Seducing the Badman (Russian Bratva #2) (33 page)

Maybe a hot bath wasn’t such a grand idea. I close my eyes and breathe through the pain. After a few moments, my body relaxes, and it feels good. I stay in the tub until the water cools off and then try standing to get out. My legs are still shaky, but at least they are working.

I walk over to my dresser and take my bikini out. One look in the mirror has me cringing and smiling all at the same time. My breasts are bruised with Radimir’s finger prints, as are my hips.

I put the swim suit on anyway, and then throw my sheer black cover-up over the top. I put my hair in a messy knot on top of my head and slide my feet into a pair of flat sandals. No way could I wear heels today and survive.

I open the door to the apartment and Anton looks down at me with a smirk. I glare at him before rolling my eyes as I hobble next door. I must be a sight to him, hobbling, no makeup, my hair a total mess. He has never seen me looking less than perfect, and now I look like I have been fucked hard by my husband, which is exactly what happened.
Twice
.

“Do you need help, Mrs. Zaleskya?” he asks between chuckles. I turn to him propping my hand on my hip.

“Do I need to call my husband, Anton?” I ask, acting extra bitchy. I watch as his face pales before he burst into laughter.

“Emiliya, in all seriousness, are you all right?” he asks, his eyebrows pinching together.

“I am fine, Anton. Now, let’s get these kids and take them to the beach. Nothing but fun and sun today.”

I smile brightly through the pain and he shakes his head. I knock on Haleigh’s door and a few moments later, she opens it with a wide grin on her face.

“Are we going to the beach?” she asks as she looks over my ensemble.

“Yes. Pack the babies up and let’s go. We will be lazy Russian princesses today,” I say, walking into her apartment. Anton stays just outside the door, as is his way. I look over to the hulking Russian standing in the corner and know that it must be Haleigh’s
Byki
.

“This is Semion, my
Byki,
” Haleigh announces as she begins to gather items, putting them inside a diaper bag.

Semion eyes me warily and I give him a shaky smile. His face expression doesn’t change. It remains like stone—cold and hard. He is fairly terrifying.

Less than an hour later, the four of us adults and two little ones are on our way down to the sand. Anton carries the umbrella from my first beach trip and sets it up so that we do not burn under the California rays.

“We are going house hunting this weekend,” I announce. Haleigh turns to me with a smile.

“Yes, Maxim informed me this morning that we will be staying a while,” she murmurs as she watches Maksimilyan shovel sand.

“I begged Radimir for us to find houses next to each other. He hasn’t outright said no,” I smile, remembering the conversation from this morning.

“Maybe across the street,” Haleigh says, chewing on her bottom lip. I turn to her with confusion.

“You two are loud,” she mumbles. My face turns bright red.

“Oh, shit. I knew people would hear,” I say covering my face with my hands. Haleigh wraps her hand around my wrist and pulls it down.

“We are loud, too. We just had a full apartment last night, and the kids had to sleep with us. Maxim was terribly pissed off that he couldn’t make me scream, too,” she giggles. I throw my head back in laughter.

“On that, I am going to dip my toes in the water,” I hum.

I walk over to the water and stand in the wet sand. It feels like clay beneath my feet, and I shiver when the ice cold water runs over my toes. It is so beautiful, watching the surf, listening to the waves crashing against the shore. I don’t realize another person has joined me until he speaks.

“Fancy seeing you here again,” he murmurs from a few feet away.

I don’t need to look at him to know that it is the blond All-American FBI officer from a few weeks ago.

“What is your name?” I ask out of curiosity.

“Ryan Green,” he says.

“How may I help you?” I ask, getting straight to the point. I have no doubt that Anton will be at my side in a matter of minutes.

“They are planning something. Tell me what it is and I can help you,” he murmurs. I want to laugh, but instead I just cock my eyebrow up in question as I turn to him.

“What makes you think I need help?” I ask bitchily.

“I can see your injuries. I can tell you are hurting by the way you are walking. Just because you are married does not give him the right to abuse you. This is America, and you are free here,” he informs me.

I stare at him in surprise. Radimir has warned me away from him, and I think this is a way to try and get into my head. But this Ryan Green is mistaken if he thinks that I am some helpless abused woman.

“He does not abuse me, and I am as free as I wish to be already,” I explain, choosing my words carefully.

“If you can help me, then I can help you,” he offers.

It takes everything inside of me not to laugh in his face. This man could not protect me. Not that I need it; but if I did, he could not protect me from the powerful grasp of the
Bratva
.

“I do not know what I could possibly help you with, Mr. Green. I can, however, inform you that my husband has never abused me. He is very loving toward me. These bruises and my stiff body are from a night of passion. We are just that,
passionate
, and we are deeply in love with each other. You need not try to talk to me again. I have nothing of importance to tell you. I know
nothing
,” I explain. He nods once before his eyes widen. It is then that I know Anton is beside me.

“Agent Green,” he rumbles. It makes me wonder how on earth he knows the man’s name.

“So you are her guard dog?” he sneers. Anton just smirks.

“Oh, Anton?” I ask, interrupting him.

I am sure it pisses Anton off. If he is anything like Radimir, then me mentioning him so flippantly to this man will irritate him. Besides, I’m not supposed to be talking to Agent Green at all.

