Page 2 of Unrequited (Bratva Kings #6)

One year prior

ZOYA

I stare at the narrow space in the hedges, hardly able to believe my luck.

Is this really happening?

I’ve been lonely. Restless. Half-wild from being overprotected by my family. I know I’m the baby, but how long does that title last? Will I still be the baby when I’m twenty-five? Thirty? Forty?

I’m tired of being told what to do. Tired of being the good girl.

I don’t want to be the good girl anymore.

I’ve watched my brothers get married, one after the other. All three of them. And my older sister has been married for years now .

It's like everyone’s next season of life has started… except mine.

So tonight, it’s time. Something has to change.

If nothing else, I need to prove to myself that I can carve out a private pocket of freedom, one that nobody else knows about.

I wait until everyone is distracted. I made a beautiful dinner tonight and served it with a smile, like I always do.

They call me Little Zoya. The caretaker. The one who likes to cook and clean, and take care of everyone.

And I do love taking care of all of them.

My oldest brother, Rafail, and his wife, Polina. My nieces and nephews. Rodion and his fierce, brilliant wife, Ember. And now Semyon, who’s clearly falling hard for Anya. They’re not married yet, but it won’t be long.

A sliver of moonlight catches the path ahead of me. It’s early summer just outside Moscow, and the crickets chirp a quiet chorus.

It’s beautiful. Desolate. And the rising heat adds to the thrill of doing something I shouldn’t.

No one will find me tonight.

I’ve planned this too well. In my bedroom, there’s a fluffy tan teddy bear, age-worn and well-loved, propped on my bed. And hidden inside is the small monitor my brothers use to track me. I’ve tested my little decoy three times now.

Once during a quick trip into the city .

The second time, I stayed inside but crept around the house to see if they’d notice.

The third? I snuck out for ice cream at a local street fair.

No one ever noticed.

We have guards at every exit and entrance, of course. My brothers monitor everything. They’re not just overbearing but militant.

I’ve never been out like this before, not without a bodyguard trailing close behind.

Even at school, someone was always watching. Nobody dared approach the Kopolov family’s precious little princess. They knew if anyone tried anything , my brothers would kill them.

Literally.

No one took the risk. So I stood alone at school dances while the shadows of my guards hovered nearby like grim sentinels. I went shopping alone, to the bookstore alone, and spent more than my fair share at restaurants, eating solitary meals.

I was lucky to have one friend outside of my family. Just one. Mia, the only one who’s ever helped me bend the rules.

“Zoya?” Mia’s voice hisses from just ahead.

“I’m here,” I whisper back.

My heart pounds. I rub my clammy palms against the thighs of my fitted jeans. I’m nervous tonight, more than usual. But I’m also resolved.

Tonight, I’m doing something that would make my brothers lose their ever-loving minds.

I’m going to a club.

I’m going to have a drink .

Unsupervised.

And god help me, I’m going to get kissed. I’ve already made it my mission.

“You ready, baby?” My best friend Mia grins as she peeks around the corner of the tall hedges. Her eyes widen when she takes me in.

“Zoya… you look gorgeous ,” she praises. “No one would ever know who you are.”

Tonight? I’ve pulled out all the stops.

I’m wearing a fitted, low-cut, red halter top with a vee that dips nearly to my navel.

The color pops against my pale skin, bringing out my blue eyes and dark-brown hair.

My jeans hug every curve. Red heels give me just enough height to feel bold, and a tiny clutch completes the look.

I’ve practiced walking, practiced my smile.

I give her a small, nervous grin as hope surges in my chest. I sigh. How I wish I could live my life without anyone knowing who I am. My name, the title, the connections, the weight of all that entails… I’m over it. I need something more.

With a deep breath, I step out through the hedges, just as I rehearsed. They’re covered in ivy and nestled into the old stone wall behind the estate. Hidden. Secret. Though it’s not my first attempt at escape, this is the first one that feels real.

The dusky air wraps around me. Moonlight filters through the trees, and the buzz of crickets fills the silence. For a moment, I feel like Cinderella on her way to the ball.

And then… I’m free.

I’m shaking with nerves as Mia chatters in the driver’s seat of her hand-me-down car about some guy she’s meeting tonight.

“Are you sure your cousin isn’t coming?” she teases with a wink.

“Matvei?” I snort. “Are you serious? He’s terrifying. Unhinged.”

“And the only one of them who’s single,” she replies, waggling her eyebrows. “Your brothers are so hot.”

“Ew. Gross, Mia. Stop .”

She laughs, and I shake my head, still filled with nerves. But I’m not turning back now.

