Page 39 of Bossed Around By the Bratva

The smell of onions and garlic infiltrated my nostrils. Fluttering my eyes, I opened them and breathed in deeply. Breakfast smelled divine. Rolling to my back, I closed my eyes again and took another breath.

Images of our mother came swirling in. Seeing her in the kitchen cooking beef in onions and garlic with eggs and beans. I smiled as I remembered running to her. She would turn, pick me up, and place me on the counter as she cooked.

For a moment, all my fears and worries streamed out the door. Then I heard Misha speaking next to me. “Hey, are you awake?”

Slowly, I swallowed the lump forming as reality came flooding back. “Yes,” I replied, sitting up. Misha held out the tray with my breakfast. “Thank you,” I added softly. I loved my sisters. They took care of me after our mother passed. They had always been kind and understanding.

I had always suspected it was because I was the youngest. Misha sat down on the couch by the door, waiting for me to eat. She had a curious look but didn’t say a word. Her eyes were slightly larger than usual, and her brows raised.

With her hair pinned back, she reminded me of our mother. “Thank you, Misha,” I said once I had eaten enough to satisfy her.

She took the tray and headed to the door. “Iosif will be here shortly. Get dressed and come to the lounge, okay?” she added before leaving.

I quickly dressed in the clothes she had left on the dresser for me and headed to the lounge. Elisse brought out a fresh pot of tea and cups. She had barely placed them down when the doorbell chimed.

Iosif and Avgust came storming in. Iosif looked like he was foaming at the mouth as he came to stand before me. I had never seen him so angry. “What’s going on, Zhenya? What happened at that office fire? And what the hell were you doing there?” he huffed. His tone was so pitched that I felt it vibrating in my soul.

Pulling my legs onto the couch, I hugged them against my chest. “What do you mean?” I enquired softly, looking at the floor.

Iosif lowered himself so he could look me in the face. “What were you doing at the real estate offices? That’s where the fire was, right? That’s where you were?” he spat at me.

It looked like Iosif was foaming at the mouth. If this were a cartoon, the steam would be blowing out of his ears. I have never in my life seen him this angry. He was a calm, levelheaded guy. But this, this was a monster.

“Iosif,” I whispered, swallowing back the tears. “I wanted to prove to you that I could also do things. That I was good at business.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he spat. His forehead bulged as the veins looked like they were about to burst. “Are you telling me you’re working for a Dubow?”

I watched as he paced up and down like a pendulum about to drop. “How did you even get in without us knowing?” he added, stopping before me.

Swallowing hard, I cleared my throat before speaking. “I tricked the employees into believing it was what you ordered so I could pose as a worker. “I’m really good at it, though. Please, Iosif, you have to see what I’ve done. I can also contribute to this family.”

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Avgust and Lukyan came storming in. “We managed to get it!” Avgust pronounced proudly, holding up a small drive. “We salvaged the CCTV camera footage from the real estate offices.”

“You have?” I asked, feeling the blood draining from my face.

“Yes,” Lukyan said. “We’ve seen where the fire started. We could finally identify the men. Most of them are part of the Aslanov crew. They are responsible for all of this!”

I breathed out heavily. If they knew who, they didn’t need to look any further. But just as I felt my nerves calming, Avgust spoke again. “We’ve got a lot of footage. There’s about a month’s worth.”

“Let’s see it, maybe we can figure out if they were surveying the place. If so, they knew she was in there and it was a hit on us!” Iosif said, glancing at me.

My heart skipped a beat as I listened to them. No, this can’t be happening. If they had so much footage, they would see our stolen moments. The intimate ones between Akim and me. This was going to cause so many issues.

“But, if you know who it was, you don’t need more, do you?” I asked, hoping to get them to let it go.

Avgust opened the laptop and popped the drive in. “We need to see if they were following you. If you were the target or the alliance,” he huffed back. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back as they played the footage.

I wish I could simply jump up and get them to stop. But I knew doing that would just cause a bigger fight than the one coming. I sat in silence. I pulled my legs up to my chest and hugged them, preparing for the reprimand.

Iosif looked at me so sharply that he almost ripped his neck. “What is this?” he shouted. I could see the fire in him burning deeper. This wasn’t his normal way. I couldn’t understand what was happening to my brother.

“I will not stand for this kind of behavior,” he huffed as Timofey entered.

Timofey glanced at the screen and then at me. I knew he knew, but he would never stand up to Iosif. There was an order, and I wasn’t part of it.

“He will pay for what he has done!” Iosif screamed. He slammed his fist into the laptop, shattering it. I let out a small scream as I bounced on the chair. Before I could even try saying something, he stormed out. Avgust, Lukyan, and Timofey stormed after him.

I heard the door slam shut and the cars start up. This wasn't good, no, it was worse than any bad I could even think of. They were going for Akim. Iosif has lost his shit and this was a war.

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