Page 38 of Brutal Bratva Boss

I cock a brow. Okay, so maybe my lovely wife is not fitting in as well as I had originally thought. Or maybe she’s broken. Either that or batshit crazy. Because she looks as if she is just about ready to murder me in my sleep, and I have no idea what the reason is.

My eyes drop to her stomach. It could just be the pregnancy hormones. That is most certainly a possibility.

Fingers snap in front of my face. “Earth to Theo,” Kat drawls.

My eyes lift to hers. “What seems to be the problem, princess?”

“Don’t you princess me,” she scoffs. “Where do I start?”

Kat holds up both hands, six of her fingers raised. “Who the hell needs six guards, Theo? Six!”

Ah, now I know what this is about. This morning Kat had wanted to go and do some shopping, and we had a small argument about how many guards she would need. After everything that happened with her father, I refuse to take any chances. She thought three was too many and fought me on it. So, I sent two in the SUV with her and four in another SUV whose job it was to trail them. Apparently, they did not do such a good job of staying incognito. But I will not apologize for trying to keep my wife and my child safe.

I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “The wife of the head of the Bratva, that’s who.”

“And that means that I can’t have some space or privacy? That I need an entourage to head into town for a short while? Is all of this really necessary?” she asks.

“Is it necessary to have contingencies in place for if something goes wrong? The answer to that is yes. Without a doubt.”

“Is that why Gavriil followed me into the lingerie store? As a contingency for my safety?” Kat waves a hand to where Gavriil has been hunched over in the doorway.

I look at Gavriil, who shakes his head slightly as he shrugs his shoulders. Seems like the guy has been through the shitter today.

I nod. “I gave Gavriil instructions to stay by your side no matter what. I trust him with my life, and I had hoped that you would come to do the same.”

“But seriously, Theo? The lingerie store? What the hell did you think would happen in there? That someone would assault me in the bralette aisle?”

I try to cover the chuckle that slips out by coughing into my fist.

Kat’s eyes go wide, and she pins me with a look. “Don’t you dare laugh. This is a serious conversation, Theo. I can’t deal with having all this testosterone around me all the time.” She turns to Gavriil and offers him an apologetic smile. “No offense, Gavriil; you’re nice enough.”

Gavriil gives a few small nods in rapid succession and then blushes. My second in charge who has made many a man tremble just by looking at them and who barely says five words on a good day actually blushes. My wife already has him wrapped around her finger. It is no surprise; it did not take long with me either.

“Did you not enjoy your shopping?”

My question catches Kat off guard. She blinks a few times. “What?”

“Did you enjoy your shopping?” I ask again. “Did you find anything to your liking?”

Kat sighs. “Yes, I did. I found quite a few things for the baby as well.”

Standing, I walk around the desk so I can pull her against my chest. “You don’t seem too happy about it, though.”

Kat melts into me for a brief moment, her palms flat against my chest. Her back rises and falls a few times with her breathing before she pulls back to look up at me. “I am happy about it. I’m sorry, it’s just a lot to get used to.”

“What is?” I ask.

“Constantly being watched,” she says. “I feel like I never have any privacy or even a moment to myself. There are cameras all over the property, even more than there were when I first got here.”

“Those were installed for your protection.”

It is true. Double the amount of security cameras are now scattered strategically around the property. After how close Igor was able to get without getting caught, I made sure there are no longer any blind spots anywhere on the premises. Sure, my men now have more screens to monitor, but that is a trade-off I will happily make if it means Kat is safer.

Kat shakes her head. “But that also means that I can’t move around the property without feeling like I’m being watched. Every time I go to the pool, I wonder if they’re watching me strip down to my bathing suit.”

She has a point. I need to have a word with my men to make sure they understand that anyone whose eyes linger a little too long on Kat will be castrated without a second thought. Not that I worry too much about any of them doing that; they are all loyal and have been with me for a while, but still.

I grip her shoulders and bring my face down so it is level with hers. “Princess, it’s for your safety. I understand you may feel as though it’s too much, but nothing is too much for me when making sure you and my child are safe.”

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