Page 9 of Broken By the Bratva

Rising to my feet, I leaned forward placing my palms on my table. “Informing you of what exactly?” I inquired, biting back my fury.

“Your marriage,” Pavel chimed. “Congra..,” he started adding when Makari spun round so fast he almost toppled over.

Sighing deeply, I walked to the window. I had to approach this with caution. Pavel would always follow me, even into the fire. But Makari had developed some sense of loyalty to the Chernykh’s.

Before I could even formulate a word, Maraki spoke again. “We have to inform the Chernykh’s of this.”

Turning to face them, I knew the ferocity pulsing through me was more than visible. “No!” I breathed out. Pavel took a step back as if I had spewed lava or fire at them. “I did this for us! To tie us to her, can’t you see the bigger picture?”

Pavel glanced at me and then at his feet as he spoke. “We still have to tell them, don’t we?”

Makari stood firm crossing his arms across his chest as he added his voice. “Yes, I agree, we have to inform them of this.” His tone had simmered down. I could see the two of them thinking very hard.

“Look at it this way,” I replied lowering my tone. “Since I married her, Tasha is ours to keep. For now, it would be best if we kept the marriage, and her identity our little secret.” I could see Pavel coming around, but Makari was not listening or not hearing me.

Lifting my hand into the air as he opened his mouth, I nodded and closed it again. If anything, I knew the respect and loyalty between us was real. “We need to figure out our next steps. We need a new plan to get Nadia back. If the Chernykh’s take Tasha, everything is lost.”

Watching them was like flipping a light switch as the information sank in and reached their cores. “Do you understand what we stand to lose?” I added softly.

Pavel nodded fiercely. I was sure his head was going to pop off. Maraki nodded extremely slowly looking a tad confused. “So, they aren’t bringing Nadia home?” he questioned.

“Not yet, but they will,” I said walking past them to the door. “I’m going to check on our guest. The two of you still have work to do, don’t you?” I added turning in the door.

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

“Good, we’ll take this up tomorrow. But think about a new plan so long.” I said as they walked out with me. I leaned against the closed door watching them heading downstairs.

After taking some deep breaths and composing myself, I headed to the room I had put Tasha in. Opening the bedroom door quietly, I saw her lying on the bed with her eyes closed. I closed the door again and asked one of the guards to keep an eye on the door for the evening.

Returning to my room next door, I quickly showered and got into bed. My mind drifted for a while, consuming all that had happened.

I was up before dawn. The sun had barely started winking at the world. Checking my watch, I saw it was just before five. I was sure Tasha would still be sleeping and decided I would check on her later.

Heading down to the kitchen, I grabbed some coffee. Standing outside, I scanned the backyard. The world was still quiet and the peace it offered was delightful. Pavel found me just after six.

Coming out of the kitchen door, he spoke in his usual lively manner. “Good morning, you want breakfast?”

Turning to look at him, I smiled and nodded as I replied. “Sure, you making bacon and eggs with toast?”

“Sure,” he said turning and then stopped. Turning back, he spoke in a low tone. “You decided what to do with everything?”

“I have a plan, but we’ll talk after breakfast, okay?” I added getting up from the swinging chair I sat on. “I’m going to check on Tasha while you prepare the food.”

Pavel held the door open, allowing me to walk ahead. As I left the kitchen, I could hear him humming as he collected the pans and ingredients. He always appeared to be in high spirits from a young age. We knew he was different from us, but it made him special.

Walking up the stairs and down the hall to Tasha’s room, I felt confident our plan would work this time. I just had to get Makari to agree.

Opening the door still in thought, I had to look twice. Standing in the empty room, it dawned on me slower than it should. Tasha was gone. Rushing to the windows, I realized they were all still locked. Turning to the door, I called the guard.

I wanted to scream. How the fuck did she get out. Looking around frantically, I wondered when she escaped. “Did you move at any time?” I huffed at the guard.

He glanced around shaking his head as he responded. “No, boss,” then he looked up at the ceiling rubbing his chin. “I.., I went to the…,”

“Stop! Not another word!” I spat at him. “Get out and search the grounds.”

Breathing in hard, I took another look around the room. I found a hairpin close to one of the windows. I checked them all and found one that slid halfway open. Standing back, Istudied the opening. Could this be enough for her to fit through? Popping my head through, I looked down.

“No, I felt sure she didn’t go that way as there was no easy way down. She is smarter than I had thought. She was setting false leads. This was going to be interesting. There were guards by all the doors and the staff had started arriving. How did she intend to get out?

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