The Bratva’s Bounty (Volkov Bratva #3)

4. Nicole

Chapter 4

Nicole

I fucked around, and I found out.

And nope. Nope. Big nope.

Lev Volkov.

I fucking picked on Lev fucking Volkov.

Holy shit, how am I not dead?!

If I'd known the handsome stalker was Lev Volkov, then I wouldn't have thought about engaging him!

Oh my fucking God, I asked him if he wanted access to my underwear drawer! I totally assumed he was some pervy stalker!

Well, to be fair, he could still very well be some pervy stalker. Just because he was a handsome, hot, downright sexy mafia boss didn't mean he couldn't be pervy. Although, a guy like him probably didn't need to be. He could get anyone he wanted with his status, so no point in perving. If that was his thing, then he could easily pay someone for it too, or who knows, maybe find someone at one of the kink clubs his family owned.

Wait, shit! Why am I the target of his attention, then?

I haven't done anything to piss off the Volkov Bratva or anything that would warrant their attention on me. Plus, Angel would have informed me of such a change unless she got into the bad habit of hiding shit from me, which I highly doubt. She might be loyal to her husband, but I came before him. She wouldn't have let him push her around either to keep her lips shut—she'd probably stab him in his sleep if he dared.

So, why was Lev stalking me?

My parents weren't involved with the Volkovs either, nor would they ever. Last I remembered, they were ranting about the Russians needing to go. They also weren't very happy with Lady Qing when she formed a truce with the Volkovs, even though it was to her benefit and furthering her devious plans.

I wanted to pull my hair out because of my carelessness with the situation. I should have stayed put, lay low, and suffered cabin fever, but I couldn't do it. I was going batshit crazy at the cabin.

Yes, going out into the public kind of defeats the point of me being in hiding from my parents, but so far everything was fine. Sure, they've sent some people to try and snatch me, but I shook them off just fine. Or if I couldn't then nothing a call to Angel didn't fix.

Besides, ever since Angel overthrew her stepmother and took back the Qing Triad under her control, my parents have laid completely flat to the ground. Well, they've been kicked to the curb essentially because of their actions. Them selling me off was the last straw for Angel, which made her cut them off completely. After an investigation into them and the business revealed their noncompliance with Angel's new rules, she definitely tore into them and cut them off completely from the bratva.

The fact they were floating around in the water right now was what made me grow bold enough to go out on a near-daily basis to keep my sanity intact. So, I was somewhat in hiding? Half hiding? Under protection? I couldn't go back to living a full life without drawing too much attention and exposing myself to my would-be husband and parents. My parents already pulled the sob card and guilting on public television in on social media with their 'please find out daughter, we just want her back safe and sound' bullshit. Yeah, the public ate that shit up. I'd be shoved back into my parents' arms by the whole world if I were fully discovered right now, which was the last thing I wanted and needed.

If my parents got ahold of me again, then that would be the end of my life, literally. I knew for a damn fact that the moment I returned, I'd be shipped off to China to my would-be husband, who would then be my husband. If he was someone decent, then maybe I wouldn't mind, but he was sixty and insufferable.

Listen, when I said I liked older men, that was not what I meant.

It was a definite 'no' for me when he laid his hands on me the first time meeting me because I dared talk back to him.

I hated that it took me so long to break away from my parents, but they pushed me too far by trying to marry me off to some bastard of a person for the sake of money. I'd let them use me for their gain for too long and don't even ask me why because I didn't know the answer to it myself.

As much as I enjoyed my life right now, it was a mess. I mean, I lived in semi-hiding in a cabin located in the woods and built bombs for shit and giggles along with other little nick knacks. Yeah, it was somewhat of an ideal life for me; if I weren't isolated in the woods and wouldn't get in trouble for the shit I made, then life would be perfect.

Too bad life was unfair and shitty.

But one step at a time.

Next step, Lev. Yeah, I had to figure out what to do with him first. It's been three days since I first stepped into Lev's life, and even though it's only been me bugging him with one-sided chatter, he hasn't made any indication of his plans for me. Granted, he refused to engage in a conversation with me, only ever looking at me with his beady blue eyes in response.

