Page 146 of The Bratva Sinner

“No. Am I not his wife? Do I not inherit his position if he’s gone?”

“That’s not how this works,” Damien replies.

I assumed as much, but I had to try. “How long does he have to be in there before you decide we go in? And don’t you dare tell me there was never a plan to go in there and get him.”

Damien’s jaw tightens.

“Fuck!” I shout and throw my hands up. “Fuck you! Fuck all of you!”

“Lila, please,” Damien says.

“I’ll go alone,” I say.

“You won’t.”

“Watch me.”

“You don’t have a weapon. You don’t even have a vehicle.”

“I’m going, Damien. Either you come with me, or you get out of my way.”

He stares at me.

I stare back.

The front door opens. I hear multiple deep voices. Damien stiffens, his shoulders go back, and suddenly, he looks like a soldier preparing to meet his commander. He walks out of the kitchen. I follow him.

Two men stand in the doorway. They’re both tall. Both dark. Both look like avenging angels with murder on their minds.

Sergei and Nikolai.

Our eyes meet.

Sergei exudes power like a king striding into court. No one is talking. I’m not sure anyone is even breathing, myself included. Nikolai has the look of a man who murders without breaking a sweat.

The danger I see in their eyes is terrifying and just what I need.

Sergei steps forward. “You’re Lila,” he says.

“Yes.”

He turns to Damien. “Brief me.”

“I’m going back for him,” I say.

Sergei slowly turns back to me.

“No,” he says.

Just that. One word. End of the conversation.

“He’s my husband,” I say.

“And he is my brother,” Sergei says. “Which means I outrank you in this particular decision.”

“With respect,” I say, “you don’t outrank me when it comes to him. You can take your men and your authority and your one-word answers and get him out of that building. I will be right beside you when you do.”

Nikolai makes a sound. I can’t tell if it’s amusement or annoyance.