Grimm by Harley Wylde

Author:Harley Wylde [Wylde, Harley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIN 010492-03409
Publisher: Changeling Press LLC
Published: 2022-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Nikolai twisted his coffee cup on the table in front of him, appearing to be lost in thought. But I had a feeling he was merely deciding how much to tell us, and in what order. Or weighing his options. If he really could lose his life for telling us anything, then it wouldn’t surprise me if he backed out of spilling secrets to us. In his position, I’d probably do the same. He’d gotten caught between blood family and the Bratva, which had to be uncomfortable to say the least.

“The higher-ups have known for a while that your father was into some shady stuff, Oksana. He implied you and your mother helped lure in women, whom he then sold either to private buyers or brothels in multiple countries. Human trafficking isn’t exactly an oddity in our world, but he overstepped.” Nikolai rubbed at his forehead. “Viktor had a particular plan he wanted to execute for dealing with him, but the Vor stepped in.”

“I don’t understand,” Oksana said.

She might not, but I was starting to. Not only did they want to take out her father, but Feliks had been left in charge for a reason. He’d been tested. I assumed, at any rate. From what I’d heard, the man was a monster. Were they wondering how far he’d be willing to go? Did they want him to do horrific things? My past experience with them told me yes, that’s exactly what they’d wanted. Nikolai confirmed it with his next statement.

“Raina smoothed Feliks’ rough edges, and made him more human,” Nikolai said. “The Vor didn’t trust the change would be permanent. He needed to know if the darkness inside Feliks still lingered, for multiple reasons. But first and foremost, he’s always done the dirty work.”

“What kind?” I asked.

“If someone steps out of line and their wife or daughters are used to drive home the point, then Feliks would be the one to step in. He’d rape them in front of the man who’d stepped out of line. Threaten to put them in the brothels. In some cases, he’s tortured them.” Nikolai seemed to age before my eyes. “He had to harden his heart. No one could survive doing such things, unless they were truly evil. Then he met Raina. He tried to keep her and go through with a political marriage.”

“Until Raina got into trouble?” Oksana asked.

It seemed my wife knew quite a bit about these men. Would they consider her a liability? I worried they’d never leave her alone. I’d fight them all, take down as much of the organization as I could, if it meant keeping her by my side. But I wasn’t invincible, and I didn’t have nearly enough resources to make a big enough dent that we wouldn’t be looking over our shoulders the rest of our lives.

Nikolai nodded. “Correct. He realized he couldn’t live without her. Viktor had forbidden him from keeping Raina as his mistress if he followed through with the marriage to another woman. It was a test, but not one the Vor sanctioned.

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