Chapter 11

Maksim~

W hile I was angry, I was most angriest at the fact that Katja was exactly my type, and that Nikel had been correct about that. I did not appreciate that he knew anything about me, nor did I appreciate how he'd been closer than we'd all believed.

I also didn't like how Katja had felt so good wrapped around my fingers, and if not for her attack of conscience, then I might not know any of this. I hated how Nikel's trap had worked, and it made me want to snap this beautiful woman's neck in two. It didn't matter that she had changed her mind; she'd gone to The Swan to deceive me, and I wasn't one to give mercy to those that betrayed me.

"When…when I started…started feeling attracted to you, that's when…" Katja let out a troubled sigh. "That's when I excused myself to try to come up with a way out of this."

"Why did you ask me to escort you outside?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. I really just wanted to catch her in a lie because then that would make things so much easier.

"I was scared that Klive might be holed up somewhere, watching," she confessed. "If we'd left separately, he might think that I'd failed and…and I don't know." Tears started welling in those stunning eyes of hers. "He has to have someone watching my grandfather at Windmill Gates, or else how could he know so much? He knows the names of the people that my father talks to and plays chess with." She let out another shuttered breath. "He said that all it'd take is one phone call. Just one."

My first instinct was to just kill her. It would solve all my problems where she was concerned, but since Nikel had no idea that she had betrayed him, her confession could work in the bratva's favor. Instead of Nikel using her to spy on me, we could use her to weed out Nikel Ovchinnikov, once and for all.

As the idea began forming in my head, I could admit that her grandfather may pose as a problem. As long as his life was in danger, then Katja wouldn't be loyal to either Nikel or myself. She was willing to do whatever was needed to keep her grandfather safe, so if I was going to get her to cooperate with us, then I needed to prove that we could keep the only family that she had left alive.

Finally letting go of her neck, I stepped back from her as I pulled out my phone. Not caring that she was in the room, as soon as Bogdan answered, I said, "I need everything that you can find on Katja Volkov. She also has a grandfather named…"

As soon as I shot Katja a look, she said, "Stepan Antonov. He's my mother's father."

"Stepan Antonov," I finished. "I also needed it yesterday."

"Why? What's going on?" he asked warily.

With my eyes on Katja's, I answered, "She's playing the whore for Nikel Ovchinnikov, and I like to know everything that I can about my enemies."

"What?" he practically screeched like a teenage girl. "You've got Ovchinnikov's whore with you?"

"Relax," I instructed. "I'll tell you guys everything later. For now, I just need what you can find on both names."

"Of course," he replied before hanging up.

Though she was in a precarious position, she still had enough fire in her to say, "I don't know who Nikel Ovchinnikov is, but I am not his whore."

Sliding my phone back in my pocket, I said, "Nikel Ovchinnikov is Klive Simpson's real name. So, by all accounts, you are his whore. After all, you're willing to fuck whoever he tells you to, right?"

Her chin went up at that. "That's not fair."

Angry that I'd felt something for this woman while we'd been in the restroom earlier, I said, "Fair or not, this is what's going to happen, lyublyu. You have two choices in this predicament that you've found yourself in-"

"Predicament that I've found myself in?" she hissed. "You say that like I went looking for this. All I did was have lunch while minding my own goddamn business."

"Nevertheless, this is where you are, and you have two choices in the matter, whether you wish it or not," I continued. "You can go back to Klive , tell him that you've failed, and then let him kill you and your grandfather, or else you can come work for the bratva, placing you and your grandfather under our protection."

Her face immediately paled, both options unfavorable ones to someone that lived a normal life. Of course, with her grandfather her main priority, she was going to have no choice but to come work for us. However, once she heard the details of her employment with the bratva, I'd see once and for all how committed she was to saving the only family that she had left.

"What…how can you guarantee my grandfather's safety?" she asked, proving that this was going to be a lot easier that I'd thought.

"Easily," I replied smoothly. "Since Klive knows where you live, we can move the both of you into one of the bratva's homes, providing round-the-clock guards and care for your grandfather."

Huge tears immediately began to fall from those sun-kissed eyes of hers. "In exchange for what?"

"Since all that costs money, you'll pay us back with the goldmine between your legs," I answered coldly. "Of course, you'll have to quit whatever job it is that you have now, but I can guarantee that your pussy will make you more money than any regular job ever could." My eyes purposely raked her up and down as I added, "That body of yours is enough to make a man empty out his bank account for you."

Katja looked incensed, even through her tears, but that was probably because I was being disrespectful as fuck. Women were incredible creatures, so it was demeaning to be told that your greatest asset was your pussy. Still, if you were going to use it as a weapon, then give it the credit that it was due, and everything on Katja Volkov could be interpreted as a weapon; a lethal one at that.

"So, either let Klive Simpson kill my grandfather or become a bratva whore?" she spat. "Those are my two choices?"

Walking towards her, I said, "There's also a third option, but I'm not sure if you're up for it."

"I think that is something that I should decide for myself," she replied coolly, trying to be so fucking brave.

"You could become my whore," I told her, making her eyes widen again. "Let Klive think that his plan is working, and in return for not killing you where you stand, you give me complete access to that delectable body of yours until I can finally put Klive Simpson six feet under."

Katja's chest started heaving with anxiousness, and like the smart woman that she was, she asked, "And where does option three leave my grandfather?"

"Same as option two," I replied smoothly. "For your cooperation in flushing Nikel Ovchinnikov out, or as you know him, Klive Simpson, the bratva will care for your grandfather both financially and medically."

"You're a bastard," she whispered as she shook her head slightly.

"I'm not the one that let a complete stranger finger fuck me in a men's restroom to get information from them," I countered, making her eyes glitter with shame and hate. "So, pick your poison, lyublyu. However, you better make your choice soon as I've other things to attend to right now."

"What's…what's the plan if I choose option three?"

"I'll make a show of spending some time with you outside the bedroom, and you'll report everything that transpires between you and Nikel Ovchinnikov," I answered easily. "However, if you cannot sell the ruse, then you need to be honest with yourself about that, Katja. Whether you want to believe it or not, I will kill you if you betray me."

Ignoring that, she asked, "What am I supposed to tell him?"

"If he's been studying me as he said, then he'll know that I would never tell you anything of importance during our first night together," I told her. "So, give him enough sexual details to make him believe that I'm blinded by that sweet cunt of yours, and that should suffice for right now."

Her jaw clenched before asking, "Why not just have someone follow me? Why can't you just…I don't know, catch him following me, and then get him yourself?"

"Because if he is truly watching me, then that's the first thing that he'll be looking for, and I do not want to tip him off," I explained. "When I'm this close to finally finding him, I am not going to let any basic mistakes mess it up."

I watched her run her hands down her face, not caring about her makeup, and it really would be a shame if I had to kill her once it was all said and done. Katja Volkov was too beautiful to kill, and with as tightly as her pussy had held onto my fingers earlier, I knew that she was going to be a phenomenal fuck.

"Which is it going to be, lyublyu?"

With the weight of the world swirling around in those amber eyes of hers, she said, "Option three."

I smirked.

I couldn't help it.

"I'll call for you in a few days, and you'd better be ready," I warned her. "I will be spending all night getting my money's worth out of you, so be prepared."

"You're a bastard," she repeated, choking out the whispered curse.

"I know," I replied easily. "I already know."