Page 33 of The Bratva King's Claimed Bride

Igor must have gone to another business meeting. Although I would have thought he would have wanted to shower first.

Oh well, that’s his problem, not mine. I’m not walking around the resort smelling of sex.

I open the suite door and peek down the hallway. There are guards on either side, standing at the ends of the hallway. I want to explore the resort, but I don’t see Alfie, and I’m not sure if any other guard will take me.

I wander to the right, walking down toward the two men joking at the end of the hallway. When they see me, they fall silent.

“Have you seen my husband?” I ask since I’m not sure they’ll respond to much else.

“He’s in a meeting, ma’am. He said you are welcome to explore this floor until a family member is ready to escort you around the resort.”

I sigh and walk back up the hallway. There’s another hallway to the right, and I take it. It leads out into an open dining space. Yvonne is sitting there, reading a newspaper. She looks up as I walk in.

“You caused quite the stir,” she comments. “You do know how to get into trouble.”

“Did Matvey moan to you?” I ask curiously, sitting next to her.

“He moaned to everyone. It’s what he does. He whines and kills people. Those are his functions.” Yvonne sets the paper down. “Did Igor ditch you here on the Sidorov floor?”

“The floor is for the family members?” I ask.

“Naturally,” Yvonne says. “My room isn’t far from yours.”

I blush slightly, wondering if she heard Igor and I having sex. She watches me for a moment and smiles. “I have figured out something you can do for me to earn my forgiveness and company while we’re here.”

I lean forward. “What is it?”

“I have a business deal I need to be taken care of. I hear that you’re a top real estate agent. If you help me secure this deal, I will help you learn the ropes of the family. “

“And you’ll forgive me for everything?” I ask.

“Everything,” she says. “We’ll start over.”

I nod. “Okay, how soon can I see the deal?”

“Right now, though, you’ll have to think on your feet because we’re going directly to the meeting.” Yvonne stands, and I follow suit.

We walk down the hallway, and I pause at the guards. She turns to me. “You’re with me. They’ll let you come down to the business floor. They’ll just follow us.”

I nod and follow Yvonne into the elevator before the guards slide past us and stand behind us as the elevator descends.

Guards are in all the hallways. I’m not free to move around, not even at the resort my husband controls.

We step off at ground level, and Yvonne leads me to a restaurant. A few families are dining here, and she leads me over to one of the more private tables. She hands me a folder, and I sit down and go through it. This is a straight real estate deal. She just needs me to negotiate the best possible deal.

“When will the sellers be here?” I ask quickly.

“They just walked in with Igor and Matvey,” Yvonne whispers with a smile.

I stand up, folder in hand, and plaster a smile on my face. “Gentlemen,” I say as they approach the table.

Igor looks at Yvonne, who says something to him in Russian before she turns to the severe-looking Mediterranean men before us. “This is our real estate agent. She’s going to be helping facilitate the deal.”

I hold my hand out. “Arina Maia.”

I shake both their hands firmly before we all sit down. A waitress comes to the table, and I instantly take charge. “Red wine, best we have, and bring some California lobster rolls for the table.”

The men glance at each other, and the older one introduces himself. “I am Matthew. The resort we are looking at today belongs to my family and has been for many years. I’m moving back to Greece and don’t want to be burdened with running the resort, but I also don’t want to be swindled on a bad deal.”

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