Page 54 of Bratva's Intern

“If I have to question my workers, they wouldn’t be working for me in the first place.”

“I like your shrewdness, Morozov. No wonder you’ve made it to the top of the food chain.”

I’d worked with men like Arkady for years. Small empires built on bluster and blood, each of them held together by the illusion of control. They liked to act like kings, but most of them were just wolves in silk robes. I cooperated because I had to.

Even bottom feeders had a place in our world. If only to bleed in someone else’s war.

Arkady finished his drink and waved for another. “So, when do we start moving the product?”

“As soon as the wallets land,” I said, lying through myteeth. “We’ll run the drop through Rotterdam. Quiet. Fast. Clean.”

Arkady grinned like we were planning a vacation. “Perfect. Now that's out of the way, stay for a while and enjoy yourself. You're always in a rush. Men like us have to enjoy the luxury we have. We never know how much time we have left.”

I let my silence stand as agreement. These were the games we played. You couldn’t say no without raising suspicion, and saying yes didn’t mean surrender.

He led me through a narrower corridor branching off from the main lounge, the lighting dimming as we passed. A woman in a sequined gown leaned back against the wall, exhaling smoke like she had nowhere better to be. Another kneeled at a man’s feet in a private booth, laughing too loudly, her lipstick smeared.

Arkady paused near the bar, scanned the room, and crooked a finger. “Tanya,” he called, voice smooth as syrup.

A slim, dark-skinned woman stepped out of the shadows near the grand piano. Tall, long-legged, clad in a tight black dress that shimmered like oil under the lights. Her expression was unreadable, but her posture was perfect—shoulders back, chin high, plump lips slightly parted.

Arkady slipped an arm around her waist. “She’s my best girl. Smart. Polished. Doesn’t talk unless you want her to.” He pressed a kiss to her temple as if she were nothing more than a piece of property he was proud to lend. “She’s yours for the taking. A gift.”

I inclined my head. “You’re generous. I can’t promise to reciprocate when you come to mine.”

Arkady laughed. “Everyone knows you’re as private about your love life as you are about your family. This one is on me.”

Tanya looked up at me with large, dark eyes, framed by thick lashes. They didn’t sparkle. They watched. Calculated. Below the line of her collarbone, a faint discolorationpeeked through her dress strap. Purple, fading yellow at the edges.

A bruise.

I clenched my jaw.

“Then I’ll accept your generosity.”

One of Arkady’s guards stepped forward, beckoning us to follow. I walked beside Tanya, Nik shadowing me. The hallway we entered smelled of perfume and power and something metallic just beneath—blood, old or recent, I couldn’t be sure.

We reached the red room.

The door swung open, revealing lush, low lighting and deep crimson drapes that gave the room its name. The furniture was decadent but staged. A chaise lounge, a low bed, a glass bar cart in the corner that gleamed with bottles of top-shelf liquor. The walls were decorated with soft-focus portraits of women in varying states of undress. Everything whispered indulgence, decadence, compliance.

Nik followed me into the room without hesitation, and Tanya turned her head sharply.

“He’s staying?” she asked, voice tight.

“He’s here for my protection,” I said calmly. “You’re safe. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

She didn’t speak, just gave a single, slow nod. But she couldn’t hide the tremor in her shoulders. She exhaled through her nose like she was trying to slow her heartbeat.

I sat first. Didn’t reach for her. Didn’t touch the drink cart. Just sat.

“Sit down, Tanya.”

She did, perched at the edge of the chaise like a guest in someone else’s home. She crossed her legs carefully and tucked her hands in her lap. Poised. Programmed. She was a beautiful woman, her bronze skin. If I were straight, she would be the kind of woman I would be interested in.

“I’m not here for what Arkady thinks I’m here for,” I said.

That earned me the smallest flicker of a frown.

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