda settles back into the crook of his arm.

“Melinda, this is my wife, Lara.”

Lara gives her a hug as well. “I’m so sorry you got attacked.”

The sound of my voice has pulled various house members into the living room. Alex and Leo show up, and the twins.

“She wasn’t raped,” Anders says quietly. “The DNA tests came back, and she was just drugged.”

Thank fuck. I don’t have to figure out how to dispose of a body today.

Leo speaks up. “I pulled every recording with Melinda in the frame from the party, and no one appears to have come close to her, at least not that we caught with cameras.”

Melinda shakes her head. ”No, I didn’t even get a drink while I was here, so there would be no opportunity. I brought my own water bottle. And I was only with Anders.”

Anders has one arm around the back of the sofa behind her shoulders, and he strokes the back of her head.

“So we’re thinking the security guard, right?” I say.

“Yeah. I’ve got a name on him,” Anya says. “Gregory Smith. He’s not a member of Titan house, but he is on the football team.”

“He’s a sophomore,” Alex says. “Not that bright. Football scholarship.”

“Do you think you can hack his bank records?” I ask. “Maybe they paid him to do it.”

“I already did.” Anya looks smug. “There are no large deposits recently made to his account. But they could’ve paid him cash.”

“True,” I muse.

“I also have his address, found out he lives alone, and he’s working right now.”

“Did you now?” I roll my shoulders. “Who is up for a little recon?” I glance at Leo.

“I’ll get my lock picks.”

Melinda gets up from the sofa, and Anders follows. “I’m going.”

“Me too,” Lara says.

I wince. “We’ll be breaking the law, malyshka . I don’t want you involved.”

Lara’s mouth takes on a stubborn set. “I’m going .”

Everyone else politely looks away.

Fuck. If there’s one thing I learned from my dad it was not to involve family in the business. Keep things clean at home. Lara is my wife and shouldn’t be tainted with anything illegal.

But she’s ready to throw down with me over this, and I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore. It feels too good to have her on my side for a change.

I draw in a breath and let it out. “Fine.”

Suddenly everyone is up and moving.

“Hold up. Not you guys.” I wave my hand at the rest of them.

Alex, Feliks, and Phoenix look disappointed as they sink back to the couch.

“What?” Anya asks with mock innocence. “I thought the sexism had ended. Lara and Melinda are going.”

“I don’t need your dad kicking my ass for getting his precious daughters in trouble. Anders, you should stay, too. If you get caught, you could lose your student visa.”

Anders snorts in annoyance. “When has that ever stopped me? He attacked Melinda. I’m in this until the end.”

“We all are,” I say.

Leo nods. “That’s right.”

“Damn straight,” Alex says.

“No one screws with friends of Baranov House,” Zoe says.

Lara

Now that Baron and I are on the same page, I love watching him in action. Before, his prowess as the leader of a young bratva cell freaked me out. He was the enemy, and it proved I had a formidable opponent. Now it means I have a badass partner.

I mean, we still have things to work out. I don’t like being a pawn in a game I don’t understand, and I hate that Baron won’t tell me what my purpose here is. I don’t like thinking my family is in danger. Knowing Baron’s father has us all in a vise-grip.

But holding my heart back from Baron was so much harder than letting it go. It’s like now that he’s opened up to me–said he loved me–the gates barring him from entering my care zone have swung wide open. The feelings I caught for him are big.

Really big. In fact, I seem to be catching more by the minute. I never knew love could simultaneously feel so wonderful and terrifying. It’s like I’m free falling down a cliff side, trusting Baron will erect the net to catch me at the bottom.

I sit beside Baron in the vehicle, sneaking side glances at the corded muscles of his forearms as he drives. His jaw is firm, and there’s determination in his gaze. He’s already thinking through the next five steps, I’m guessing.

He already grabbed baseball caps for all of us and a box of latex gloves before we left.

I know he didn’t want me to come–for my own protection–but there’s no way I’m missing out.

I didn’t like feeling left out of his operation before, and I’m not going to let him pigeon-hole me back into the sheltered wife category. Besides, I’m heavily invested in Melinda getting her justice. And I want to watch Baron in action–it’s hot.

A thrill of adrenaline runs through me at being part of their caper. Baron pulls up in front of a student apartment building and studies it. We watch a student walk up and enter using a keycard. “Front door uses a keycard like a dorm,” he mutters.

“I’ve got this.” Leo pushes open the door, pulling a ball cap low over his face.

“Wait for me to get in.” We watch from the tinted windows as he walks confidently up to the building door.

He pauses near a post and pretends to check his phone, and then when someone comes out of the building, catches the door and slips inside.

He props a shoulder against the glass window of the atrium, pretending to look at his phone.

