Page 42 of The Bratva's Hostage Bride

“Luka told me you run a podcast,” Arseny says. “About serial killers.”

I feel shy, and I just simply give a small nod.

Luka turns to me. “Go on. Tell them what you’re researching at the moment.”

“No, I don’t think anyone wants to hear about Jeffery Dahmer at the dinner table.”

“He was a funny one,” Mama Milov says. “He was a foolish, brazen one at that.”

“You know about him?” I ask.

Mama Milov smiles. “I like true crime. Refreshing, isn’t it? It makes one think. So, please, dear, tell us some facts.”

I feel a little more confident as we start to speak about Dahmer and then my podcast in general. The whole family seems to accept this is what I do, even Kervyn.

This is not how things normally go. Usually, I’m ignored. I’m the weird one. The odd one out.

Here, I seem to be the sole focus right now, and I feel like they do this to each other. Support each other.

Luka takes my hand and squeezes it, smiling at me.

I smile back.

Chapter 14 - Luka

By the end of the evening, I know that dinner at my mother's house, has been an absolute success and everyone likes Hannah. This will help in my quest to woo her over. I was most surprised that Kervyn liked her. He warmed up to her very quickly. Probably because she is quiet like him, he sees a kindred spirit.

I hold Hannah’s hand while we walk to my car and open the door for her. “Here you go, my lady.”

“Thank you, sir,” she says with a grin. She climbs in, and I reach down and buckle her into her seat.

I go around, climb into the driver's seat, and buckle in before I start driving us back home.

“Your family is really nice,” she says. “It’s hard to imagine the shady things they do when they are so normal at a family dinner.”

“We aren’t allowed to discuss family business at the dinner table, that’s why. My father always had a hard and fast rule in place, and Kervyn simply carried it on.”

“That’s nice though. To have a safe space where everything is more positive.” She sighs quietly. “I think I’m too tired to play with my sound equipment tonight. I might turn in and just get some rest.”

“You know, we can sleep in the same bed,” I blurt out. “I mean, it doesn’t have to mean we’re having sex. Just, I don’t know, lie with each other and cuddle.”

She looks a bit flustered and opens and closes her mouth several times as though she keeps losing her train of thought.

“No obligation,” I add. “It might just be nice.”

There’s a silence that falls in the car before Hannah says softly, “Okay. That’s fine.”

I smile broadly. “Thank you.”

I park the car, and we walk to the house, hand in hand, and only separate when we reach her room.

“I’ll change, and then we can get comfy,” she says. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me softly. “Cuddling sounds like fun.”

I leave her to change into my boxers and brush my teeth. I sit on the bed, waiting for her. She makes me nervous. More nervous than I’ve ever felt with a woman. This is unlike me. No wonder no one knows what to do with me.

I hear soft footsteps and look up as Hannah walks in, dressed in her cute little sleeping shorts and vest, her hair freshly braided gently down the back.

I flip the duvet over and climb into my side of the bed. Hannah comes over and climbs into hers. We sit there for a moment, just kind of glancing at each other before I shift to lie down. “Spoon?” I ask.

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