Page 2 of The Russian Pakhan's Forced Bride
“We could always hit him with force and be done with it,” Nikolai adds, seemingly liking the idea. “It would make an example of him and his goons.”
“That’s too easy…they’ll be expecting it,” Mikhail murmurs while he absently rubs at his chin. “He’ll be preparing for some kind of forceful retaliation.”
Sergey hums with a faint grin. “Let him brace…it will still be fun to break him anyway.”
“No,” I say, quieting them with a dismissive wave of my hand. “As much as I’d enjoy that, I don’t plan on pulling every pair of eyes in our direction…least of all the Feds.”
Violence is easy…and it’s also not at all the subtle man’s way of doing things. Maxim has enough people to cause some suspicion if his forces are suddenly wiped out…and that kind of slaughter is hard to erase from the public’s attention.
Instead, I need to remind Maxim, who runs Vegas. To get in his head and make him question his every move until he’s frozen with indecision.
Fear is a powerful thing, so long as you know how to twist it.
“Then we’ll do something discreet,” Mikhail suggests with a knowing glint in his eyes as if he already has something in the works.
“If you already have a plan, don’t be shy,” I mumble, wishing he had already gotten to it before dragging the matter out for us all. “Spit it out.”
Faint amusement settles within his features while he leans back with ease, clearly well aware he has something worthusing. “Since I knew the Nikolaevs were causing trouble again, I did some digging myself…and I found something you might like to manipulate.”
Ivan sighs. “Out with it.”
A chuckle escapes Mikhail before he finally continues, “It seems Maxim has a secret he has worked hard to keep hidden…apparently, he has a younger sister. One with very few records. She was quite the ghost to track.”
A sister…
As far as any of us know, Maxim is an only child. Or, at the very least, the only one still alive.
But if he has a sister…that changes things. Significantly.
With my gaze entirely focused on Mikhail, I lean a bit closer. “Go on…”
He grins, pulling out his phone and swiping through some photos before showing me the screen. “Her name’s Viktoria Nikolaev…hails from Russia just like her brother, of course. Her photos were hard to trace, and any information was even harder to find. It isn’t much, but with some tenacity, I’m certain we’ll be able to locate her sooner rather than later.”
Without missing a beat, I take in the young woman displayed on the screen…medium, dirty-blonde hair…brown eyes…unmistakable freckles. She’s bright-faced and admittedly beautiful—not that I’d ever give the Nikolaevs any credit.
Still, the longer I take in her image, the faster those gears begin turning in my head.
Lifting a brow, my eyes slide up to meet Mikhail’s. “…and that’s all you have on her?”
“I said the information was hard to find, didn’t I? She practically doesn’t exist,” he murmurs, allowing me another moment to look at her before pulling his cell away. “Besides…it only makes sense that Maxim would want to hide her away.”
Sergey chuckles, forgetting the deck of cards altogether as he sets it aside, clearly more invested in the topic at hand. “Yeah…from men like Roman, isn’t that right?”
“Exactly,” Mikhail muses, surely well aware of the thoughts moving through my head.
I can’t deny it. The temptation is strong. Right there and ready for the taking.
Considering the options in front of me, I hum to myself and pick up my glass, giving it a slow twirl.
This conflict with Maxim and his cronies has been going on far longer than I ever would’ve hoped, and while that’s the name of the game, it isn’t something I want to contend with forever. Eventually, I need him to learn his place and to respect those boundaries, lest he wants to be crushed entirely.
And with this Viktoria under my control, I have every reason to believe I can accomplish exactly that.
If I can bind her to myself, then her brother will get the message loud and clear—I’ll stop at nothing to prove nobody does it better than me. That nobody is willing to go to the lengths I am to keep my place at the top.
And with his sister at my mercy, I’ll be forcing his hand. For good.
Given how clean Maxim has kept her slate, it’s obvious she’s dear to him. At the very least, she’s some kind of asset, and if I can take that from him, then I’ll have the upper hand I’ve been looking for.