“Okay, now you two.” Baron twists to look at Anders and Melinda.

They slide out of the car and walk across the street. The automatic door swings open for them, as if Leo hit the wheelchair button.

“Let’s go, malysh .” Baron hands me a baseball cap, and I pull my hair up in a twist and put it on.

The door swings open for us, too. Baron rubs a hand over his face strategically, murmuring in Russian that there’s a camera straight ahead.

Anders and Melinda have disappeared.

“You take the elevator; we’ll take the stairs,” Baron tells Leo.

“See you there.” Leo seems to vanish behind us as Baron leads me to the stairwell. We walk up one flight of stairs to the second floor hallway where we find Anders with Melinda boosted on his shoulders putting a stretched piece of chewing gum across the camera in the corner.

Leo faces a door, both hands working the knob with his tools. A moment later, he disappears inside the apartment. Baron and I follow, with Melinda and Anders right behind.

Baron produces two pairs of latex gloves from his pocket and hands me a pair.

“Right. No fingerprints.” I take the gloves and slide them over my hands. They’re too big, leaving gaps at the ends of the rubber fingers.

“Don’t touch anything unless you have to,” he tells me.

I nod, walking through the messy studio apartment. It smells like stinky socks and jockstraps. The school year just started but there appears to be a years’ worth of crumbs on the floor. A bowl of half-eaten macaroni and cheese sits in the sink.

“Well, that was easy.” Leo is on his hands and knees looking under the bed. “I found the cash.” He pulls out a paper bag and turns the open mouth to show us stacks of money inside.

“How much was drugging me worth?” Melinda demands, taking the bag in her oversized gloves and opening it. She dumps bundles of money on the kitchen counter to count.

Baron picks up the trashcan in the bathroom and peers inside, then shows it to me. Inside is packaging from a syringe and some kind of medicine.

“Is that rohypnol?” I ask.

“Yes. Well, a generic brand,” Baron confirms. He plucks out the used syringe and holds it up for the rest to see. To Melinda, he says, “You didn’t ingest it. The fucker injected you, so it would act faster to seem as if you’d been roofied at the party.”

Melinda looks horrified, her hand flying to her neck.

“Let me see.” Anders quickly starts scanning her body, turning her around. When he gets to her thighs, he asks, “What’s this?”

We all rush over to examine a tiny circular bruise on her thigh.

“I didn’t leave that,” Anders says.

Melinda blushes, making me wonder which bruises he did leave.

“If your dad can get a warrant, the police could find all this. It’s probably enough to convict him.” Baron’s expression holds total neutrality. “Do you want to go the legal route, or can we take care of him?”

“What are you going to do to him?” Melinda asks.

“Take the money and torture him until he gives up who paid him to do this to you. Then break his leg.” Baron considers and shrugs. “Or his arm. Something that will fuck up his football season, so he loses his scholarship, and you won’t have to see him around here again.”

“I’ll take door number two,” she says. Some life has come back to her now that revenge is in sight. Like the power this guy took from her when he drugged her has returned.

Baron flashes a grin, and there’s a momentary boyishness to him that melts my heart.

Melinda hands the bag of money to Baron. “Six thousand dollars is what assaulting me and framing you was worth to him.”

Baron glances in the bag but doesn’t move to take it. “It’s yours. You’re the one who was hurt by this.”

She thrusts the bag back. “Consider it my rent money. I’m living in Baranov House now.”

Baron crosses his arms over his muscled chest and considers her. “Okay,” he says after a moment. “You’re one of us now. But we’ll have to tattoo one of your fingers.”

Melinda sends a startled look Anders’ way.

He shakes his head. “He’s fucking with you.”

“Oh.” She laughs.

“Only if you commit a crime,” Leo amends.

Melinda smiles. “Does this one count?”

“Do you want it to?” Anders teases.

Baron wraps me up in his arms. “You’re definitely getting a tattoo.” His voice is a low growl meant only for me.

“Yeah?” I pick up on the seductive vibe and purr back. “What is the tattoo for breaking and entering?”

He lifts my left hand between us and peels the glove off. He twists the wedding ring over my ring finger. “It’s my name, right across here.” He brushes his lips over the knuckle of my fourth finger.

I give him a husky laugh. “Your name, huh?”

“Mmm hmm. It can be in Cyrillic if you want.”

“Oh, because it’s much better to display the declaration of ownership in my native language?”

Baron laughs and bites my knuckle, holding it between his teeth for a moment before he lets go. “At least you understand you’re owned.”

One piece of me is still offended because it’s literally true, but my body responds as Baron intends, heating for him, my nipples getting hard, my pussy clenching on air. My body adores being owned by him, as much as I half-rebel.

“Keep telling yourself that, husband. We will see who ends up owning whom.”