Page 84 of Obsession of the Bratva

Interesting. Very interesting. And certainly something Manny Stavros was capable of. I thanked Kliment and ended the call shortly afterward. Then stood there for several long moments. The path ahead was becoming clearer. Not completely, but just enough to act and move without it looking like an unplanned reaction.

A slow smile appeared on my face.

For weeks I’d been responding by countering attacks, containing damage and defending. I was finished with that. They had mistaken my restraint for weakness, which was going to be fatal. I picked up my phone again and scrolled through several contacts. Then stopped.

Viktor.

I pressed call and he answered immediately. “Boss.”

His voice was calm.

“I want Petrov and Stavros. Get their locations. You know exactly what we need to do.”

“On it.”

I ended the call and looked ahead, my mind made up. Behind me, somewhere inside this house, Vera was safe, and for the first time in months, she knew the truth. For the first time in months, we were finally on the same side and for the first time since all of this began, I was no longer fighting for revenge. I was fighting for my family and that changed everything.

Revenge could be negotiated, forgiven, or abandoned, but family could not. I looked out across the darkened gardens one last time and then turned away from the window. My decision was made.

War wasn’t coming. War had already arrived. And this time, I intended to finish it.

Chapter 20 - Vera

For the first time in weeks, I was nervous about something that had nothing to do with guns or fighting or a war looming over all of us.

“Stop pacing, Vera. You will fall down in those six-inch heels and break your neck.”

I looked over my shoulder and realized Nico was leaning against the bedroom door, watching me with obvious amusement. He looked insanely handsome in his four-piece Armani, which fit him like it was custom-made. Who was I kidding? Every single suit Nico Romanov wore was custom made and all of them looked absolutely gorgeous on him. This one was a dark maroon in color, and he had paired it with a black shirt. He looked spectacular. I almost didn’t want to take my eyes off of him.

“I’m not pacing,” I replied as soon as I was done admiring him.

“You’ve walked from the mirror to the closet about eleven times in the past five minutes.”

“I have not.”

“Twelve now.”

I glared at him and his mouth twitched. The traitor. Three weeks ago, he had been threatening to ruin my life and was trying to make sure I suffered and now he found my anxiety entertaining. He was right, though. My feet were already tired and the evening hadn’t even begun. The maroon dress I had on to match his suit was a beautiful mermaid cut and hugged me in ways that accentuated my curves. The sweetheart neckline showed just enough cleavage for it to be sexy and modest at the same time.

I looked beautiful. I knew that.

“You are enjoying this far too much,” I commented, sinking on the bed.

“Maybe.”

I threw a pillow at him and he caught it effortlessly. Everything about him looked annoyingly relaxed. His hands were resting casually in his pockets as if none of this was a big deal. Like he wasn’t about to take me to a family dinner filled with people who could probably overthrow small governments if they felt bored enough. His very own brothers and sister.

“You’re impossible.”

“And yet you love me.”

I hated that he sounded so smug when he said it. Mostly because he was right. A slow smile appeared on my face despite my best efforts, and I gave in to it. Gave in to him.

“Unfortunately, I do.”

His eyes softened immediately, but the look lasted less than a second, which was still long enough for me to notice. Those moments still caught me off guard because for months I had lived with the version of Nico who had hated me. The version who had looked at me like I was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

Now that wall was gone. There were still things which we needed to heal, but every day felt a little easier than the last. Every day felt a little more like us. Nico pushed away from the doorway and walked towards me. He held my hand in his and pulled me up from bed.