Page 23 of Bratva Prince

Chapter Seven

The Volkov estate lookedlike a war zone.By the time Dimitri, Sofia, and a heavily armed security team reached the surveillance room, the immediate threat had been eliminated.

Bodies had already been removed from the main hallways.Blood remained in dark stains across the marble floors.Men moved through the estate with grim efficiency, collecting shell casings, reviewing security logs, and interrogating the few surviving attackers.

Nobody was sleeping tonight.Alexei stood at the head of the surveillance table, his expression carved from stone.Several monitors displayed security footage from around the estate.The atmosphere in the room felt chilly, and no one spoke for several moments.

Dimitri took a seat beside Sofia without consciously deciding to.She noticed, her gaze drifting momentarily to him, before focusing on the footage.Neither commented on it.One of Alexei’s captains finally stepped forward.

“We identified three of the dead.”

Photographs appeared on the screen.Dimitri immediately recognized two faces.

“Orlov,” Dimitri said in disgust.

Alexei nodded.“Sergei Orlov’s men.”

That got everyone’s attention.Sofia leaned forward slightly.

“The Orlov organization operates primarily through arms trafficking, doesn’t it?”Sofia asked.

The captain nodded.“Arms.Smuggling.Extortion.Mostly eastern territories,” the captain explained for her benefit.

Dimitri tightened his jaw.The Orlov family had spent years trying to expand into Volkov territory.There had been disputes, veiled threats, and the occasional body left behind as a warning when negotiations failed.Tension between the two organizations wasn’t new.If anything, Dimitri had been expecting a serious move from them sooner or later.

Honestly, he wasn’t surprised to see their name attached to the attack.For years, he’d considered the Orlovs opportunistic scavengers.They were dangerous enough when they outnumbered someone, but ultimately lacked the backbone required to challenge the Volkovs directly.

Alexei and Maksim shared that opinion.More than once, the brothers had discussed the possibility of Sergei Orlov eventually making a play for their territory.None of them had believed the man would be reckless enough to strike at the Volkov estate itself, not in their own home.

The thought sent a fresh surge of anger through Dimitri.Rage burned hot beneath his skin as he stared at the security footage.Men had breached their perimeter.Gunfire had erupted inside halls he had walked since childhood.One of those assassins had made it all the way to his bedroom.

If Sofia hadn’t opened that door when she did, he might not be standing here now.His expression remained calm, but he curled his hands into fists at his sides.

Someone had crossed a line tonight.Whether it was the Orlovs or someone trying very hard to make it look like the Orlovs, Dimitri intended to find out exactly who was responsible.

When he did, there would be consequences.

“Could it be someone trying to implicate the Orlov Bratva?”Alexei mused out loud, voicing the same doubts Dimitri harbored.

Another image appeared on the screen.A dead man lying beside the estate wall.

“Zoom in,” Dimitri ordered.The captain did as he asked.Alexei and Dimitri studied it for several moments before Alexei swore under his breath.

“It’s definitely Orlov,” Dimitri said.The captain nodded.

One of their men entered the room.

“We found tattoos on three of the bodies.Known associates.They’ve worked for Sergei Orlov for years,” the guy reported.

So it really was them.They’d always been ambitious.Always looking for weakness.Still, attacking the Volkov estate was a level of recklessness Dimitri hadn’t expected.

Alexei folded his arms.“The question isn’t who.”

“It’s why,” Dimitri said.

The room fell silent.Nobody had an immediate answer.