Page 26 of Brutal Bratva Boss

Kat shakes her head. “Do you love me?”

Her question catches me off guard. “What?”

“Do you love me?” she repeats.

When I remain silent, she sighs.

“If you have come to hold any form of love for me in the time we have shared, you will agree to tell my father about us. Sooner rather than later.”

“Will I now?” I scoff.

The look Kat gives me is somewhere between distraught and murderous, almost as though I was working on her last nerve. The feeling is mutual.

“This is happening one way or another, and whether you like it or not. You might as well be in control of it.”

“Do not presume to tell me what I—”

She holds up a hand, cutting me off as she struggles to maintain her composure. “I am not saying he needs to know about the baby, but he needs to hear about the marriage. From us. We need to display a united front. And we need to get ahead of this, or it could all blow up in our face.”

I snicker. “How do you figure that, princess?”

“Do you really want to go through each day just waiting for the other shoe to drop? And how would that look to rival families? Do you think it would reflect well on the organization if word got out that someone had some sort of power over you?” Kat tips her head to the side, her gaze firm. “It would only be a matter of time before someone got the notion that they could take your place.”

She takes my hand in hers, uncurling my fist and laying my palm on her stomach. “It’s not just you and me; we can’t just do as we please for the sake of entertainment. We have a responsibility to this child. To make sure they can come into this world without this danger hanging over their heads. The best way to do that is by taking control of this situation and by making sure we can control the narrative. That would be better than if my father had time to create his own narrative in his mind.”

Kat makes some good points. These are all things that would be mentioned if I had decided to loop my brothers in with the most recent developments. Despite how her suggestion first irritated me, one side of my mouth now lifts. At the moment, she sounds a lot like Kiril. Diplomatic. As much as I hate to admit it, she makes a good argument.

Even though I had planned on drawing it out until I could bring Igor down in the most spectacular way—something like screwing with his operations and unraveling them from the inside, as well as upsetting his clientele enough that he would be forced to flee the country—it would appear I do not have the luxury of time anymore. There is no longer enough time to get everything in place for him to fail beyond redemption.

If I play my cards right, I could still use the news of the marriage to my advantage while keeping Kat out of harm's way. And seeing Igor’s face when I tell him I have legally claimed his precious princess would be priceless. The news of our child is something I do not plan on sharing, though. Not many people know about Kat’s pregnancy, and I plan on keeping it that way. Dubrovs protect their own.

I give Kat a stiff nod. “Fine. I will put the plans in motion first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you,” she says before she stifles a yawn.

I chuckle. Clearly, the excitement of the day has worn off and she is no longer riding the high of her stress.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” I place a hand on her lower back to direct her.

Kat waves a hand, fighting a losing battle as she tries and fails to suppress another yawn. “No, I’m fine, really.”

She squeals when I scoop her up, and her arms loop around my neck. “Stop being so stubborn. We just talked about the importance of looking after the little one. That includes making sure you get enough rest.”

To my surprise, Kat nestles herself into my chest, sighing contently as she relaxes in my arms. By the time I reach the top of the stairs, she is breathing deeply, clearly having dozed off.

It might be how peaceful and calm she is as I carry her, or the events of the day that upset her so much, that spur my need to make sure she feels protected. Whatever the reason, instead of depositing her in her own bed as I normally would, I bypass her room and head straight for mine. After pulling back the dark sheets, I gently place her on one side of the bed, pulling up the covers and tucking them around her shoulders. I strip down to my underwear, sliding into the other side of the bed and pulling Kat closer to tuck her against my side. Still asleep, she wraps a slim arm around my waist, her cheek resting on my chest.

In that moment a contentment I have never felt rolls through me, letting me drift off into a peaceful sleep deeper than I have experienced in the last decade. In fact, the only time I wake is the next morning, when sunlight is streaming in through the curtains.

Chapter 13 - Kat

One would think living in a house with the head of a powerful organization would mean you would have peace of mind. That very little would cause unrest or make you wonder if it is all really worth it. In reality, it is quite the opposite.

The note threatening to expose my relationship with Theo proves that. Unfortunately, us getting hitched seems to have given his rivals something to hold over his head, and in turn, mine. Even though we are not sure how they found out, in this world we are a part of, news sometimes travels. Which means it is only a matter of time before my father finds out the truth.

I tried to forget about the threats from my father and the unknown person. I tried to focus on other things like getting the nursery ready. I even started looking into decorating other rooms in the house. Some changes have already been made in the living room, and I plan on moving into the conservatory next. I tried to convince Theo to let me redecorate his sterile office, but that did not go as well as I had hoped. He refused because he wanted to keep his space the way it was, which led to an argument because my pregnancy hormones have made me unreasonable. It ended with me bent over his desk and multiple orgasms. Not quite the result I would have put my money on with Theo being upset, although the pent-up frustration did make it extra enjoyable.

Sated and slightly delirious, we lay on the sofa in his office afterward and shared more details about our pasts and childhoods. We also talked about the threats, as much as neither one of us wanted to. Theo seems to have some ideas as to who the mystery sender could be. He shared his thoughts with me, and although I do not know any of the names he mentioned, the fact that he shared them with me gave me a warm feeling inside.

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