Page 35 of Surprise Bratva Daddy

That means having trust in Zane, even though it’s difficult for me to trust anyone. I’ve always been a loner, but maybe that’s why I fit so well with Zane. He’s a loner too, and maybe that’s something we can be together.

I have hope now that he’s accepted my pregnancy, so I’m ready to tell him about the flash drive. I don’t think there’s any harm in him knowing something that’s going to make him a bunch of money. I might even take him up on his offer to replace my house with some of the cash he makes.

Then again, I’ve grown fond of this one, and I enjoy living with him. It’s almost like we’re a married couple.

I look down at my hand, considering what it would be like to have a ring on my finger. A month ago, I would’ve laughed at the idea, but today I’m willing to entertain it. With Zane, it feels like anything is possible.

“Don’t tease me,” Zane says, breaking me out of my little fantasy.

I look up at him, shaking my head. “Oh, I’m not teasing you. I’ll admit that when I got the package, I was too curious not to open it.”

He smirks. “You are a curious girl, aren’t you?”

Now that I think about it, all the trouble I’ve ever gotten myself into has been from being too curious. I have no self-control when it comes to stuff like that. Sometimes, I even flip to the back of the book to know how it ends.

“I am curious, but that’s why we’re together in the first place, so you can thank me for it later. Something about me you might not know, though, is that I have photographic memory. I remember everything,” I say with a proud smile.

He narrows his eyes. “Just how much of that information do you remember?”

“I said I remember everything, so I remember everything I saw,” I reply, feeling a tad smug that I finally have some power in this relationship. For once, I have the upper hand. “I scrolled through a few dozen lines before I closed the file. There was a lot of information about some pretty well-known stocks.”

He takes a sharp breath, and I can see the excitement swirling in his icy cold eyes. “You think you could write it all down?”

I nod. “I can do that. Give me a pen and paper, and I’ll show you.”

Zane literally runs out of the room when I say that, coming back a few moments later with sweat on his forehead and a pen in his hand. “Just write it in the back of one of the books. I don’t know where the paper is,” he blurts.

I take the pen, tapping it against my chin. “You’re awfully excited about this.”

He puts his hands together like he’s praying. “Darling, you have no idea how much this means to me. You’re saving my ass right now.”

I should make him beg, but he looks cute when he’s all excited. I never thought I’d have a Bratva boss so eager to know what I have to say, but here he is, standing in front of me like a hopeful child who’s about to unwrap their birthday present.

It makes me think of what our child might look like. I’m already picturing him being a boy, with Zane’s eyes and perhaps a little of my curiosity. I wouldn’t be able to resist him. I’d hold him in my arms every night, singing to him until he fell asleep.

My imagination takes me all kinds of places as I begin writing down the information that Zane so strongly desires. He stands over me the entire time, his eyebrows drawn together in a concentrated frown, studying each mark of the pen as I write in the back of the child development book.

Nobody would ever think to look there for insider trading data. The flash drive was just a little too obvious.

Zane’s phone rings before I’m finished, and he steps away for a moment, coming back as I write the last line I can remember clearly.

I look up at him as I put down the pen. “I’m finished.”

He presses his lips together and nods. “I’d like you to bring what you have to the meeting. Kiro is waiting.”

“What’s this meeting about?” I ask, closing the book and tucking it under my arm.

“Maksim,” he replies, putting his hand around my waist and leading me out of the library.

I look up at him. “You said it didn’t involve Maksim.”

“I didn’t want to worry you. We’re not doing anything crazy today. Kiro just has some information he wants to share about Maksim’s operations. We have to take him out, eventually, so the more information, the better.”

“It’s all about data,” I say, squeezing the book tighter under my arms.

“That’s correct. Everyone thinks the Bratva is about violence, but it has far more to do with intelligence. More brains that brawn, but you do need both.”

“I’m the brains, you’re the brawn,” I say, pinching him in the ribs.

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