Page 80 of Trapped By the Bratva

“She seemed kind of worried,” I added. “I’m guessing her sister called her again.”

“Is she going to be a problem?” Alek asked, hands in his pocket. He was chill and relaxed with that question, because if Melissa was a problem, he’d find a way to take care of it. By calling Hannah my woman, she was automatically granted full protection and security the same as Mila, Amy, Becca, and Nadia had.

“She already has been a problem for Hannah. All their lives, it seems.” I frowned, stopping at a note left on the table in the living room. “What the hell?”

I read it three times, shifting aside so Alek could skim it over my shoulder too.

“Melissa’s the sister?” he asked.

I nodded. “This shit is going to stop now.”

Fury filled my veins, making my heart pump harder and faster. That bitch had interfered too far, trying to follow Hannah and see who she was working for now. She was no longer just an employee of the Valkov Bratva, nursing me back to full health. She was my woman.

I was so eager to tell her that I was going to put my trust in my brothers and let the Feds have Avilov. That I wasn’t going to focus only on revenge. That I had her to live for now.

She’d tamed me. But she wasn’t here. She was off to be too damn giving and compassionate with the one woman who didn’t deserve an ounce of her generosity or money.

“Let’s go,” Alek said. He already had his phone out as I frowned at him.

“After her?” I asked. Me too? I was ready for him to insist that I was too weak or wounded.

He nodded. “You’re walking fine, as far as I can tell. We’ll bring a crew with us.”

I was glad he wasn’t trying to insist that I stay here and let others handle this situation for me. He’d never realize how much that gesture mattered to me.

I wasn’t a damn invalid, and it was with careful urgency that I left with him. Soldiers rode with us, in this car and another. We weren’t being rash or impulsive, and I was confident I could handle the strain of moving this far and this much.

My shoulder tensed and my ankle started to throb, but not in debilitating degrees. Even if they hurt, I’d plow through it and get Hannah away from her sister.

“At least she told you where she was going,” Alek mused as he got off the phone with someone at Freeman’s office.

“She likes to be honest,” I replied. “But I don’t like that she didn’t tell anyone else. Not even a guard.” I mentally cringed at the possibility that this was why she’d knocked on the window during the meeting. She’d known that I would want to be immediately informed of a connection with the Avilovs.

“You’ll need to tell her that she can’t leave without a guard.”

Alek was right. I bet Hannah would struggle with that loss of freedom, to be expected to never be alone out in the world again. But security was a must. “Oh, she’ll learn a lesson, all right.” I’d teach her.

I’d teach her all she needed to know about being my woman.

First, I had to sever the ties between her and her sister and walk away from these Avilov connections for good.

27

HANNAH

Itucked the pharmacy bag further into my purse as I opened the door to the apartment I’d paid for before Dmitri offered me a new start on life. The pregnancy test that I picked up on the walk here felt so heavy. The significance of it weighed on me immensely.

No one was here. It was quiet, and as I stepped in further, I raised my brows at the mess of it all. Things had been taken out. Furniture was missing or piled up like it was going to be moved and transported. The carpet was stained with who knew what, and too many funky odors wafted from the nasty hell hole I used to call my home. It was neverthisbad. Of course, Melissa never cleaned. I had to, on top of my jobs. It seemed that since I’d left almost two months ago, she’d let it all go.

Not my problem.

“Hello?” I called out as I walked in further. Red flags were raised. Alarms rang in my mind. Something felt off about all of this, and I regretted not thinking about asking a guard to come with me.

All the brothers were in that meeting, and I was sure if one of them saw me exiting the mansion without a security detail, they would’ve stopped me and had someone come along.

I should have.So many soldiers and guards worked there, and I bet any one of them would’ve come with me.

Dammit.

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