Chapter 38

Samara~

I t was the next morning, and while I felt better, my thigh still throbbed a bit, but that was the least of my concerns right now. As long as it didn't start to get infected, then I could deal with it. I also realized that I needed to start taking only half of whatever Lochlan Murphy had given me if I didn't want to sleep for days on end.

Luckily for me, the bandages that Lochlan had put on my ankle and carving were waterproof, so I'd been able to take a decent shower now that I didn't need Avgust to hold me up any longer. After that, I had brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and then had helped myself to another one of Avgust's shirts. If he'd gone and had my stuff delivered like he'd said that he was going to, I had no idea where it all was. So, another one of his clean shirts it was.

At any rate, just as I was about to head downstairs for breakfast, Avgust was opening the bedroom door, and even in casual wear, he looked incredible. I was used to him in suits- or naked -so this was something different.

"How did you sleep?" he asked as his eyes slid over my body.

"Better," I admitted. "I still feel a bit lethargic, but that could be from the pain medication."

He gave me a terse nod before saying, "The bratva are downstairs, and I need you to join us."

That had my head rearing back in surprise. "What? Why?"

"They need to hear what happened from you," he informed me. "I don't want to leave out any details that may be pertinent."

"Avgust-"

"We need all the information that we can get in order to find Nikel Ovchinnikov, Samara," he said, cutting off my protest.

Trying another tactic, I said, "I am not joining a meeting of the bratva wearing only your shirt, Avgust."

That got a smirk out of him. "I had some of your clothes delivered last night. I figured that jeans would be too constricting with your wound, so I had Masha pack a couple of dresses for you." He jerked his head towards a bag that I hadn't noticed earlier. It was sitting on the floor next to the nightstand on my side of the bed, and I really must have been in my own little world not to have noticed it.

I still let out an exhausted sigh, because that's what Avgust was; he was exhausting.

"I'll be down in a few minutes," I replied, giving in. "I just need to change."

"If you are hungry, the men can wait until after you have eaten breakfast, vozlyublennaya," he said, and I knew that he'd make them all wait for me if I asked.

"As long as it doesn't take too long, breakfast can wait," I told him.

Avgust shot me a look. "I will make you some toast while you get dressed. It should hold you over until the meeting is finished."

"Thank you," I muttered, knowing that there was no use in arguing with the man.

Ten minutes later, I was dressed in my own clothes- bra and underwear included -had eaten my toast, and was now sitting in Avgust's office with Maksim, Akim, Bogdan Kotov, and Melor Kotov. The feeling was a nostalgic one, both bitter and sweet. These men had once been my friends, and Avgust's lies had taken them away from me, too.

Once everyone was comfortable, Avgust said, "Go ahead, vozlyublennaya. Tell them everything that you told me."

I took a deep breath before I began reciting everything from when Louie had escorted me into the building on Westchester. I didn't leave anything out, doing my best to retell the events as accurately as I could. I didn't know what more they could actually learn from me repeating the story, but I humored Avgust because it was obvious that Nikel Ovchinnikov was going to stop at nothing to get his revenge, and I had no idea how much Louie had told him about me. If he'd told him about me, then Louie could have also told him about Masha.

When I was done, Melor muttered, "Well, fuck."

"And the phone numbers turned up nothing?" Bogdan asked.

"Nothing," Avgust confirmed. "They were burners as well."

"So, we know the why and who now, we just don't know where he is," Akim surmised. "And now that he knows that we know who he is, he's probably going to be harder to find."

"And all of this because his fucking feelings are hurt?" Maksim bit out. "Jesus Christ."

"Seriously," Akim remarked. "The sonofabitch doesn't know how lucky he was to have been raised without Demitri as his father."

"We also don't know if he's recruited more men," Melor chimed in. "By my count, his entire entourage has been wiped out with Louie being the last of them. Can he really keep this up on his own?"

"Unless his mother left him a fortune, where is he getting money to even live?" Bogdan posed. "I seriously doubt that he's working at Taco Bell to get by."

"As far as I know, Klive Simpson was his only alias. However, maybe he is not even using it anymore," I said, thinking out loud. "It is possible that he may be using another name."

"Well, since none of us work for the CIA, I doubt that we're going to be able to scan the entire state with identification software without ending up in federal prison for the rest of our natural lives," Melor drawled out.

I raised my hand like an idiot, and my face turned an embarrassing red when all five male heads turned my way, various looks of incredulousness on their faces.

I was such an imbecile.

"Yes, vozlyublennaya?"

"Just hear me out-"

"No," Maksim said, cutting me off. "Whatever you are thinking, unthink it, Samara."

"That's not fair," I shot back. "You haven't even heard my idea."

Maksim Barychev crossed his arms over his massive chest, then stared at me like I was an errant child. "Let me guess; now that Nikel is aware that you're important enough for our Pakhan to avenge, you're thinking that you could be used as bait to lure him out in the open. Am I correct?"

Maksim had always been too smart for his own good.

"It's a sound plan," I argued.

"Are you out of your mind?" Bogdan blurted. "Are you a glutton for punishment or something?"

"Ha. Ha," I deadpanned before adding, "Look, I've already been kidnapped by Louie once, so as long as Klive or Nikel or whatever is still out there, I'm not completely safe, am I? And neither is Masha if he's aware that she's my sister." I glanced around at all five faces. "I have just as much stake in this as you guys do, if not more since I'm the one with the huge N carved in my goddamn leg."

All the men winced, except for Avgust.

"Samara, we are not going to offer you up as a sacrifice," Avgust finally stated. "As for Masha, she is protected around the clock, and if at any time we feel that her safety might be compromised, Gosha can support her financially, so that it isn't necessary for her to work."

"That's your plan?" I huffed. "To turn us into kept women?"

"Watch yourself, Razh," he warned. "We are in mixed company."

Though my back straightened, I kept my mouth shut. Even though we were surrounded by his family only, it didn't matter. Avgust Kotov was the Russian Bratva's Pakhan, and that wasn't a position that he put on every morning, then took off every night. It wasn't a role that he was playing, nor was it a title that he hadn't earned. Pakhan was who he was, and he'd been that man since we'd been kids. While he might grant me some leeway when we were alone, he wouldn't hesitate to put me in my place in public, something that I knew very well.

With no one saying a word against their Pakhan, Avgust said, "My plan is to make you my wife, and with that title comes a lot of power, so you will be protected at all costs, Samara. The same will go for your sister because she will be my sister-in-law."

It was on the tip of my tongue to remind him that I hadn't agreed to marry him, but even I wasn't stupid enough to push him right now. If nothing else, he'd shut me down to remind everyone of just who he was at the core of it all. Loving me was not going to weaken Avgust Kotov in any way, and I needed to remember that if I was going to survive whatever came next.

Being the smart man that he was, Maksim was able to read the room well. "I think that is all for right now," he said. "We can continue this conversation when Samara isn't out of her mind with lack of sleep and is no longer in pain."

I shot him a look, to which he just winked at me, making my eyes well up. Maksim was supposed to hate me, and I had no idea why that was more comforting than a Maksim Barychev that cared.

"We will speak more on this later," Avgust agreed. "We still have a lot that we need to process."

Without another word, Maksim, Akim, Melor, and Bogdan walked out of Avgust's office, leaving me to face his displeasure alone, and I knew for a fact that he was very displeased.