Just like now.

"You know, if we're gonna make this relationship work, then you're gonna have to talk back to me. I mean, communication in a relationship is key, honey." Of course, I keep digging my grave deeper than it should be. "You have to at least give me something to work on, love. I mean, I don't even know why the hell the bratva is even interested in me, let alone the Savage Volk."

By the way his head perked up with his ears, I'd say I finally caught his full attention. Lev instantly grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the café to the alleyway, where he proceeded to cage me against the brick wall with his massive body— seriously, dude was built like a fucking bear tank. "Do you ever know when to shut your mouth? You don't just go saying shit like that out loud in public. You're lucky there wasn't a fucking cop in there." He seethed inches away from my face with a stern face.

Surprisingly, I was unphased by his harshness. "Oh, so mister pissy face can talk," I remarked with a cute smile and tilt of my head. "But I also don't see why you would care. I mean, your family basically has all the cops in the damn city paid off to turn a blind eye or go deaf around you all." I quickly tacked on with a deep smirk while tilting my chin up at Lev.

Then, silence. What a shocker. "Seriously, what the hell is your problem? Why are you following me around? I wouldn't care if you were some obsessed fanboy, but I highly doubt that to be the case. Besides, even if it were, you need to cut this shit out because I want nothing to do with the mafia. I haven't done anything to garner any of the bratva's attention, just a simple girl trying to live her simple life." A simple life making bombs and blowing shit up.

Okay, maybe I was a little hypocritical with my words because as long as I continued to help Angel, then I would be involved with the mafia life vicariously through her. I didn't want to be fully involved in the mafia, but having my connections to Angel had its perks. If it weren't for her and her standing in the mafia world, then I wouldn't be a free woman living a cushy life right now.

I didn't help her by providing her with bombs and hacking services along with my brother Bao because I owed her or felt like I did or anything. It only started with the hacking initially because it was fun to be doing something for a good cause. Angel might be the reigning mafia queen being Nikolai Volkov's wife, but she had a good head and heart that was always pointed in the right direction. Hell, she even went on to open a safe haven shelter for victims of abuse. Which, by the way, I helped run. Angel may be a smart and caring nurse, but she was bare basics when it came to technology and anything I.T. related, so I ran her operations on that front in the background with my younger brother Bao.

Nikolai's not too bad of a person either, despite his reputation as the Devil Volk of the Volkov Bratva. Sure, he was the typical rough and brutal mafia boss, but behind closed doors, damn guy is whipped for his wife. If he wasn't a good person underneath, he wouldn't have granted Angel her request for the shelter. Granted, he did owe her a favor after she saved him from a car crash—it was how they initially met. It probably could have been a cute love story if not for the fact Angel's stepmother arranged her off into a marriage with Nikolai. He chose to go through with the marriage, but still, they were only together because their hands were somewhat forced in the matter. It would have been too cute if they had naturally made the move with each other.

Oh well, it ended very well for both of them, and I was more than happy for them. Truly, I was, especially for Angel. Poor thing had been through enough in her life, so she deserved to be happy and have someone who genuinely loved her for all she was and more.

If only I could have my little happily ever after.

Bah, who was I kidding? I was too crazy of a bitch for some man to settle with.

"What? Back to the silent treatment already?" I quipped with a quirked brow when Lev's lips continued to remain pressed in a tight line.

I thought I'd get to have some fun fucking around with Lev, but after finding out he's bratva, yeah, no thanks. If he was some little grunt worker and proved to be worth the time, then maybe I would have had some fun and entertainment in my dulling life. But ain't no way would I fuck around with a bratva boss—nah, fuck that. Besides, not like Lev was giving me anything but silence in return, so at this point, he wasn't proving worth the time.

The more entangled I became into his life, the graver I'd put mine in. If I put myself back into the spotlight, then it'd make my parents' task of dragging my ass back or finding a way to use me again that much easier.

