Loving The Bratva Boss

Chapter 14

Nikolai's POV

The estate is too quiet.

Not the peaceful kind of quiet — the kind that settles when something is wrong, when the air itself is bracing for blood. Domenico walks beside me as we head down to the war room in the lower level of the house.

A long table.
A wall of monitors.
A map of Moscow divided into territories like carved meat.

I take the head seat.

"Report," I say.

Domenico wastes no time.

"The murders and the missing shipment line up. Same symbol left behind. Same angle of attack. Kirov's men ran the guards off the road first, killed two, dragged the others for questioning. They knew exactly what convoy to hit."

Which means we have a leak.
Or someone with a death wish.

I lean back in my chair, fingers steepled. "And the body we found?"

"Mutilated beyond recognition," Domenico replies, jaw tight. "But the message was clear. They want escalation."

"They'll get it," I say. "But not before I understand their intention. The Kirovs don't waste energy unless they're desperate."

He nods, then pulls up the map. Red lights blink along the eastern corridor of my territory.

"They're testing borders," he explains. "Small incursions. Nothing that harms profit yet. But it's a pattern."

"Probing," I murmur. "Looking for a weak spot."

"They won't find one."

"They think they already have."

My thoughts drift back to the mutilated guard, the missing men, the signal carved into his chest. If the Kirov head — Anton Kirov — wants my attention, he'll regret earning it.

Domenico waits until the tactical talk ends before clearing his throat.

"There's another matter."

I glance at him. "Nadia."

He grimaces. "I should've known something was wrong when she showed up unannounced. She walked right past security and threatened to shoot your houseguest."

I sigh, rubbing my temple. "She's impossible."

"She's your sister."

"That's not justification."

He shrugs. "She said she wanted to 'check the stability of your mental state.' That usually means she's worried."

"She's curious," I correct flatly. "She smells chaos and comes running."

"And the girl? Isabella?" Domenico asks.

I shake my head. "Nadia didn't hurt her, which is the most I can hope for."

He smirks. "You should've seen Isabella's face when Nadia pulled a gun on her."

I give him a sharp look.

He raises his hands. "I intervened. She's fine."
A beat.
"Not that she trusts me."

"She shouldn't," I say. "And what about the other one? Jade."

His expression shifts.

"She ran," he admits. "Tried to get out the side entrance. I caught her before she made it past the second gate."

Of course she did.

"What did you do with her?"

"Brought her to a guest room. Locked it. She's been quiet since."

"Good. Keep her monitored."
I pause.
"And don't frighten her more than necessary."

He raises an eyebrow. "You care?"

"I care about control," I answer. "Fear is useful. Panic is not."

As he gives the final updates, something catches my attention—a faint echo outside the door. Domenico hears it too; he glances toward the hall.

A shadow moves.
Light footsteps.
Breath caught.

Isabella.

She's terrible at hiding her presence.

I don't call her out.
I don't need to.

Let her listen.

Let her think she's clever.

Sometimes fear teaches more than instruction.

⸻

Isabella's POV

I shouldn't be out of my room.

The guard outside had stepped away to take a call. Just long enough for me to slip past the railing and creep down the hallway. I told myself I was going to the kitchen, that I only wanted water, that I wasn't breaking rules.

But then I heard voices through a half-open door.

Nikolai's.

And Domenico's.

My heart hammered, but my feet wouldn't move. I leaned closer, barely breathing.

"...the other one? Jade," Domenico said.

I froze.

Jade.

My Jade.

"She ran," he continued. "Tried to get out the side entrance. I caught her before she made it past the second gate."

I cover my mouth before I gasp.

Oh God.

She tried to escape.
She tried to get help.
She tried to survive.

They caught her.

I press my back to the wall, chest tight, vision blurring for a second. I listen harder, desperate for every scrap of information.

"Don't frighten her more than necessary," Nikolai says.

Don't frighten her?
They kidnapped her.
They locked her away.
What does "more than necessary" even mean to people like them?

I hear the scrape of chairs, maps being shuffled, talk shifting back to territory, shipments, bodies—

Bodies.
Plural.

My skin crawls.

This isn't just danger.
This is organized, sharpened, efficient violence.
A world built on secrets I barely understand.

And Jade is in the middle of it.

I shouldn't stay.
I shouldn't listen.
I know that.

But at the sound of her name again — my decision is made for me.

If Jade is in danger, I need information.
I need to know what they're planning.
I need to know what risks she's facing.
What risks I'm facing.

I swallow hard, pulse pounding.

Fine.

If they're going to cage me...
If they're going to hide her from me...

Then I'll gather whatever I can.

Names.
Plans.
Weak spots.
Anything that matters.

Not just for myself.

For her.

My best friend.
My sister in everything but blood.

Whatever this world is...
whatever Nikolai's part in it becomes...

I will not walk through it blind.