Wicked Boss (Bratva Brothers 2)

EIGHTEEN

Luka

There's a firm knock on the bedroom door.

I overslept. One glance at the clock, and it's well past eight. Not that I care. I reach beside me, and the bed is ice cold. Hannah must have sneaked out this morning or sometime during the night.

I didn't hear her leave.

"Just a sec!" I call and grab my boxers, slipping them on before opening the bedroom door.

Nikita is dressed and ready to face the day.

Me? I'd prefer to climb back into bed with a sexy brunette downstairs.

"What's up?" I ask and rub the back of my neck.

Nikita nods. "Can I come in?"

I open the bedroom door, and he glances around, taking note of my clothes flung around the room. "Hot date with the mom downstairs?" The grin on his face tells me he's not going to keep it a secret.

"What do you want, Nikita?"

"I've got the information that Mikhail asked for about Mark. Once I managed to get his full name, Markus Jacobi, I realized the connection pretty quickly. He's one of ours," Nikita says.

"That can't be," I say, shaking my head. I'd have recognized Mark if he worked for the bratva. While I don't know every soldier and associate, I'm good with faces and names.

"He was a low-level associate, Markus Jacobi. He oversaw the books for one of the clubs Mikhail owns."

I bend down, picking up my clothes from the night before, including a half dozen buttons strewn about the floor. "Hannah mentioned that he was an accountant."

"From what I can tell, he was skimming money, just a little bit every month, into an off-seas account in the Caymans. It seems he realized that he was involved in a money-laundering scheme and decided to help himself to a cut of our share."

"Dumbass," I mutter. "Who knew about the theft?"

"Mark has been working with Dmitri," Nikita says. "Dmitri suspected Mark was dirty and had Anton put surveillance on his office but not his home."

"Who else knew?"

"The team who set up the electronic surveillance. Dmitri didn't even tell Mikhail because he didn't want to worry him if he was wrong. You know how quick Mikhail can be to react. Dmitri didn't want to jump to conclusions. He didn't have evidence, just suspicion."

"But Mikhail didn't recognize Mark the other night," I say. We roughed him up pretty good outside of the compound. Shouldn't he have known one of his employees?

"Mikhail hadn't met directly with Mark, and he knew him as Markus. There'd be no reason for Mikhail to realize Hannah's fiancé was our accountant."

I grab my clothes from the closet and head into the bathroom, listening to Nikita through the door. "How much does Hannah know about Mark's involvement?"

"That's why I'm here, knocking on your door," Nikita says. "I had to report what I found to Mikhail first. He wants to know if your girl can be trusted."

I change boxers and pull on my pants before I open the door. "Hannah doesn't know anything," I say. I grab a crisp white shirt and slide it on over my shoulders, working on the buttons from the top down.

"Are you sure? What about the Cayman account?" Nikita asks.

"I'll ask her, but she might have more questions about our business when I do."

* * *

Bay is seated on the floor, playing with the stuffed animals we brought from the house.

Hannah is on the floor with her, pretending to have a tea party with the entire zoo.

"Can we sit down and talk?" I ask Hannah.

"Sure," she says and stands. "I'll be right back. Stay here, okay?" Hannah drops a kiss to Bay's forehead before following me out of the study, down the hallway, and into my office.

She steps foot inside and glances around the room. "What's going on?" She folds her arms across her chest. I can't tell if she's cold or uncomfortable.

"Have a seat," I gesture to the leather chair, and she frowns but does as I instruct.

"Luka? Are you regretting last night?" Her brow is furrowed, and I want to assure her that last night has nothing to do with my questions, but I can't comfort her now.

There's a sharp knock on the door and Mikhail steps inside the office.

He wants to watch the interrogation, although I don't plan on it being a full-scale inquiry. As far as I'm concerned, Hannah hasn't done anything wrong.

Mikhail stands by the door, hands folded together in front of him. He nods at me to do the talking and to begin.

"Did you know that Mark worked for Mikhail?"

She glances from me over her shoulder at the pakhan. "No. He never mentioned it." She rubs her forehead, and her attention returns to me. "He has a lot of important clients. I don't know any of them. What is this about?"

"Your fiancé stole money from me," Mikhail says. He struts farther into the office, coming to stand beside me. "We believe that he created an off-shore account in the Cayman Islands where he transferred a percentage of our funds."

Hannah's eyes widen, and she sits back in the leather chair. Her face is ghastly. "This is news to me. Mark was practically a saint up until this week."

I exchange a glance with Mikhail.

"What do you mean?" Mikhail asks, wanting a further explanation of events.

She sighs, and her shoulders slump as she stares up at me. "It all started when I ran into Luka at the bar with Madisyn. When Luka brought me home, he ran into Mark at the front door. Things changed. Mark changed."

I glance at Mikhail. "It's possible Markus recognized me." The bratva owns his workplace, and while he has an office of his own in our facility, we could have easily crossed paths.

"What do you mean, recognized you?" Hannah stands and glances between us. "I don’t know what's going on, but Mark is dead. Do you want access to the account overseas? I can comb through the apartment and see if I find any account information," Hannah says.

"That isn't necessary," Mikhail says, glancing her over. He's studying her, making sure that she's not lying to him or hiding something of further importance. "We can trace his computer and find the money ourselves."

It's not as easy as it sounds, but Mikhail doesn't let on that it is a lengthy endeavor to track down the funds.

Hannah nods slowly. "I'm sorry about his betrayal to your company." The corners of her lips are turned downward. "He never talked about his job or his clients with me."

"He only had one client," Mikhail says. He glances at me and then back at Hannah. "Would you give us a minute?"

She stands from the chair and heads toward the door. "You said he had one client?" Hannah asks as she approaches the door.

"That's right," Mikhail says. "We've kept him busy with our paperwork and finances."