Yuri (Bratva Blood Brothers Book 1) Read online

  Raven screamed as she hit the floor. When she looked up, she found Stephanou glaring back at her. He had a tight grip on her wrist and she found that out when she tried to pull her arm free. Unfortunately, he wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

  “Lady, you got me in trouble and I don’t appreciate that fact.” Stephanou growled. He shook her wrist and Raven cried out in pain but he didn’t strike out at her. Instead, he hauled her to her feet and began dragging her through the apartment. He sat her down on one of the chairs in the living room and ordered her to stay. Grabbing the phone from his pocket, he called Yuri to tell him he found her.

  A few minutes later, Yuri stormed back into the penthouse and glared at her. “Where the hell have you been? And how did you get out of the office?”

  Raven just glared back at him.

  Yuri paced the floor in front of her. “I asked you a question, now answer it.” He growled.

  “I don’t have to answer shit,” She spat back.

  “What are you hiding?” Yuri asked.

  “What difference does it make to you?” Raven called out. “I’m nobody, why do you need to know my secrets? They wouldn’t interest you.”

  “Right now, everything about you interests me,” Yuri assured her.

  “That’s too bad. I don’t have to tell you diddlysquat and you can’t keep me here. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “How did you get out of the office?” Yuri asked again as he folded his arms over his chest. “The door was locked and Stephanou was standing on the other side of the door.”

  “That’s for me to know and you to wonder about, isn’t it?”

  “I insist you tell me.”

  Raven scoffed. “You can insist all you want but that doesn’t mean I have to tell you shit.”

  “Watch your mouth! Swearing is unladylike. You won’t leave here until you tell me what I want to know.”

  Raven sat back in the chair and glared at him. “I never claimed to be a lady and as I said before, you can’t legally keep me here.”

  Yuri smiled. “Honey, I can do whatever I want and I think you know that.”

  Raven’s frown deepened. “You can be a real bastard, can’t you?”

  Yuri laughed out loud. “Every damn day of the year, sweetheart. My excuse is I was born that way. Born a bastard and raised in hell, that’s the story of my life.”

  “And that excuses the way you treat people?” Raven groused.

  “I don’t need any excuses.” Yuri sneered. “I treat people the way I see fit. Right now, you have answers that I need and until you tell me what I want to know, you aren’t going anywhere.”

  “I don’t have any answers for you.” Raven shook her head.

  “I believe you do.”

  “Then you would be wrong.”

  Yuri smiled. “I’m never wrong.”

  “Arrogance is never attractive.” Raven sneered.

  The smile on Yuri’s face faded slightly as he narrowed his eyes. “You won’t win any points with sarcasm either.”

  “I’m not looking for points. I just want to go home.”

  Yuri shook his head. “Then answer my questions.”

  “I keep telling you I don’t have any answers for you.”

  “Then I’m afraid you’ll be my guest for a while.” Yuri turned to look at Stephanou and nodded at him. “Keep an eye on her. You can’t trust her to be locked up, so keep your actual eyes on her at all times.”

  Stephanou glared at her. “She won’t get away from me this time, boss.”

  Raven stuck her tongue out at him. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

  “We can always tie you up, you know,” Stephanou suggested. “That way, you would stay where you’re supposed to be.”

  Raven snorted. “In your dreams big guy, in your dreams.”

  Stephanou growled at her.

  Raven turned to Yuri. “Don’t you have something else to do beside harass me?”

  Yuri watched her for a moment. “You seem too eager to get me to leave. Why is that?”

  “Because I don’t like you and he just glares at me.” She jerked her thumb at Stephanou. “I don’t have to listen to him threaten me over nothing. I get it, you have all the power, and I am nothing. You think I have something you need and that’s all you have. You can threaten me all you like, but I don’t have to talk to you.”

  “You would be wise to talk to me, tell me what I wish to know and I’ll let you go. I promise,” Yuri assured her.

  Raven shook her head. “Don’t lie to me big man. I hate liars.”

  “I don’t care for liars or thieves myself.” Yuri told her calmly but through gritted teeth. “By not telling me what I want to know you could be both.”

  “Go to hell.” She growled.

  Yuri reared back and stared at her for a moment. Then he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “On second thought, why don’t you and I spend some time together? You can get to know me better, that way when the time is right, you’ll feel better about answering my questions.”

  “But I don’t want to know you better.” She protested. “I do very well without knowing you at all. I was perfectly happy this morning before we met and I’ll be perfectly happy again, when I leave.”

  He pulled her closer. “But just think about how much better you’ll do with more knowledge.”

  Raven tried to twist her wrist out of his fingers but couldn’t do it. His grasp tightened to become painful. “You can’t do this!” she shouted.

  “But I can and I will. Come along, I have places to go and people to see.” He dragged her along behind him. No matter how she resisted he tugged her along with him. When they got to the security room, he took her inside with him.

  Stephanou followed and took his place watching the monitors.

  “Any news yet?” Yuri asked one of the men.

  “No sir. We’ve run every recognition program we have and he’s not in any of them.”

