Page 111 of The Cold Bratva King and His Forced Curvy Bride

“I want your life,” he said. “If she dies, you die.”

I looked at him for a long moment. Then I nodded. “Agreed.”

He stared at me, searching for a lie. He didn’t find one. “Good.”

He turned and walked out the door.

I watched him go, vanishing into the rainy night. I looked down at the SD card in my hand.

I had just signed a death warrant for a man I respected. I had just made a promise to a woman who had no idea I existed.

It was the most dangerous deal I had ever made.

***

The memory shifts, fast-forwarding through months of silence. Reports coming in from anonymous sources. Blueprints of Colombo safe houses. manifests of cargo ships. It was Ayaan. He was feeding us information, slow and steady.

He was good. Better than I expected. He rose through the ranks quickly, gaining Lorenzo’s trust. He became Antonio, the invisible man, the shadow who handled the dirty work.

Then came the night he disappeared for real.

I was in my office, late again. The phone rang. It was a burner phone.

“Nikita.”

“I’m in,” Ayaan said. His voice was distorted, mechanical. “I’m in the inner circle.”

“How bad?”

“Bad. He’s planning something big. A shipment next month.”

“Where?”

“I’ll send the coordinates. You understand how much danger Freya is in, right?”

I gripped the phone until my knuckles turned white. “He’s not going to touch her.”

“He can’t get to her directly. He’s too exposed, but he’s watching.”

“Keep watching him.”

“I will. Nikita… you need to tighten the screws. You need to make sure she’s protected. If he makes a move—”

“He won’t.”

“You don’t know him like I do. He’s obsessed with legacy. With power. He sees things he wants and he takes them.”

“I won’t let him take her.”

“You better not.”

“Ayaan.”

“Yeah?”

“Come home.”

He was silent for a long time. I could hear his breathing, shallow and ragged. “I can’t,” he said finally. “Not yet. I’m close to breaking him. I’m close to bringing him down.”