Seducing the Badman (Russian Bratva #2) by Hayley Faiman Page A

before he pulls the trigger. I watch in shock as a small red dot forms on Erik’s forehead. Then he falls to the ground in a heap. I try not to think about the rest of the room, or the fact that his brains probably exploded all over Radimir’s lovely carpet. I keep my eyes focused on Radimir, and he turns to focus on me.
    “Are you all right?” Radimir’s eyes go to mine and I stand and walk over to him.
    “I am fine, Radimir. I am all right,” I say, trying not to stare at the slumped form on the floor that was once Erik.
    Radimir wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into him tightly , his face just inches from mine, his blue eyes dark and menacing. If I were ever to fear him, it would be in this moment—but all I can do is adore him, even though he has killed a man right in front of me. He is my protector, frightening to the world but a safe place for me to curl into. I know in this exactly moment, he will always keep me safe.
    “He comes in here, disrespectful, sees you bare, and falls to his knees like a pussy at the first thought of pain? He would have been a liability. He would have been a rat and a snitch,” he tells me, as if to explain his actions. He has no need to explain himself to me. I didn’t care much for Erik to begin with.
    I cup his rough cheeks in my hands and search his eyes, showing him that I am not angry.
    “I realize this, Radimir. You do not need to explain it to me,” I brush my lips over his and take his hand in mine, leading him to our guest, stepping over Erik’s body.
    I almost spit on the slumped, still form for the lewd comment he made to me only days ago, but I don’t. I cannot turn into my father.
    “Sergei, I need to call a cleanup crew. Can you hold for just a moment?” Radimir asks as a knock sounds on the door.
    “No need. I heard the scuffle, that is the crew,” Sergei informs him. They act as though this is normal and an everyday occurrence. It probably is .
    Radimir nods and lets the men in. They ignore us and go right to the office.
    “We have problems. Yakov’s woman has disappeared. He has lost her. We do not know if she was taken or has simply taken off. She knows too much, if she has just taken off,” Sergei announces.
    I don’t know who they are talking about. I have never met the woman. As far as I knew, Yakov had no single woman he called his own. I knew that he had been busy with some woman that Gregori had in his care before they eliminated him. I wonder if this could be her?
    “Could this be retaliation from Ivan?” Radimir asks. I gasp, but Sergei shakes his head.
    “We know nothing, Radimir. Absolutely nothing. No ransom demands, no blackmailing. We will have to dig into the underbelly, even farther than we currently reside,” Sergei says with a grimace. Radimir shivers and looks down at me, his eyes unfocused and cloudy.
    “Let us go, then, and meet. We will need a good team.” Radimir suggests. Sergei nods in agreement.
    “The team will be you, me, Pasha, Alex, Maxim and Yakov.”
    “The best, Sergei; we will find her quickly, then,” Radimir offers.
    Radimir and I rush upstairs to quickly shower and change our clothes. Then, the three of us walk out of the apartment to let the crew cleanup the Erik mess. Without a word, we pile into Sergei’s luxury car. The driver pulls out onto the street and takes us the familiar route to Maxim’s home.
    “We will find her, kotik ,” Radimir says, holding my hand in his. The move is meant to comfort me, but his hands are like ice. He is scared, and that is not comforting at all.
    When a man with the amount of power that Radimir has is fearful, that means turmoil, a shift of balance; and nothing good can come from that.

 
    R ADIMIR KNOCKS SOFTLY ON the apartment door of Maxim and Haleigh. I am surprised when a beautiful, rough looking man answers the door and lets us walk right inside. Immediately, I look around for our friends, but my eyes clash with Yakov’s.
    I should be angry at him,