  Raven looked up and found her brother’s picture on the screen. She went very still as she stared at the photo. She couldn’t let him find out who Nicky was. They had stayed under the radar for too long to lose their edge now. Carlos was still out there looking for them and if he knew, they were this close, he wouldn’t hesitate to come after them.

  “Any news on the other problem?” Yuri asked.

  “No sir, it’s like she fell on the earth twelve years ago,” his man told him. “We haven’t found any sign of her.”

  “Keep looking,” Yuri ordered. “Nikoli is coming in the next few days and I’d like to be able to tell him something good.”

  One of his men asked, “Sir, do you really think the boy is still alive somewhere?”

  “God, I hope so.” Yuri sighed. “Until we find his body or have any answers we must assume the boy is out there somewhere. We have to keep going with the search.”

  Yuri turned and taking Raven with him, he retired to his office on the main floor of the hotel. When he closed and locked the door, he let go of her wrist and went to sit behind his desk.

  Raven rubbed her wrist, the skin already bruising. When she sat down opposite him, she licked her dry lips and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

  Yuri stared at her for a moment then leaned forward to put his elbows on the desk between them. “Close to twenty years ago a mad woman stole my boss’s newborn baby. The boy was but a few hours old, born premature due to the fact this same woman stabbed his eight month old pregnant mother. The boys’ mother died moments after giving birth, due I might add to the stab wounds and the trauma of labor, never seeing her son or saying goodbye to the husband who loved her.”

  “Who was this woman?” Raven whispered.

  “Her name is Andria Waterson. She was nothing but a gold digger. She decided my boss would take her to his bed and she would become his mistress. Unfortunately, my boss was in love with his wife and wanted nothing to do with her. He tried to be nice about it but she wouldn’t let it go. She hounded him for months u
ntil he had no choice but to have her arrested. Apparently, she didn’t take rejection well. She felt the only way to get Nikoli’s attention was to take away the object of his desire. She stabbed his wife and stole their baby boy. We couldn’t find either her or the baby boy for the last twenty years and each clue we do uncover, has led us nowhere.”

  “Do you think the boy is still alive?” Raven asked.

  Yuri sat back in his chair. “I certainly hope the boy is still alive. I hope we can find him and return him to his father. He is all the hope Nikoli has left.”

  “Would he love the boy?”

  Yuri searched her face for a moment then nodded. “He would indeed love the boy. He is all he has left of the boy’s mother and he loved her more than life itself. When she died, he went a little crazy.”

  He had given her a lot to think about. She still had so many questions. She got up and moved over to the window overlooking the courtyard. Without turning to face him she asked, “What is the man Nikoli like? Is he a good man?”

  Yuri threw his pen down on the desk. “Nikoli is a good man. Some men don’t understand that about him. He knows how to be tough while being fair in his justice.”

  “He’s Bratva too, then?”

  “He is the boss of the American organization. He answers only to Russia.”

  Raven shivered. Closing her eyes, she swayed at the thoughts running through her head. Andria must have been crazy to think she could do what she did all those years ago. She’d gotten away with it for so long Raven doubted she would even consider that would end. A single tear ran down her cheek.

  Yuri got to his feet and came up behind her, and wrapping his arms around her he whispered, “Tell me what you know.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can,” he ordered. “You must.”

  “I cannot.” She shook her head. “I need to think about this.”

  “What is there to think about?” Yuri spoke sharply. “If you know where the boy is, tell me. If you know where Andria Waterson is tell me.”

  “Stop badgering me.” She moved away from him or at least she tried to move away.

  Yuri wouldn’t let her go too far. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. “You have to tell me what I want to know.”

  Raven shook her head. “I don’t have to tell you anything. Let me go.” She struggled against his hold but Yuri wouldn’t let her go. His fingers wrapped around her jaw and he looked into her eyes. He could read the truth there and his own eyes widened with hope. “Tell me what you know.”

  “I can’t.” She growled. “I can’t tell you anything. I don’t know what the truth is. I can’t help you.”

  “You do know what the truth is,” he insisted. Pulling her into his arms, he gazed down into her eyes. His dark eyes met her vibrant green ones and he held her stare. After a few minutes, she broke his stare. Wrapping his massive arms around her body, he hauled her up to his level. He didn’t hurt her but as she was so short in stature, he pressed her against the wall with his body. She didn’t struggle instead she stared at his face for a moment then Yuri pressed his mouth against hers.

  An electrical charge zinged her. The moment his lips touched hers, it surged through her. From the top of her head, all the way to her core and beyond. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her left shoe flopped off her foot. It smacked the ground at his feet but neither of them cared or heard it. Suddenly, all of her fears were gone and she was caught up in this moment. Nothing else mattered or made sense to her. The truth was pushed to the back of her mind, as she became overwhelmed with this feeling of passion she didn’t understand.

