Accidental Bratva Daddy (Bratva Blessings)

Chapter 5Luka

5

Luka

T he soft glow of multiple screens casts eerie shadows across my office, tucked away in one of my lesser-known hideouts on the outskirts of Moscow. My eyes narrow as I focus on one particular feed—a live view of the basement where Natalia paces like a caged tigress, one delicate wrist bound by a chain, her entire body moving with wrathful anger.

I lean back in my leather chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. This whole situation has spiraled so far out of control, I can barely keep up. And at the center of it all is Natalia—beautiful, infuriating Natalia.

Since we brought her here three days ago, she's been driving me to the brink of madness. The fire I once found so alluring now burns too hot, scorching everything in its path. Her biting remarks and icy glares grate on my nerves, chipping away at my usually iron-clad control. Every time I’m in the room with her, I’m torn between competing desires: biting her head off and kissing her breathless.

I watch as she makes another circuit of the room, her movements graceful even in captivity. The sway of her hips, the determined set of her jaw—everything about her calls to something primal within me. She furious, and rightfully so, since I’m the man who killed her father. A mistake in more ways than one.

He wasn’t the man I was there to kill, and now I’m reaping the consequences. Natalia’s father was the key to navigating the political world, and losing him is a blow. As is making such a brutal mistake, and having Natalia witness it.

"I can't let her go," I say under my breath, knowing the truth of the words even as they leave my mouth. She's seen too much, knows too much. And more than that, the thought of her walking out of my life makes something twist painfully in my chest.

"Boss?" Alexei's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I turn to find my most trusted lieutenant hovering in the doorway, his expression grim. "We've got a problem."

I gesture for him to continue, bracing myself for more bad news.

"Viktor's gone," Alexei says, his voice tight. "Fled the country as soon as he got word of the hit."

The words hit me like a physical blow. My mind races, pieces of the puzzle shifting and rearranging themselves. “He knew it was coming somehow. That's why Natalia's family was in the suite, so we’d get the wrong man,” I mutter, more to myself than Alexei. "But why would Viktor sacrifice his own brother to save himself?"

Alexei shakes his head. "It doesn't add up, boss. Something bigger is going on here."

I nod, my jaw clenching as I process this new information. Viktor fleeing throws a wrench in all my carefully laid plans. And now, without Igor Orlov, my access to the political world I've been cultivating is severely limited.

My eyes drift back to the surveillance feed, to Natalia's restless pacing. She’s a formidable woman in more ways than one. I saw that the night we met, as she stood up to those gossiping women, with all her talent and ambition on display. She’s not the kind of woman any man, even a man like me, can keep locked up for long.

And yet I find I can’t quite let her go. She’s like an artifact that will only attract bad luck and people who want to take her from me, yet she’s so beautiful that I can’t help but feel possessive. Even though she isn’t rightfully mine, my heart still wants to claim her.

Or maybe it’s my body. Maybe the night we spent together wasn’t enough and I need to taste her full lips a dozen more times before I’m over this feeling.

"What do you want us to do, boss?" Alexei asks, pulling me back to the present.

I stand, straightening my jacket with a sharp tug. "Keep digging. I want to know every move Viktor's made in the last six months. And get me everything you can on Igor Orlov's dealings. There has to be something we're missing."

Alexei nods, already turning to carry out my orders. But I'm not finished.

"And Alexei?" I call after him. He pauses, looking back. "Double the guard on Natalia. No one gets in or out without my express permission. Understood?"

"Yes, boss," he says, a flicker of something — concern? curiosity? — passing over his features before he forces his expression back to neutral.

As the door closes behind him, I turn back to the screens. Natalia has stopped pacing, now sitting on the edge of the narrow bed with her head in her hands. The sight tugs at something in me, a feeling I can't quite name.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I'm heading for the basement. I need answers, and Natalia is the key to unlocking this whole mess. At least, that's what I tell myself as I descend the stairs, my footsteps echoing in the concrete stairwell. The truth is much more complex than that, and also as simple as the undeniable fact that I want her.

The guard posted outside Natalia's room snaps to attention as I approach. I wave him off with a curt nod, keying in the access code myself. The heavy door swings open with a metallic groan.

Natalia's head snaps up at the sound, her eyes widening as she sees me. For a split second, I see a flicker of something that looks like hope in those emerald depths. But it's quickly replaced by a storm of anger and hatred so intense it nearly takes my breath away.

She's on her feet in an instant, closing the distance between us with quick, purposeful strides. I brace myself, half-expecting her to slap me. But as she reaches me, I see the intent in her eyes.

She's not going to slap me. She's going for a full-on attack.

My body reacts on instinct, years of training kicking in. I catch her wrist just as she swings, using her momentum to spin her around. In one fluid motion, I have her pinned against the wall, my body pressed firmly against hers to keep her in place.

"Let me go!" Natalia snarls, struggling against my hold. But I outweigh her by a good fifty pounds, all of it muscle. She's not going anywhere.

"Not until you calm down," I say, my voice low and controlled despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. “This is fruitless, and we both know it. So give up before you hurt yourself.”

She twists in my grip, and the movement causes her to brush against me in a way that sends a jolt of heat straight to my core. From the way Natalia suddenly stills, her breath catching, I know she felt it too.

"Why?" she whispers, her voice breaking on the word. "Why did you kill him?"

The pain in her voice cuts through me like a knife. For a moment, I consider lying, spinning some tale that would make me look less monstrous in her eyes. But something about Natalia demands honesty, even when the truth is ugly.

"It was a mistake," I admit, my voice rough. “One I wish desperately that I could take back. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. That night… was supposed to be different.”

Our eyes lock, and suddenly I'm transported back to that night in her hotel room. The softness of her skin, the taste of her lips, the way she'd moaned my name as she came undone beneath me. The memory is so vivid, so visceral, that for a moment I forget to breathe.

Natalia's eyes darken, her pupils dilating as she holds my gaze. I can feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest against mine, her heart racing in time with my own. The air between us crackles with tension, equal parts desire and barely contained violence.

A soft moan escapes her lips, the sound so reminiscent of our previous encounter that it takes every ounce of my self-control not to claim her mouth right then and there. The heat between us simmers, threatening to boil over at any moment.

I want to tell her everything. To explain the mistake, to make her understand. But as I look into her eyes, blazing with a mixture of fury and unmistakable desire, I know that words are useless right now. Whatever happens next, it's clear that the dynamic between Natalia and me has shifted irrevocably.

And God help me, but I'm not sure I want to stop it.