Virgin Bratva Hostage (Dubrov Bratva #11)

Chapter 1 - Avraam

Dex and Royce both shift uncomfortably, trying to escape my anger.

“What the hell do you mean she got away?” I snarl angrily.

“The Dubrovs and Kuznetsovs are working together, both families were there. We didn’t have enough men to stand up to both of them,” Dex says, lifting his chin and clenching his jaw tightly. He isn’t happy about this either. He never likes to fail at tasks. He’s the kind of guy who takes pride in his job.

I’ve known Dex a long time. He’s worked for me for many years and I trust him.

But this—this just pissed me off. It was meant to be an in and out, quiet operation. Get the girl, bring her to me. Easy enough.

“Are you serious about all of our men being dead?” I sigh.

“Yes, sir. Royce and I only just managed to escape. It was carnage. Like I said—there were too many men. All of the brothers worked together.”

“Fucking Kuznetsovs are causing far more trouble than they’re worth. The Dubrovs are strong enough as it is and now, they have this new family tagging along. I need to break apart this alliance.”

I pace up and down the office inside one of my warehouses. Running my hand through my thick, dark hair, I shake loose some of the wavy strands that are almost long enough to reach my shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes for a second. I can’t lose focus on what I need to achieve here. The Kuznetsovs and Dubrovs are both a problem, but if I target the weaker of the two families, I can probably make some waves.

Besides, the Kuznetsovs need to be taught a lesson. They can’t just rock up in my city and think they own the place. They need to earn respect—they certainly don’t have mine.

Turning to face my two men, I address Royce.

“The girl—the Kuznetsov sister—I want to know about her. Royce, she’s the one you interacted with at the club, is she not? What was her name—Ruslana?”

Royce’s eyes narrow for a second, he looks agitated at the mention of her name. Then he quickly adjusts his expression and nods. “Yes, sir, I interacted with her. What of it?” he asks, pushing his shoulders back.

“I need to know everything you know about her. She might be the key to this entire issue. If I can get my hands on her, I can take back some control in this situation and cause ripples in the alliance between those two families.”

“I think you should perhaps focus on the other sister, or maybe the Dubrov sister,” he mutters.

“Do I pay you to think or do as I ask?” I snap.

He flexes his jaw in annoyance and says nothing.

“So, what do you know about Ruslana Kuznetsov?”

“He’s been gathering intel on her for a while now, sir,” Dex says, shooting an annoyed look towards Royce. “He knows a lot.”

Royce looks betrayed by Dex’s interference in this conversation.

“Dex, you can carry on with whatever you need to do. Royce and I are going to have a chat.”

Dex nods and walks out of the office.

“Sit down,” I demand and Royce, pulling his mouth tight, obliges.

“My apologies, sir, I meant no disrespect. I will tell you what I know.”

I watch him for a moment, trying to read his body language. He flips his moods so easily. He’s always done it. I can’t get a handle on hi,m but Dex seems to trust him and I trust Dex so, I let him stay on the team.

“Talk then,” I sigh, leaning back, folding one leg over the other and glancing at my watch.

“Ruslana is twenty-one years old. She’s a bit of a wild one. She seems to enjoy aggravating her brothers by disobeying them. She parties a lot and makes friends easily in the clubs because she’s got a very outgoing, fiery personality. She’s feisty and confrontational if you annoy her and she’s street smart. Smart, smart too.”

Listening closely to Royce’s description of her, I find myself becoming more curious about this girl. He speaks about her as though he admires her. Royce doesn’t really like anyone that I know of so this is a surprise in itself.

“Feisty, fiery, and outgoing,” I repeat, more to myself than him. “She is the youngest one in the family, is she not?”

“Yes, sir. She has one older sister, the rest are brothers.”

“I didn’t tell you to track her after the club—why did you?”

“She is the enemy sir, I thought she would give us good intel.”

I chew the inside of my cheek, deep in thought.

“Alright—you can go,” I say. From my seated position, I watch Royce leave my office and wonder about why he did what he did. There is no good reason for him to have followed her, but I guess it turned out alright because I do need intel on her.

I chuckle to myself. She enjoys aggravating her brothers. That’s amusing. Well, little does she know, I am going to use her to aggravate her brothers in a very big way. She has suddenly become the key to everything.

I guess I am going to have to do a little bit of my own investigating before I decide the best way to capture her and how to handle her.

