My anger rises, and I shake her again. “Why weren’t you in the house? Were you spying?” I want to hurt her.
“I found this,” Rafael says, showing me her phone. “And it was on camera. She was fucking taking pictures.”
Nicolai curses and takes a step toward us, the look in his eyes menacing. He knows as well as I do what’s at stake. Involuntarily, I pull her to me and shield her from him, moving my own body in front of her.
“Stop,” I order Nicolai. “And listen.”
His brows shoot up in surprise. He opens his mouth to protest, then closes it and bows his head. He may disagree with my methods or logic, but I’m still his pakhan.
“We’re not making a hasty decision with her,” I tell them. “I want to hear what she has to say.” I turn to Taara. “Explain yourself.”
She doesn’t hesitate. “I come out in the early morning to take photos,” she says. “I didn’t know you were here until I heard you. Then I’ll admit, I did come over here to see what you were doing, but I didn’t mean to spy. And I’d never, never tell anyone anything.”
“Enough!” Nicolai fumes at her. I feel my nostrils flare and my chest expand with the sharp intake of breath I take to steady myself. My son is a good man, but in this moment he’s overwrought.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter. “I don’t know what the fuck to do with her.”
Rafael cocks his head to the side. “We know what the code declares we need to do.”
I do. But I also know I’m pakhan. I’m capable of breaking that code if I think I have justifiable reason, and I fucking do.
“I’m not killing her,” I state with finality. “No way will I end the life of a woman as dedicated to serving our brotherhood as Taara.” She sobs quietly, closing her eyes as if to accept her fate. “And both of you would do the same. I know you would.”
Their silence confirms this.
“Fine, then,” Rafael says. “We can punish her well and good and send her to another Bratva group.” A muscle ticks in his jaw and he flexes his muscles. She cowers against me, likely knowing that punishment at our hands would be swift and severe.
Nicolai still glares, muttering under his breath. “We could send her away to Boston. Tomas would keep her prisoner. I trust him.”
But no, I’m not doing that either.
I turn over the options in my mind like a dealer distributing cards. I discard the ones I don’t like before I make a decision.
“You will leave Taara to me,” I finally say. “I will deal with her. I will see to it she doesn’t speak to anyone, and I will be sure she faces punishment for what she’s done.”
“I didn’t mean to, Stefan,” she whispers. “I promise.”
“When did you know we had a prisoner with us?” I ask her, my tone razor sharp. It angers me that she put me in this position, and have a hard time believing that she’s innocent. Why didn’t she leave well enough alone?
In Bratva life, you learn that betrayal runs deep, that few are to be trusted, and that appearances aren’t always what they seem. For all I know, she’s a spy hired by a rival, and she lies.
She looks away and bites her lip, a dead giveaway to guilt. Without another word, I yank her out in front of me and slam my palm against the fullest part of her ass. “Answer me.”
She yelps out loud, then her eyes go wide and fearful.
“After I came outside,” she whispers. “I just came to take some pictures of the flowers. I swear I didn’t take any of you.”
“She lies, sir,” Rafael says, shaking his head and swiping through her phone. “There are several of you and Nicolai both.”
Son of a bitch.
Her thick obsidian hair is wrapped around my fingers, and I pull so hard she comes up on her toes to escape the pain. I hate that she betrayed me. It’s hard enough knowing I have few friends in this world, that enemies press in on all sides, but when someone I trust betrays me, it’s a twisted knife wound straight to the heart. I’ve learned to dull the pain, but this one burns.
“No!” she screams on a sob when I yank her by the hair again, pulling her toward me.
“I will have the truth if I need to whip it out of you,” I hiss. “I despise a spy.”
“I’m not a spy,” she sobs. “I promise. Oh, God, you have to believe me. Stefan,” she chokes. “It was an accident.”
I nod my head to Rafael and hold Taara tightly. “Get the restraints.” I look toward Nicolai. “You finish the clean-up. We’ll summon our men once she’s been dealt with.”