Page 79 of Born into Blood

When Natalya, Sveta, and Yelena pull Lara aside to get to know her better, I look up and see Niki staring at me. He’s been quiet the last few days, working his ass off to try and find information for us, and as soon as I meet his eyes, I know two things immediately: One, he’s found something, and, two, I’m not going to like it.

Walking over to him, I take the chair beside him and wait for him to speak. He shuts his laptop so I can’t see anything and sighs, looking so much older than his fifteen years.

“You’re not going to like it,” he says, confirming my gut reaction to his stare.

“Tell me.”

“Can’t do it here,” he says, looking around at our family, and I know he’s right. Way too many people, and no doubt one of them will be walking over any second to see what we’re up to. “Meet me at my place later and bring Val. I’ll make sure Max is there. You all need to hear about this.”

I want to argue and insist he tell me everything, but my mom comes walking over with my Aunt Simona and Aunt Jolene, and I’m forced to keep my mouth shut.

“She’s so sweet,” my Aunt Simona whispers, giving me a big smile.

“And so pretty,” Aunt Jolene adds. “You two look adorable together.”

“I really like her,” my mom says, giving me her seal of approval. She gives me a hug and kisses my cheek. “I’m so happy for you, honey. I can see how much you two love each other.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I tell her, hugging her back while my aunts walk off to grab some wine. “I’m glad you like her. I knew you would, but it’s still nice to hear it.”

My mom laughs and looks up at me. “You’re so much like your dad.” She pats my cheek in the same loving way she’s been doing for as long as I can remember. “Now Lev won’t be the only one who gets to brag about having a grandbaby.”

I laugh and shake my head. “Jesus, Mom, no one said anything about babies,” I tell her, even though that’s not entirely true. I’ve been coming inside Lara as much as I possibly can and loving every fucking second of it.

“You’re just like your dad, sweetie, and I’m not that naive. I think you’ve been waiting for her, and now that you’ve found her, you’re not going to waste any time.”

She’s right, she knows she’s right, so when I don’t say anything, she just gives me a knowing smile and hugs me again before walking off to take the glass of wine my Aunt Jolene offers her.

When they’re far enough away, I look back at Niki. “Meet me inside,” I tell him, because no way in hell can I wait until later. Without giving him a chance to respond, I make sure Lara is still happily chatting with my cousins before walking into Dominic’s house.

A few minutes later, Niki comes strolling in, and as soon as he sees me, he follows me down the hall and into the front living room. It’s not exactly discreet, but there’s a clear shot down the hall so we’ll be able to see if anyone is coming.

“What did you find?” I quickly ask, knowing we don’t have any time to waste. When he hesitates, I add, “You can tell us all in more detail later, but I need to know what the fuck is going on.”

Niki grips the strap of his messenger bag, looking like he’d rather be anywhere than right here, and says, “It’s really bad, Luka. Her dad ran a Bratva with his brother, the Lebedev Bratva.”

I raise a brow, waiting for the horrible part. He does’t make me wait long.

“They ran a sex-trafficking ring.” His blue-grey eyes dart to the open doorway, making damn sure no one is listening. “They’re the ones who took Aunt Alina. Konstantin is the one who held her for two years. Our dads ruined them when they found out, killed every fucking one of them.”

“Jesus,” I groan, feeling like someone’s just knocked me on my ass. It explains why Lara’s mom hates the Melnikov name. She’s just completely wrong about who did what and why. My heart fucking aches at the thought of Lara finding out about this, and I quickly decide that she never will. She’s not responsible for what her dad and uncle did, and my family’s already taken their revenge. It’s done, and there’s no reason to bring it all back up again.

“Have you told anyone else?”

Niki looks at me and shakes his head. “No.”

“Good. Don’t.”

He starts to argue and I hold up my hand. “I’ll meet with you later and we can talk to Max and Val, but don’t tell anyone else, Niki. Promise me, yeah?”

My younger cousin hesitates, and I feel a slight twinge of guilt at the position I’m putting him in, but I’m older and officially in the family Bratva, and that means we both know he’s going to agree to it. Plus, he knows I’d never do anything to hurt our family, and he trusts that if I’m asking, then it’s for a good reason.

“Fine,” Niki says, “I won’t say anything until we’re all together later.”

“Thanks, man,” I tell him, squeezing his shoulder. “We can talk about it later and decide what to do. I just don’t want Lara to find out.”

“Do you think she has any idea of who her dad really was?”

“No,” I say with absolute certainty. “She knows his name and that he was an asshole, but she knows nothing about any of this, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she never does.”

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