Page 19 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

“You wouldn’t hit me,” she says defiantly.

“I wouldn’t, but there are things worse than being hit.” I take the contract back. “I’ll send a copy over to you. If you’ll excuse me, I have to see Kervyn about something. I’ll come by say… Tuesday to start moving things.”

She nods sadly, and I gesture to the door. “I’ll walk you out.”

I follow her to her car and open the door for her. I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Drive safely, love.”

She glares at me before she leaves.

I message my brothers to meet me at the club and call Renat to get the car. In no time, I’m outside my brother's club, walking inside.

I’m surprised there’s a group of men there, all men I know.

“Surprise,” Luka says, holding his arms out.

“What is this?” I ask with a frown.

“We threw together a last-minute bachelor party. Basically, we’re going to get drunk.” Arseny smiles and hands me a whiskey.

I take the whiskey and purse my lips. “I have business with Kervyn.”

“Yeah, yeah… You can do that and drink. Everyone, Danil’s here.” Luka raises his voice, and everyone turns to greet me. It takes the better part of twenty minutes to wade through the crowd until I reach the VIP section and see Kervyn sitting there with a drink in hand.

I move away from the crowd and go down to sit with him. “Not in the party mood?” I ask, sipping my whiskey.

“Will be once we finish here. I wanted to talk to you about this mess with Asher.” He looks at me calmly.

“You aren’t supposed to meddle in my affairs, Kervyn,” I say carefully but sternly.

“I’m not meddling. I won’t tell you to stop or try to get her out of the contract, no matter how much I love Penny.” He sips his whiskey. “I just want to know if you think this a good idea. Bringing her into the family.”

“What about Penny? Was she a good idea?” I ask, looking at my older brother.

He scoffs. “I got her pregnant. That’s different. She was carrying my heir.”

“And I want Asher to carry mine.”

“I’ve noticed how you look at her when she’s around or when we go out. I’ve noticed how your eyes track her as she crosses a room. You think you’ve been subtle when, in reality, everyone else is just blind.” He downs his whiskey and flags the waitress. “I won’t meddle in your affairs, Danil, but so help me, God, if you hurt her and I find out, we’ll be at odds.”

I take the threat that he’s given. I know he’s speaking out of concern because of Penny’s worry, even though he shouldn’t be saying anything. I down my whiskey and hand the waitress my glass. “Are you at least getting drunk with me for this so-called bachelor’s party?”

“Who do you think ordered strippers for all the guys?” Kervyn answers with a chuckle.

“My strippers? I hope you paid for them. Although I don’t want a dance, I’m a kept man now.” I nod to the waitress when she brings me another glass of whiskey.

“Same, brother, same.” Kervyn takes his glass.

We both get up and join our brothers, who are mingling in the crowd. The men there jostle for Kervyn’s attention the most, then mine. They want to curry favor with us so that we will ‘bless’ them when they need help.

It’s all just a game of checkers if you ask me. It’s all about who moves their pieces to the best spot on the board and which pieces are being backed by other pieces.

At first, it’s shots of vodka, then potency, followed quickly by absinthe. By the time we’ve come back round to shots of whiskey and orange juice, my eyes are swimming in my head, and I can barely think straight. I know enough to keep the strippers off me. Kervyn and I end up having a serious conversation about family bonds while the others get their dances.

Soon enough, I feel heavy hands guiding me and I glance up to see Renat helping me into the car.

I wake up in bed and groan. I never get hangovers, but last night was the first time I’d drunk that much in a long time. I normally keep a level head, but absinthe… That shit is from the devil, especially when you drink it with Kervyn because the man doesn’t know how to say no.

The door opens, and Claire comes in carrying a tray of what smells like a horribly greasy breakfast. She sets the tray on the bed. There are greasy fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, and a toasted cheese sandwich. There is a glass of soda, the best thing for a hangover, a glass of water and some headache tablets. I take the pills first with the water, and Claire takes the glass from me.

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