She parks her car alongside the curb in the way back. Her nondescript black Kia doesn’t catch attention like my brothers’ flashy, sleek cars. I like that.

Still, I feel exposed. Unprotected.

I remind myself, I need to try. I have to try.

With a deep breath, I follow behind Mia, well aware of the eyes of the men following the line of my cleavage and the sway of my ass as I walk in .

Mia orders me something that’s like dessert in a glass over ice, creamy and sweet, and it goes down real easy.

I’m cautious. I don’t accept anything from strangers, and I don’t leave my drink unattended. I’m not stupid. So I just tentatively sip, like I belong here.

I let my gaze wander, with one eye glancing at the door as if expecting Rafail to storm in here and drag me home.

But no one comes.

No texts even ping my phone.

I let out a breath.

I’m getting away with it.

My eyes settle on a man at the bar. Attractive. Older than I am. Longish dark hair curls around his ears. Warm brown eyes. A dimple flashes when he gives me a wolfish grin. A warning bell clangs in my head, but I tell myself I’m just nervous about being discovered.

“Hello, beautiful,” he says in a low voice. “Don’t you look stunning tonight? Let me buy you a drink.”

I smile shyly. “Thank you.”

Mia’s already in the corner, tangled up in someone else’s arms and tongue. God. Seriously? She’s left me all alone. I signal to her, but she doesn’t even look my way.

I think of the house, imagine curling into my favorite chair with a hot cup of tea and a book.

That actually sounds better than this. Is that lame?

“Are you alone?” the man asks .

Is that a normal pickup line, or should I be worried?

I shrug, noncommittal, and let the conversation carry us forward. He’s friendly and easy to talk to. Probably in his mid-twenties, so younger than I thought but older than I am.

After a while, he leans closer.

“It’s loud in here,” he murmurs. “Let’s go for a walk.”

I hesitate. Definitely more dangerous.

Still, I want to be kissed. I decided I would be. Secretly. Recklessly. Like I’m a woman someone wants, and not just a girl someone wants to protect.

I glance toward Mia, trying again to signal her, to reassure myself she’s got my back, but she doesn’t look up.

I clench my fists. It is hard to hear in here, and it’s awkward to have a first kiss at a bar.

“Maybe.”

I’m considering. I look to the door, half-decided, when I feel the weight of someone’s gaze on me.

At the far corner of the bar, hidden in shadow, a man sits with a drink cradled in his large, rough hand. I can’t make out his face, just the broad, tense set of his shoulders. Stillness, like he hasn’t fidgeted a day in his life.

And he’s watching me. He isn’t even pretending not to.

And I can feel his eyes burning through me.

Me.

Why ?

I look down again and note how big and thick his hands are, wrapped around what I can now see is a full pint of Guinness. Condensation rolls down the side of the glass, but it looks untouched. A prop? He just stares, like he’s lost in thought, or maybe pretending to be.

I swallow hard, watching him.

Does he know Rafail? Does he know me ?

I want to believe that this is only in my head, that I’m safe, and that no one recognizes Rafail Kopolov’s baby sister.

But I know better.

“It’s going to get busy in here soon,” the guy next to me pushes. I don’t even know his name.

If Rafail could see me now, he’d lose his shit. My oldest brother has always been more father than sibling. He became my guardian when I was just a child, and I’ve never disobeyed him.

Well. Until I started sneaking out.

Until I started feeling crushed under the weight of expectation.

I grit my teeth and nod, then push myself to standing and turn my back on the man in the corner.

We walk hand in hand down the quiet street, making small talk about the last movie we saw. Turns out he doesn’t like thrillers the way I do, and he definitely doesn’t read the romance novels I inhale, but we have a few things in common .

Still, this is boring the fuck out of me. Is this what women like? He’s hot, he’s nice enough, I guess… but I’m disinterested. He’s too nice, too eager to say things he seems to want me to hear, and for some reason, I keep staring at how soft his hands are.

We’re approaching a streetlight when I suddenly realize I don’t have my phone with me.

“Where’s my phone?” I mutter, patting my pockets. “Strange. I always have it on me.” I sigh. “I have to go back to the bar,” I tell him. “I think I left my phone.”

He grins and winks. “You didn’t. I’ve got it right here.”

He opens his palm and shows me my phone, resting there like a prize.

A chill of unease slides down my spine. How did he get that? I never let it out of my sight, the one concession to Rafail that makes sense to me.

I swallow hard.

“That’s mine,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “Can I have it back, please?”

“I’ll give it to you,” he says with a wink, “in exchange for a kiss.”