“Anton is a dear friend of mine. He is spending his day hanging out with my friend and me. Nothing more to it than that,” I say, turning to leave the agent, as Anton called him. But then I stop and turn to face him. “Agent Green, please do not approach me again, especially with the types of accusations you did so with today. Thank you.”

I hook my arm in with Anton’s and together we walk back to our blanket filled with Haleigh, babies, and Semion, who is glowering at me.

I toss him an easy smile as Anton walks over to him, and they begin to murmur—about Agent Green, I am sure. I know that it will probably be only minutes until Radimir will come barreling toward me in heated anger. They will surely call him at any moment, if they have not already.

I am staring down a Cartel fuck, who is tied to a chair in one of the warehouses, when my phone rings. I usually would not answer it during a moment like this, but it is Anton’s ringtone, which means something could be wrong with Emiliya.

I narrow my eyes on the fucker tied up and turn my back on him, knowing that he’s not going anywhere. Even if something insane happened and he got out of his bound state, Maxim is watching him for me.

“Zalesky,” I bark harshly into the phone.

“We have a problem, boss,” Anton murmurs. I know he is trying to keep this call a secret from Em.

“What kind of problem?” I ask. I hear Maxim growl behind me. I think the man may actually be more controlling of his woman that I am.

“Good news, I know that FBI fuck’s name now. Agent Ryan Green. Bad news, he is still following Emiliya. Semion and I took the girls and babies to the beach to relax and he confronted her. Thinks you’re beating her, holding her hostage and scared. Offered to help her, you know, since America is a free country,” he chuckles. I see nothing but red.

“Emiliya talked to him?”

“Yes, she denied abuse, but the man could see on her skin the remnants of your evening. He did not buy it. She, however, requested he leave her alone,” Anton murmurs.

The last part is lost to me. She talked to him again, after I gave her clear instructions not to. She’s defied me and I won’t stand for it.

I give explicit instructions that Emiliya is not allowed out of the apartment for the rest of the day. I warn Anton that I will be there shortly before I hang up, taking my handgun out of my shoulder holster. I turn to the Cartel fuck tied up. I look him right in the eyes and pull the trigger. A small dot appears on his forehead before his body goes limp. I needed to torture him for information, but Emiliya and Agent Green have pissed me off too much.

“Radimir,” Ziven calls out. I ignore him.

“Well, we’ll never find out anything now,” Maxim drawls. I turn to him before motioning for the men to come over to me.

“Ziven I want that fat-man here tomorrow. I want my money,” I instruct, turning to the men standing around me.

“Clean up,” I bark before I jerk my head to Maxim.

“That FBI fuck that came up to Emiliya a few weeks ago? He found her again on the beach today,” Maxim’s body stiffens at my words. “He now has reason to think she’s being abused by me and is trying to save her. I forbade her to talk to him, and yet, she had a full conversation with him,” I grind out as I quickly walk to the car.

“Haleigh?” he asks after I start the engine and we are on the road.

“
Fine
. He is, for whatever reason, solely focused on Emiliya,” I growl. Maxim sighs in relief.

Maxim has also had his Haleigh taken from him when they were newly married. No man can mask the worry and hurt when the person they are supposed to protect is ripped away from them. No man can deny the complete devastation of being helpless.

We are strong men.

We are powerful men.

We are
Bratva
.

We should be feared and we should never, ever feel helpless.

The FBI are a problem. Now, they are trying to get our women to rat us out? Our women are, for the most part, kept in the dark; but if for some reason they succeeded in getting one to give them information, our comings and goings, our alliances, then that could mean the fall of something bigger. The fall of the
Bratva,
at least here in America. The financial effects would be devastating to our organization.

Their close eye on us is beyond concerning. Adding in the new techniques to go after our women, it could be catastrophic. We’ve suffered enough blows this past year. Staying on the down low, not communicating with our brothers in other countries is going to be tough enough—and limiting the push of product during this time will be a big enough hit to the bank accounts as it is. The last thing we need are these bastards trying to get inside of our women’s heads.

This must end now.

I pick up the phone and send out an alert to all of the burner phones. A message to inform them, in code, that the FBI have moved into trying to coerce our women. They will have to keep them close, keep their eyes vigilant on them, make sure that none of them are swayed.

I sigh. This was one reason why, in the old days, Bratva were not allowed to marry. Fucking women are our weakness.

I am relaxing in Maxim and Haleigh’s apartment while the babies nap, enjoying a refreshing lemonade for the first time. It is tart and yet it is sweet. I love it for this warm summer day.

Haleigh and I are talking and watching complete garbage on television while Semion and Anton pace.

They are still all ramped up from the FBI agent’s visit. I am not upset by it, but I am concerned about how telling Radimir will go. I won’t hide it from him, but he was very clear when he said I should never talk to him again.

The door flies open. Both Anton and Semion scream at us to get down as they draw their guns, then rapid fire Russian ensues
. I understand everything that is being said
. Fear pricks my spine. It is Radimir, and he is ordering them to drop their guns.

I stand and urge Haleigh to stand with me. She does, and I notice her eyes go wide when she sees the concern laced with anger on Maxim’s face.

“
Golubushka
, go into the bedroom with the babies,” he orders gently.