Stalked by the Bratva King

Prologue

MAKSIM

Idrift in and out of consciousness, the pain in my side stabbing. Goddamn Conrad Vale. He’s my most prominent rival in this town, good old DC, where information is worth more than gold.

We both operate in the realm of information empires.

We’re both fighting to be the secret keepers of this godforsaken place.

I’m pissed at myself. Walking alone down the street like some kind of amateur.

I wanted a cup of coffee. And the last few years had been quiet.

We’d settled into a calm rhythm. We’ve worked around each other, selling and keeping secrets.

But Conrad—or one of his men, most likely—saw his chance and went for it.

When I peel my eyes open again, something hotter and purer than the pain grips me. It’s the sort of feeling I never expected to feel. Not love. My world is the furthest thing from a fairytale. My world is metal, ruthlessness, and blood.

But something human. Something real.

She’s staring down at me. Her eyes are wide, hazel, and expressive. Her hair is tied back, but I can imagine those chestnut strands flowing down her back.

“Stop struggling,” she says when I thrash.

Hospitals aren’t a place a Bratva kingpin would visit like a common man.

But I was unconscious, damn it. “Or we’ll have to restrain you.”

We share a moment as she stares into my eyes. It goes unnoticed by everyone else.

Maybe I wouldn’t mind that. I think.

She smiles and rolls her eyes before she regains control and becomes the professional again.

I gave them nothing. No real name. No information about who might’ve shot me. The second I'm alone, I leave, texting Anton, then limp across the parking lot to the jet-black sedan waiting for me. I finished my recovery with a private Bratva doctor.

But Lia doesn’t leave my mind.

Those two words—lie still—affected me profoundly, far more than any Bratva princess could.

I remember her hand on my shoulder. The heat of her palm. The fierceness in her voice.

I want to get to know her, to learn more about her. In a different life, I might’ve asked her on a date. But this is my life. Cold, focused, and grim. What right do I have to pull her into it?

So, I stay away. Physically, at least.

But my company owns the company that handles security for the hospital, among other places. I have access to the CCTV.

I watch her. Liora Quinn. Lia for short. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Walking down the hallway, her nurse’s uniform hugging her ample hips. Tossing her hair in the break room. Leaning over the counter, her scrubs pulling tight across her thick, perfect ass…

And her golden-brown eyes. The kindness in them. The care. The hope.

They’re the complete opposite to mine.