It’s getting late and today has been a fuck up.

I want to get out of the office and clear my head. I find it hard to think in places like this. Industrial, noisy, claustrophobic places.

Leaving the warehouse, I am not fully decided where to go yet. My car revs, a low deep growl, the beautiful sound of a V8 engine. I pull out into the road and drive towards the coast. When I park near the coffee truck, the guy inside waves to me. I wave back and nod. He knows my order already.

I come here often, a few times a week, because it’s the best place for me to think.

“Frank, how’s business today?” I ask, approaching the truck.

“You know how it is when it gets a little colder. People don’t come to the beach. I might move down to the stadium next week.”

“But then, who will make my coffee?” I say in horror.

He laughs, “There’s plenty of coffee trucks around here.”

“But none of them are as good as you,” I smirk.

He hands me the cappuccino and I place the money on the counter.

“See you soon,” he nods.

“Later,” I reply, then walk towards the ocean to sit on the bench overlooking the edge of the pier to listen to the crashing waves and put a plan together.

Even though the Kuznetsovs are the weak link in that alliance—it doesn’t mean it isn’t risky for me to kidnap her. The Dubrovs are clearly going to retaliate along with the Kuznetsovs. I have to be extra careful.

Ultimately, I want to disrupt the Kuznetsov brothers and have their business effected by it.

My phone chimes loudly. Alyona, my little sister.

“Hello, what do you want?” I smile when I answer.

“Jeez, it’s nice to hear your voice, too,” she quirks back at me.

“Are you still going to join me for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Of course, but Avraam, I was wondering—“

“How much do you need?”

“Only a thousand, maybe two, I just wanted—“

“I’ll transfer it into your account. I already told you to just use my card. That’s why I had it linked. You don’t need to ask.”

“Thank you. You’re my favorite big brother,” she giggles.

“I’m pretty sure I’m your only big brother.”

After the phone call I still have a smile on my face. Alyona and I are very close. We always have been. I take care of her and do my best to keep her out of this world that I operate in. She hardly knows what I do, and most people don’t even know she exists. It’s to keep her safe. I don’t want my enemies targeting her.

Dark, rich coffee runs down my throat as I down the last of it and throw the cup into the trashcan nearby.

I know what I want to do.

Over the next few weeks I am going to spend time following Ruslana and gathering my own information on her.

When the moment comes—I will take her.

***

I’ve been tracking Ruslana for around two weeks now and her brothers have her heavily guarded. I didn’t expect there to be so many men protecting her. Presumably, after the attempted kidnapping, they upped security.

It’s not good for me. I am going to have to be patient.

Right now she is standing at a coffee shop, leaning against the counter, chatting to the barista while he makes her order.

I’m standing nearby, glancing at the cover of today’s paper.

Pretending to be interested in whatever news they are pushing.

She is as radiant as Royce described her to be. Everyone she interacts with seems to love her almost instantly.

I have to admit, I am also incredibly drawn to her colorful and vibrant nature.

My eyes trace over her back, the white t-shirt and bright skirt she is wearing is cute. When she leans forward, the skirt rides up a little too high and my eyes devour the sight of her slender legs. She’s curvy in exactly the right places. Her narrow waist and full hips are incredibly sexy. And she likes to dress up and show off her curves. She’s wearing her blonde hair up in a high ponytail and it flicks left and right when she moves.

She has an energetic sporty style, colorful and bright. Just like her personality.

She isn’t like everyone else. She’s bubbly and happy and full of spirit.

Watching her has become my favorite part of my day.

Her enthusiasm for everything is alluring to me. She's like a bright star in my otherwise monotonous world of clients and shipments and warehouses.

I’ve only observed her with her brothers on two occasions. I can’t be seen by them because they would recognize me, I’m sure of it. It’s not worth the risk. But when I did see her talking to them, she was as feisty and aggravating as I was hoping to see.

She is a firecracker and for some reason, I want to capture her and make her mine. I want to control the seemingly uncontrollable girl who does what she wants and defies everyone.

I want that playful nature to belong to me.

Of course, that isn’t the purpose of me following her and I have to remind myself of that. She is a tool, the key to bringing down the Kuznetsovs. However, there is no reason I can’t enjoy the process.

But I won’t be able to achieve anything until her guards slack off. It’s way too dangerous for me to try and take on five personal guards, no matter which way I come at it.

I just have to wait.