Scooting a step up, I preseds myself right up against him, and thank God for these heeled boots of mine for giving me some inches. My 5'4 ass would pale so badly against his bulky ass 6'3? 6'2? frame. Well, he's six-foot something for sure, who cares about the inches—I mean, he was already huge compared to me either way.

Standing my ground firmly against him, I lean up to him on my tippy toes until my face was as close as possible to his .

"This will be your one and only warning, little lion. Back off. Whatever your little fascination or obsession is with me ends right here, right now. If I catch a whiff of you or see you following me out of the corner of my eyes after today, well, I won't be responsible for what bodily harm comes your way."

Well, I did warn him, so he couldn't say he didn't see this coming.

Okay, to be fair, no one really ever sees a wood plank straight to the face, especially from someone from me.

Even after my warning yesterday, I still found him to be tailing me today. Either he doesn't take me seriously, or something else went on I was unaware about. Unfortunately, I was more prone to opt for the latter given my strange life.

Seriously, what the hell did he want with me?

I mean, I could flat-out ask him. Actually, I did and got nothing in response, literally. My check on him still ran, so I wouldn't have much information on him for a little while. Well, it should be done tonight or tomorrow night. I couldn't do too much from my remote location without giving myself away. Limited time stretches on the internet really dampened the speed of things, but I couldn't risk my parents pinpointing my location and going after me in the middle of the night or surprising me some other way. Otherwise, all my efforts of evading them would be for naught.

In the city and general public, I was safe because of bystanders and the fact Angel had men at every corner. At the cabin, though, it was just me, and I couldn't fight for shit.

Either way, I'll probably find out what I need about Lev in the next day or so. There has to be some kind of change in his life that I could pick up because I doubt he was old school; no technology whatsoever. It won't be long now.

In the meanwhile, I'd just have to try and scare him off.

Hopefully, some innocent—not really—bodily harm would ward him off long enough until I could figure out his plans.

Just like all the other days, he followed me around—despite my warning. I made a quick detour this time after exiting the café and dodged around the corner fast enough to nearly shake him. Unfortunately, I wasn't that smooth, so I had to resort to plan B, which was to smack him in the face with the closest object, which happened to be a piece of discarded wood from a broken pallet.

I didn't feel guilty about him reeling back in pain after the sickening crack of his face breaking filled the area. Hey, he deserved it for not heeding my warning. "Last chance, fuck off, or I won't be so nice next time." Did I want to up the ante? No, not particularly, but if push came to shove, then I would.

Granted, it didn't have to be violent in nature. I could hack his bank account and drain all of them in a blink of an eye, make up some stupid images and videos, and post them online to completely drag his reputation through shit, or I could even take it far and blow his whole life up—literally. I might not be the best fighter out there, but I had brains and nifty bomb-making skills that made me formidable.

"Fucking… Fuck!" Lev's nasally groan gripped at my heart a little as he leaned against the wall with his face in his hands, blood dripping out from between the spaces of his fingers and splattering onto the ground at his feet.

"I warned you." I tried to remain firm and strong, but the small waver in my voice came out unconsciously.

I don't know why I was a little torn up about injuring him because he wasn't the first man I had to get physical with ever since I've been on this strange run with my parents. But he's the first person I've engaged in a playful manner because, well, actually, I don't know why besides some feeling of fascination toward him. At least, I was fascinated until I found out about his real identity. Yeah, fucking with the mafia never ended well.

"You broke my nose with a piece of wood! I didn't think you'd be crazy enough to just swing right off the bat like that," Lev groaned in response, peering up at me with pain-riddled eyes filled with fury and… Fascination? Excitement? There was an edge to his eyes that I didn't expect.

"Well, that's your fault for underestimating me," I retorted, scoffing and crossing my arms with a huffing glare. "I don't want to see your stupid handsome face again, ever, so leave me alone."

With one last look, I turned on my heels and briskly walked off with my head held down in shame.

I needed to shut him out and away, for both our sakes.