Page 40 of Bossed Around By the Bratva

For a moment, I sat frozen in fear, paralyzed. Shaking my head, I tried to clear the images. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Akim’s life was in danger. My brothers were out for revenge, and they would go through anyone who tried to stop them.

Opening my mouth, I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had to get it out so I could think. Misha and Elisse came running in. “What’s wrong, what happened?” Misha asked.

“Are you okay?” Elisse added, kneeling next to the chair.

I was breathing in and out rapidly. My lungs felt crushed, and my chest ached like never before.

“Do you need a bag, water, or some juice?” Misha questioned as she started rubbing my back.

“No, no, no,” I screamed. “He’s in danger.”

“Who, dear? Who’s in danger?” Misha asked softly.

“Please, sit down. I have something to tell you,” I managed to get out between breaths.

Misha sat down on the edge of the table before me. Elisse was on the floor next to me, holding my hand. I spilled it all, emptied the bag, and explained to them how I got in and how the relationship between Akim and me had started. I gave them all the details, the whole truth.

“I just wanted to prove that I could bring my part into this family,” I added, taking a deep breath. “I wanted you all to be proud of me, and see what I was worth. I never intended to fall in love.”

“Honey,” Misha said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “You’re young and confused. You don’t know what love is. Plus, these men are not like us. They are a violent family. You don’t want part of that.”

“They’re not,” I protested lightly. “We’ve been dating for some time now, and I think I love him.”

“You’re just confused. They’re ruthless. The stories I’ve heard will give you nightmares,” Misha added.

“I've also heard many stories,” Elisse chipped in.

“I don’t care,” I breathed out. “You don’t know him like I do. Believe me, he has a brilliant heart. He is a soft teddy bear. He’s one amazing man.”

Misha shook her head softly. She looked down into her lap and replied, “I don’t know. Really? It’s just that it doesn’t make sense.”

“Please, please, believe me,” I begged, holding her hand tightly. “I love him. I want to be with him.”

Elisse patted the hand she was holding as she spoke. “Ok, so, say we believe you. What do you want us to do? You know we can’t stand up to Iosif.”

Glancing at her, I thought for a second before replying. “Our brothers are out for revenge. They are looking for Akim. I’m afraid for his life. If we can find him first, we can warn him. Please, please help me find him.”

I could see Misha was still in doubt. But Elisse seemed halfway convinced. “Well, let’s see what we can do. Where will we be able to find out where he went?”

“The office,” I said, jumping up and pulling them into a hug.

Misha brought her car around, and we headed to the office. The building was in ruins. But the stairs survived. Carefully, we went up to what was left of the office.

Walking down the hall, stepping over rubble, I had to convey my gratitude. “Thank you both,” I said. “Thank you for trusting and believing in me. And for helping me against Iosif’s wishes.”

Elisse squeezed my hand softly as we entered the office. We were looking for anything that could indicate his whereabouts. Heading into Akim’s office, I saw his schedule book on the desk. It hadn’t been destroyed. I ran over and flipped through it to today.

“He had a meeting at his brother’s place,” I said, looking at my sisters. I tore out the page with the address on and headed back down. We got back into Misha’s car and headed there.

Chapter 21 - Akim

Sitting in my brother's office at his house, I stared at Alexandr, Anton, and Abram. They all looked so patient as we waited for a reply from the Morozov family. Yet, inside, I felt a wildfire wreaking havoc. I had to know what they had found out.

We had Roman, Sergei, Evelina, and Leo gathered on their side. They were on the screen before us, but I could see they were looking for something in a stack of files before them. Everyone had a part in the search. Evelina and Leo Morozov were computer whizzes.

They had agreed to recover the burnt camera footage so we could find out who was behind this attack. Glancing up at us, Evelina spoke. “We have gathered a great deal of detail from the footage.”

“A great deal?” I enquired and suddenly remembered some of the intimate moments I shared with Zhenya. I didn’t know who she was at that stage. Should the topic arise, I felt sure everyone would understand. But I didn’t intend to offer up the revelation unless they asked.

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