The Bratva’s Bounty (Volkov Bratva #3)

12. Nicole

Chapter 12

Nicole

~2 weeks later~

"Girl, shouldn't you be laying around in bed with your husband at your beck and call?" I chuckled as I watched Angel walk around the living room.

Rolling her eyes at me, Angel quickly flipped me off before sitting on the couch across from me. "I'm pregnant, not invalid." Exhaling heavily, she rests her hands on her growing stomach. "Besides, moving around is good for my hips and will make birth easier. But also, I'm only barely six months along, so not like I need bed rest or anything when everything is completely fine." And leave it to her to argue for her independence.

Not wanting to get into it with her, I let the subject drop with a shake of my head. "How is everything, though? Am I going to need to bury a bomb into Nikolai any time soon?" I joked, chuckling dryly with a wary look at my friend.

With a reassuring smile, Angel waved her hand at me while chuckling, "Nikolai and I are perfectly fine, like always." Looking at me for a second, she opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it with a shake of her head. "What about you and your mystery man? What's going to happen there?"

Sighing sadly, I leaned back in my seat and sipped at my glass of water. "What has to happen…" I replied in a dying voice.

Frowning at me disapprovingly, Angel scoffed and shook her head. "You are way too stubborn, you know that?" Scoffing again, she muttered something under her breath about me being stupid. "Seriously, just let me take care of your stupid parents. They're not just a pain in the ass to you, but they are to the bratva as well. They've been stonewalling us at every chance, and I've just about had it with them." Her hands clenched at her arms, which sat loosely wrapped above her stomach.

"They're the only part left of Lady Qing's who hasn't bowed to Nikolai and me, and they're starting to push, which pisses me off," she seethed through a scowl. "I just haven't done anything drastic out of respect for you and your wishes not to harm them, but they are really , and I mean really , fucking toeing that line with me."

"Okay, okay." Holding my hands up in defeat, I shrunk back a little from the suffocating anger that rolled off Angel in torrent waves. "I get it. You want them kicked off their pedestal."

Sighing heavily, I took an interest in my nails for a good moment to gather my thoughts. "I want them to get their dues, but I don't want them dead." Or physically hurt, much, but that part was debatable. "I still haven't gotten all I need from them, either."

Well, that was more on me because I was being cautious. Hacking the system I created should have been a cakewalk, but I didn't want to risk giving my location away. I knew for a fact that my parents had people tracking my online footprints, so I've had to limit my presence and time spent with electronic connections to the world. If I weren't so conscious about it all, then shit would have blown to bits by now. Not gonna lie, sometimes I toyed with the idea.

I've nothing to lose, really; my old life died the day I ran away from being my parents' pawn. Relocating with a whole new identity and life would be as easy with my connection to Angel, but a part of me didn't want to uproot whatever stability I had here in Nespin. I didn't want to leave my younger brother here, nor did I want to be away from those I considered to be my family.

And I didn't want to leave Lev.

"Well, I know you're trying to lay low or whatever, but you need to do something about your parents, and soon." Angel huffed with a scowl. "They're up to something, and I don't like it."

"I haven't noticed anything suspicious in their accounts," I remarked with a quirked eyebrow and a dip in my voice.

Shaking her head, Angel looked at me with grave seriousness. "They went old school with cold, hard cash, burner phones and smashing them right after use, paper and pen, like really old school." Sighing heavily, she sits up as much as possible. "We've been keeping a close eye on them, and they've been having a lot of meetings not on any books. And whoever they're meeting knows how to give our men the slip."

That wasn't good.

Groaning, I ran a hand through my hair. "Just…" Oh man, I was going to regret it but fuck it. "Don't worry about it. They're my problem to start with, so I need to set them straight."

"Straight down six feet underground?" Angel joked darkly with a very dry chuckle.

"If there will be anything left of them to bury. Then, yeah, sure," I joked back half-seriously with my own sardonic chuckle.

"Nicki," Angel began in a chiding tone. "You're a pyromaniac bomb-loving tech geek, not a killer." She teased with a hearty laugh.

Unable to help it, I joined in with my own laugh when I found myself agreeing with everything she said about me. "Well, if they die from the blast of the bombs, then there's nothing I can do about that," I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. "I'll just leave the killing part to my ??i ca ."

Angel's posture relaxed with her piqued interest. The corners of her lips curved up and spread wide as she shot up from the couch and darted over to me, invading my bubble when she plopped down next to me. "Girl, you gotta stop teasing me like that, seriously! Tell me who this handsome hunk is already," she demanded playfully with a giggle.

Stifling a laugh, I chewed at my bottom lip to keep my thoughts inside my head. Honestly, if she knew who my man was, she would not be using those words. "You might or might not find out soon." I snickered, earning a playful slap on the arm. "It's not even like official or anything, and I just want to be completely sure before telling you guys, you know?"

Actually, I didn't know what we were. Labels might be overrated, but they were needed for clarity. We acted like a couple, but were we really? I claimed him as mine, even went as far as physically marking him, but that didn't…

Okay, what am I saying? After all of that, he is mine in every sense.

