39. Max

Sasha lets himself in silently as I stare out of the tall windows, seeing nothing but the look of fear and revulsion on Natalya's face when she walked into her bedroom. Part of me wishes I'd spared her the experience but I knew she wouldn't let me take her out of the apartment unless she saw it for herself.

"I have someone reviewing the camera feeds around the apartment," he tells me while pouring himself a drink from the cabinet by the wall.

The way he treats the place so casually irks me, but whereas I'd normally rip his head off for it, tonight, I say nothing.

Sasha's my oldest friend and I know, deep down, he respects me and the job I do. Despite the way he takes liberties at times, we make a good team he and I. Both of us grew up in this world - me destined to run the Bratva and him as my loyal sidekick. It's the same relationship my father and his father enjoyed.

Until they were both assassinated by a car bomb.

I continue looking out over the city as he drops down onto the sofa and rests his feet on the coffee table. The fact he's not removed his shoes pisses me off but again, I say nothing. I know damn well he does it to irritate me. Winding me up is a source of amusement. He's such a dick at times.

"Princess asleep?" he asks after a few beats.

I nod. She fell asleep almost immediately. Thank fuck. She needs the rest after an experience like that.

"I'll oversee a new security installation on her apartment tomorrow. Are we adding cameras inside as well as outside?"

"Yes. Every room apart from the bathroom. And make sure the door onto the terrace is secured. I suspect that's how whoever it was got in. Possibly from a neighboring apartment." I muse on that for a moment. "Maybe check if any of them are empty, just in case someone is using a vacant unit as a base."

"Sure." He makes some notes on his phone. "Our little canary sang a sweet song, by the way."

Fuck, with all the shit this evening I'd forgotten all about Stefan Lublik.

"What did Kolya get out of him?"

Sasha smirks. "Plenty. He lasted all of two minutes before he started telling us everything."

"And?"

"He confirmed what we expected. Tallin has thrown in his lot with Uriov, in return for a promotion and some extra territory. Hitting our warehouse was a loyalty test. Lublik said he and a few other men pumped the place with gas before taking out our guys. He doesn't know where the shipment went. His job was to hand over the weapons, wipe the van clean, and set fire to it. Only he fucked up and didn't hang around long enough to make sure the fire took hold."

"Did he have any insight into Uriov's activities?"

"Nope, he's just a grunt. Knows nothing. There's no way he held anything back, not after Kolya had finished with him."

I grunt while pondering all the loose threads.

"I thought you were supposed to be in Levinsk this evening, for the meeting with the investors?"

"I couldn't leave Natalya." My tone invites no further discussion on the topic but Sasha being Sasha takes absolutely no notice.

"She's a distraction we don't need right now, Max," he warns. "Uriov is up to something and if you take your eye off the ball…"

"I'm not fucking distracted!" OK, so I am a little but not enough to make a difference.

"Really?" He raises one eyebrow.

I'm not in the fucking mood for a fight, but if he carries on questioning my judgment, we'll be having one. Right here.

"Who's the pakhan here, Aleksander, me or you, eh?" My muscles are tense, ready to punch someone or something. Him if he continues. He sits up, no longer quite as relaxed as he was when he first arrived.

For a moment, we stare at each other, but eventually, he lowers his gaze.

"Sorry." It's a fucking pathetic apology but I'll accept it. He's my brother in all but blood and I respect his opinion, even if I don't like it at times.

Some of my anger fades and I take another long sip of my drink. It's late and I'd much rather be in bed with my malyshka than talking about things that can wait until the morning. But Sasha is rarely in the city, so it makes sense to catch up.

And so we move on to more general business and eventually, Sasha leaves, no doubt heading out to hook up with one of his regular women. I don't ask. What he does in his own time is none of my business, even if he likes to think my love life is his business.

My malyshka is still fast asleep when I finally crawl into bed after a short shower. She stirs but doesn't wake as I wrap myself around her curvy body.

Sasha is still suspicious of her motives, which is why he keeps niggling me. I understand his concern - we don't want a reporter nosing around our business - but I am confident I can keep Natalya away from anything connected to the unsavory parts of my business.

After all, she still doesn't know who I am. And that's the way I plan to keep it for now.