Page 25 of Bratva Hostage

“Have the revised schedules been difficult to memorize?”

He shrugs. “A bit of confusion at first, but everyone understands the stakes. We don’t want a repeat of Leon.”

“Good.” After a final glance around, I continue down the hallway. Each time I see a guard in position, abiding by the new instructions, a thread of tension eases from my shoulders. It’s still early, but the day holds a sense of purpose: we’re tightening the net around Thorne.

Eventually, I reach a smaller parlor that serves as a meeting room for private discussions. Nikolai stands just inside, flipping through a stack of documents. He looks up when I enter, then waves a piece of paper.

“This is a summary of last night’s patrol logs,” he explains. “No signs of infiltration, no suspicious vehicles reported. We’re solid.”

I accept the summary and skim it. “Good. Maksim and Aleksei here yet?”

He jerks a thumb toward the next room. “They’re waiting. Akim, too.”

I set the paper aside and head in that direction. The next room is cozy, with a circular table in the center. Maksim leans against a wall, looking bored. Akim stands near a bookshelf, reading pages in a reference guide about security systems. Aleksei sits at the table, scanning notes with a studious air that marks him as the eldest—and nominal leader—of our family.

“Dimitri,” Aleksei greets me, motioning for me to join them. “Let’s get started.”

I move to the table and pull out a chair. “Are we missing anyone?”

“Grigor sends his regrets,” Aleksei responds. “He’s busy handling some personal matters regarding Seraphina’s safehouse. He’ll check in later.”

Grigor is as involved as the rest of us, though he’s stationed elsewhere with Seraphina. “Understood. Let’s review the status.”

Aleksei stacks a set of folders neatly. “First, perimeter security. The additional cameras and sensors are all operational, correct?”

Maksim responds, “Yes. I took a full tour of the grounds late last night. The men posted at the gates cycled through the new schedule without trouble.”

Akim closes the reference book. “Internal security is also stable. After we weeded out anyone whose loyalty was in question, morale improved. Nobody wants to end up like Leon.”

Silence hangs for a moment. We all recall the sight of Leon’s final moments. The betrayal stung, but we handled it decisively. That’s how the Barkovs operate.

Aleksei glances at me. “What about Cecily? How is she handling the increased guard presence?”

“She’s…frustrated. I’ve told her the guard placements aren’t optional, but she resents it.”

Maksim snorts. “Of course she does. She hates feeling caged.”

I press my palms flat against the table. “She’ll have to endure it. Thorne’s not finished with us. One misstep, and she’s gone.”

Nikolai steps in from the adjoining room and hands Aleksei a folded sheet of paper. “Just got an update from our watchers outside the city. No unusual activity. Thorne’s been quiet since his last move.”

Aleksei reads it quickly and responds, “Quiet usually means planning. We can’t relax.”

Thorne’s silence is indeed suspicious. His attempts haven’t stopped, they’ve only gone underground. “We need to keep pressing on potential leads. Have we interrogated every informant who might know Thorne’s next step?”

“Working on it,” Maksim confirms. “We found two men who might have sold him weapons. We’ll question them tonight, see if they can point us in the right direction.”

Aleksei closes his folder. “Good. Now, for the main point of this meeting: how to prevent future attempts. We can’t just play defense forever.”

My pulse spikes with the knowledge of what he’s implying. The entire reason we’re all here is to finalize the steps we’ve been discussing for days. I exchange a look with Maksim, who raises a brow.

“I’ll be frank,” Aleksei continues, “we all know the most direct method to protect Cecily. If she’s no longer a Thorne, but a Barkov, Thorne loses his primary advantage. He can’t abduct his own daughter if she’s part of our family, not without declaring open war, and he isn’t equipped for that.”

Akim places the reference book on the table. “We’ve debated the pros and cons, but it keeps coming back to the same conclusion. She becomes a Barkov.”

Maksim glances my way. “We leave it to Dimitri to confirm.”

I swallow the bile that works its way up my throat. We’ve danced around this topic before, but it’s time to commit. “If we do this, we do it soon. I don’t want to give Thorne a chance to suspect we’re planning anything. Once Cecily is publicly ours, he’ll think twice before trying another stunt.”

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