Page 73 of The Bratva's Hostage Bride

I leave, and Monty opens the car door for me. He and another guard, Kristoph, get in the front, and with that, we’re on our way to Danil’s estate. Kervyn must be there visiting Penny and Samuel. I’m sure he’s missing them a lot, but it’s best to stay separate until we can neutralize the Pacheco’s. That way, if something happens to Kervyn, Samuel is safe. And if something happens to Sam, Kervyn is safe to make another heir.

It’s sick to think about, but if we don’t do it like that, there could be a power vacuum, and we could lose everything.

It doesn’t take long to reach Danil’s estate, and when there, the guards escort me inside. Kervyn is in the living room with Samuel on his lap, the toddler playing with a toy car.

Kervyn looks up when I walk in, and then he looks at Penny. “This won’t take long.”

She leans down to take Samuel and gives Kervyn a deep kiss, which they hold for a moment. That’s what I want—that kind of love.

Penny carries Samuel out of the room just as Danil and Arseny walk in.

“Sit, everyone,” Kervyn says but stands himself. It’s a habit; our father always did that. We all sit down, and Kervyn looks out the window.

“We need to figure out what the Pacheco’s want with Luka’s casino.”

“Maybe we can end this madness and sell it to them,” Danil suggests.

“Not after they tried to murder my child,” Kervyn growls. “I’ll give into them over my dead body. I want to know why they want it so badly. What is it about that casino that we don’t know?”

“When we bought it, it was abandoned. We gutted it and redid everything. I can’t imagine what they would want from it that another casino cannot give them,” Danil explains.

“It doesn’t matter though,” I say. “We should strike while the iron is hot and hit back with our own forces. If we don’t strike back, we look weak.”

“Agreed,” Arseny chimes in. We can’t afford to look weak. They’ve hit us several times, and we have yet to respond on the offense rather than the defense.”

“They took Hannah. They took me. They’ve shot up my casino twice and hit numerous smaller locations. Kervyn, you must see…”

“War is not the answer,” Kervyn says, clasping his hands behind his back. “I want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but it might come to it that I can’t take that stance for much longer.”

“There’s a rat,” I say, and everyone looks at me. “Only Hannah, me, Penny, and Asher knew about the baby, and someone told the Pachecos. It means someone on our staff or at the clinic overheard and passed on the information. Perhaps we should play the offense and find the rat first.”

Kervyn looks at Arseny. “Go. Figure out who this is and bring them to me. I want to deal with this swiftly. We can’t have someone feeding information about our personal lives to our enemies.”

“I’ll go with him,” Danil stands. “We can split up and cover more ground.”

“Take Wynter as well,” Kervyn advises.

My two brothers leave, and I look up at Kervyn. “What about me?”

“How is Hannah? Is she still in bed?” he asks.

“She got up this morning and had breakfast with me. It was a relief, but I don’t know what else to do. I am terrified of losing her, and I want to make her feel safe and secure, but I’m scared of being a father myself. I’m of no use.”

Kervyn sits beside me now and leans his elbows on his legs, bringing him forward and close to me. “You are an amazing uncle, and being a father isn’t far from that, Luka. It’s just a more intense love.”

“How do you know I’m going to be able to do this?” I ask.

“Why don’t you come to Mama’s house tonight for dinner? Bring Hannah if you can. You can watch Samuel for an hour while Penny and I go for a walk around the estate.”

I nod slowly. “You’re not scared I’ll hurt him?”

“Luka, you love Samuel like he’s your own. I know you won’t hurt him, and I know you wouldn’t hurt me.” Kervyn puts a hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “It’s easier than it looks. Love is easier than it looks. Even with its ups and downs.”

I sigh and nod. “I don’t know if Hannah even loves me. Not after everything she’s been through because of me.”

“She’s still the mother of your child, so regardless of whether she loves you or not, you should treat her properly and take care of her and your child.”

“Of course.” I look up into his intense eyes. “Of course I will.”

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