  Yuri had seen the truth in her eyes. He’d at first just wanted to get the information from her, now he’d caught her body between his and the wall. When his mouth touched hers, he felt her heat, his body grew instantly hard. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he pressed her hard against the wall, his erection seeking her heat. His hands dropped down to her chest and he could feel her heart pounding in her chest. His tongue surged into her mouth and mated with hers. It was as if he couldn’t get enough of her. Over and over their tongues clashed almost as if they were mating with their tongues. Then when the oxygen ran out, his lips slipped down to her jaw and ultimately her neck when he nibbled a path along her collar bone.

  Raven moaned low and moved her head to the side giving him greater access to where he wanted to be. Slipping even lower, his lips closed over her hard nipple poking through her shirt.

  Raven gasped and grabbed the back of his head pressing him closer.

  Yuri’s hands dropped down to the back of her skirt and caught the hem. Raising it along with his hands, he pressed his hand closer to her heat. He groaned against her skin when he felt the warm wet spot between her legs. His cock twitched as two of his fingers delved under the edge of her panties and plunged into her core.

  Raven flinched slightly as his fingers invaded her body.

  Yuri groaned as he felt her wetness. Her warm moist heat wrapped around his fingers and cradled them like a glove. “You are so tight,” he murmured. “I can’t wait to feel you around my cock.”

  Raven threw her head back in protest. “No. This can’t be happening.” She tried to push him away but Yuri wouldn’t go. His fingers surged deeper inside her instead.

  His mouth rose up to cover hers again, and his tongue plunged deep inside her. His tongue and fingers worked together plunging in and out of her body. Raven moaned and panted breathlessly. Her body arched and tightened as she gasped.

  Yuri felt her break, felt the warm flood of her juices coat his fingers. He couldn’t stop them from surging in and out of her again and again.

  She finally pulled away from his mouth. “No more, please no more,” she whimpered.

  He backed off a little and looked down into her eyes. “That, my sweet, was just the beginning.”

  Raven pushed against his chest but before he moved away from her completely he ground his hard cock into her damp core. He saw her eyes grow huge in her face as she realized its girth.

  Raven loosened her legs from his waist and slid down the wall. Her left shoe was missing and she stumbled a moment to recover her balance.

  Yuri picked up her shoe and smiled slightly as he slipped it back on her foot.

  Raven smoothed her skirt down and turned to stare out the window. The air around them was heavy with her scent and warm color flooded her cheeks. From the corner of her eye she saw Yuri raise his fingers to his nose and inhale, then he slipped his fingers into his mouth and licked off the stickiness that was all her. “Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?” he murmured into her ear as he stood behind her.

  Raven closed her eyes and had to brace herself. “No.”

  He growled slightly in her ear. “Why are you being so stubborn?”

  “The man in that photo could be anyone,” she insisted.

  Yuri moved away and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Yet, the day manager readily identified him as your brother. Why would she do that?”

  Raven turned to face him. “My brother has only been here once that I know of, how could she identify him after only one meeting?”

  Yuri stopped his pacing and turned wide eyes to her when something suddenly occurred to him. “You’re protecting him,” he stated. “Why would he need such a thing? You didn’t even hesitate to do this. What are you protecting him from? I’m not going to hurt him. I simply want to talk to him.”

  Raven scoffed and shook her head. “You said it yourself, you represent the Russian Bratva here in America. Anytime you want to talk to someone it isn’t a good thing.”

  “I also told you I do not harm women and innocents.” He shrugged. “If your brother is innocent he has nothing to worry about.”

  “And if he is a thief? Or you determine he is a thief? Then what?” she argued. “My brother may or may not be an innocent and I will not take the chance that you would do more than just talk to him. I will not allow him to b
e hurt.”

  “Not even to save yourself?” he asked her gently.

  “Not even then,” she stated firmly.

  The silence between them was broken by a simple knock on the door. When Yuri called out the door opened and Stephanou came in bearing a lunch tray. He set the tray on Yuri’s desk and turned to glance at his boss. His nose wrinkled as the scent of recent activities hit his nostrils. He snapped his eyes toward her, then slowly turned to Yuri but was wise enough not to say anything. Instead, he marched over to the door and slammed it shut behind him.

  Raven’s cheeks flooded with color and Yuri chuckled slightly as he walked over to his desk. Grabbing one of the plates, he sat down in his chair and began eating his sandwich. After a few minutes, he called out to her, “Come and eat something.”

  “I’m not hungry.” She turned her back to him.

  “Nonsense, you have to eat.” Yuri took another bite of his sandwich.

  Raven ignored him. Staring out the window overlooking the courtyard she caught sight of a big long black limo pulling up to the front door. Curiously, she watched as the back door opened and she saw a big man get out. When he turned, she gasped slightly at the sight of his face.

  She paled as she recognized the structure of his facial features. The straight line of his eyebrows, the curve of his nose. The wide set eyes and the strong curve of his jaw. His dark hair was turning silver and for a moment, she caught his dark eyes, then he turned away from her view.

  Yuri noted the change in her stance and joined her at the window. When he looked out, he cursed under his breath and whispered a name, “Nikoli.”

  A moment later his phone rang and when he answered it, he spoke his native language as he responded to the summons. A moment later, the door opened again and the huge man from the limo came into the office.