Rolling her eyes, she slapped my arm again. "Girl, you just told me the other day that he ate you out like you were a five-star meal with dessert!" Angel remarked with a playful scoff. "You can't just tell me shit like that and not show me who this wonder worker is."

"Weeeell, I guess I can show you sooooomething," I dragged my words out teasingly, shoving her squealing body away when she grabbed me excitedly. "Just a little peek, that's it."

Hiding my phone from her with a giggle, I pulled up a candid picture I took of Lev the other day with our little lunch date and cropped it from his nose down. Of course, Angel wasn't too thrilled to see a nearly faceless man with the unamused glare she gave me when I showed her the picture. "Nicki, that could be like half the people from Meri's Men Magazine." She deadpanned with a teasing voice. "I mean, lovely catch, but I wanna see who he is!" she whined.

Flashing her a mischievous grin, I shook my head while pocketing my phone. "Maybe next time." Or the next, or whenever I felt like it.

Rolling her eyes, Angel crossed her arms and leaned back onto the couch. "Rude, you all knew about Nikolai right away," she retorted.

Quirking a brow at her, I scoffed in disbelief. "Girl, you got married to the man, and it wasn't like your stepmother kept quiet about it." Didn't help that all of us practically stalked her because we were overprotective of our precious Angel.

Angel's shoulders tightened with her straightening back. "Does this mean you're staying then? No more foot out the door?" She sounded hopeful as she looked at me with a bright smile.

Forcing out an unsure chuckle, I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe not a foot, but definitely a toe." The thought of escaping and disappearing from all my problems was still rather tempting.

Taking in a deep breath, I tap my finger against my glass of water while looking out the window. "What have my parents been doing?" If they were doing things off the books with no electronic footprints, then I would have absolutely no idea about it all.

Dragging out a heavy sigh and groan, Angel grumbled under her breath for a minute. "The only thing we know is that they're meeting someone unknown to us. I mean, the only thing we do know about this mystery person is that they're not affiliated with the local gangs." Letting out another sigh, Angel sipped at her water. "Like I said, we haven't been able to grasp at any ends to unravel this whole situation because your parents spin some stupid tale to lead us to dead ends, and this person they're doing business with gives us the slip every time we target them."

Seeing Angel's face weighted down with stress as she talked about things made me feel a little guilty. They were my parents, therefore my problem. My pregnant friend shouldn't be burdened by something I possibly created.

Scooting over, I hugged Angel tightly and rubbed her stomach. "Don't worry about them. I'll handle it with my man." Some more excitement in Lev's life won't kill him. Besides, he wouldn't say no to me. "Send me all the information you have, and I'll take care of it all, promise."

Angel's lips pressed into a tight smile, and she hugged me back. "Thanks, and I'm sorry you're being pulled back into your family drama when that's what you're trying to run from."

Chuckling softly, I patted her back reassuringly. "Hey, my circus, my problem. It's not fair for you to be stressed out about it all, especially being pregnant."

"Ugh, I swear, all you guys are going to make me snap before this pregnancy is over," Angel grumbled with a groan. "I'm pregnant, not invalid. I am still more than capable of handling everything still."

Rolling my eyes, I playfully shoved her. "You really need to learn how to take a step back. Honestly, you are the head of the bratva with your husband. You have all the men and power at your disposal, so delegate, take a step back, and breathe."

Sometimes, I found it hard to understand Angel. Yes, I understood that she was the kind of person who had to keep themselves busy, hence why she loved being an emergency department nurse. Still, I often wondered how she didn't get tired of piling everything onto her plate.

I mean, if I was her, I'd totally abuse the power of being the head of the most powerful mafia group in California. I'd love to do nothing but sit around my work desk and tinker my life away on my ideas while everyone else handled everything to my whims. Oh, to be the boss again, that's the dream.

The couch shifted and creaked as Angel scooted over and hugged me. "Hey, what's wrong? You have that mopey look." Angel's soft concern had me smiling sadly.

"I just…" Sighing heavily, I ran a hand through my hair. "I enjoy this free life, but I kind of miss being the boss of my own company."

Laughing softly, Angel lightly shoved at me. "Oh, you just miss busting men's balls," she teased. "You miss bossing men around, having them kiss your feet, worship the ground you walk on, all that shit." Well, she wasn't wrong, but she didn't have to put it like that . "Which, honestly, wish I had the confidence you do." Angel pouted softly with a small huff.

My eyes rolled before I could help myself. "Bitch, have you seen yourself? You might not be as outward as me, but you're one boss-ass bitch in your own right. Besides, who cares if you're submissive. I mean, it takes a lot of guts and respect to give yourself up to someone." Sometimes, I wish I could be a little more demure like her.

"What's your plan now, then?" Angel's voice toned back down as she looked at me inquisitively .

After a moment of thought, I shrugged my shoulders. "Don't know right now, but I'll work something out with my man."