Page 56 of Obsession of the Bratva

“Is anyone injured?”

“A few men. They have all been sent to the hospital.”

“Any deaths?”

He shook his head. Thank god.

“No.”

I glanced toward the building. “Then they weren’t trying to kill anyone. This was only for spectacle, I believe.”

“No. Not exactly.” His expression darkened. “They wanted us to know they could get close.”

I hated that answer because he was right. This wasn’t destruction. It was a demonstration. A threat. And threats irritated me more than violence ever could. It meant someone was daring to stand against a Romanov, and this was the second time it had happened. Despite our alliance networks and armies, someone was dumb enough to step into our orbits.

“Who could it be? Did we find any marks yet?” I asked, even though the question had already been answered in my head.

We had no new enemies outside of Manny Stavros and Adrian Petrov.

“No marks yet,” Viktor replied, following behind me.

We entered the warehouse together, which made me realize that the inside looked worse. Several storage sections had been deliberately targeted, and a few vehicles had been destroyed. I could see that the inventory losses would be significant, but none of that mattered right now. What mattered was the message that had been given to us. And judging by the expressions waiting for me at the far end of the building, somebody had already found part of it.

Kliment stood beside Jarek, and both of them looked annoyed. They turned around at the sound of footsteps, but neither looked surprised to see me.

“You’re late,” Jarek said.

I looked around. “The fire seems to have been put out.”

“We couldn’t have waited for your arrival before ordering to do that now, could we, brother?” Jarek retorted.

I ignored him, my eyes turning towards Kliment. He held up a small evidence bag, which I took from him. Inside sat a silver cufflink.

I frowned. “What am I looking at?”

“The question shouldn’t be what,” Jarek answered, his eyes narrowing. “It should be who.”

Something about the way he said it immediately put me on alert, as if all of my suspicions were being confirmed. I took a closer look at the bag and studied it, the subtle hint striking me at once. Then everything inside me went still because I recognized the crest engraved into the silver.

A hawk with stylized wings.

It was Petrov. Adrian Petrov.

I had seen the symbol linked to him in several places when I had his information taken out many months ago. Despite being a minor, irrelevant player, he focused a lot on his image and insisted on leaving his signature at all of his crime scenes. This was a clear sign that the attack on the warehouse had been orchestrated by Petrov. For several seconds, nobody spoke, but then Kliment broke the silence.

“You know who this is?’

I nodded slowly. “Yes.”

Jarek crossed his arms. “Interesting. I am assuming it has to be Stavros or Petrov?”

The question felt deliberately loaded. I looked between them.

“Petrov.”

“Of course,” Jarek replied, his tone loaded with sarcasm.

“What exactly are you implying?” I asked Jarek, wondering if my brothers thought I was the one responsible for all of this. It was true I was keeping his supposed bride hostage, but no one knew that. Neither of them answered immediately, and that was answer enough.