Caring for the Bratva (Steamy Standalone Instalove)

“They used Flavio’s name?” I ask.

He nods. “Yeah, they used it like a damn weapon, like I was meant to be impressed or something. Listen, fellas. I’ve got a wife. I’ve got a family. Most of my guys do. What the fuck am I supposed to do when a bunch of mobsters start threatening us? They’re not leaving me much choice.”

“What do you mean?” Kesha snarls.

Jeffrey flinches. “I mean, if this keeps going on, we’re going to have to strike.”

“That can’t happen,” I say flatly.

“I understand that, but we can’t have the Italians intimidating our families…”

“I’m going to arrange for every union man to have protection until this is over,” I tell him, putting some gruffness into my voice so he knows not to press the matter. “I know what you’re thinking. How the fuck am I going to do that? You’ve got hundreds of union men. Well, I’ve got the funds to make it happen. By the end of the day, every single union man will have a protection detail. They will watch over your families and make sure nothing like this happens again.”

I feel Kesha tensing up beside me. He knows this is going to cost millions of dollars, maybe even tens of millions, and Kesha has always been a stickler for finances. But he also knows I’ll flatly refuse to allow our associates to be bullied like this.

He knows I’d bankrupt myself to keep them safe.

“But for how long?” Jeffrey murmurs, staring at the table instead of meeting my eye. “We can’t live like that forever.”

“Until I’ve taken care of Flavio.”

“Taken care of?” He glances at me briefly and then returns to his stare down with the table.

“Let me worry about that,” I snarl.

What I don’t say is I’ll put a bullet in his head if it’s necessary, executing him on the spot for overstepping after promising to my face he was done with this shit.

“Okay, Mr. Dudnikov, I trust you.”

Kesha and I leave shortly after, Kesha sighing and letting his head fall back on the headrest once we’re in the car. “Goddamn, Dom, that’s going to cost a fortune.”

“I know.” I sigh. “But what other choice do we have? We’ll lose far more in the long run if they go on strike.”

“But what about Flavio?”

“We’ll arrange the protection. We’ll liaise with the boys at Blue Shield Bodyguards. They’ve got a lot of ex-SEALs and ex-cops. They’re good.”

“We’ve used them before. I remember. But they don’t come cheap. It’d be easier to just rally some of our troops.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” I snap. “Because then we leave our other businesses vulnerable. I know you hate spending money, little brother, but this is the only way.”

He shakes his head. “When you come from dirt, you’re very fucking aware of how easily you can go back there.”

“I know. But this has to be done.”

“And Flavio?”

“Get me a meeting with his consigliere, Luca Rosso. I think it’s time the Greco Family got a new boss.”

“Shit.” Kesha nods. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But if we play this wrong, it’ll mean war.”

“I know that, but we’ve got no choice. We can’t let this rat disrespect us. You heard Jeffrey back there. Those mob guys used Flavio’s name. They wouldn’t do that without his permission.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Fuck, okay, Dom. I trust you. I know you’ll lead us through this. You always have.”

I smirk over at him, reality blurring for a second so he becomes the little boy who was always looking up to me for guidance, even calling me Dad when he was very young. He doesn’t like to be reminded of that, though, and I understand that.

Nobody likes to be reminded of a time they were weak, even if they were a kid, not in this life.

“Take us to the office,” I tell him. “We need to get this sorted ASAP, by the end of the day if possible.”

“Yeah.” Kesha stars the car, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. “I guess we can sleep when we’re dead, right?”

I grunt out a laugh, nodding.

But the truth is I don’t feel even slightly tired. My body is amped-up, buzzing from what my little Dreamer and I shared back at the estate.

My instinct is to rush home right now and be with her, pick up where we left off, but I have to stay focused.

At least for a little while.

But when I get home, I’m tasting her again, all of her, and she’s going to learn just how much she means to me.

Chapter Ten

Daniella

I spend the afternoon in Lucky’s playroom, seeing if he’s been trained. He has, and well.

Through a process of trial and error, I get him to sit, stay, rollover, give me his paw, and even roll onto his back to offer me his belly… but I’m not sure if that last one is a product of training or for his desire to be made a fuss over, which I have no problem doing.