Page 21 of The Bratva's Innocent Bride

“Boris,” Roman says, “have you heard from Kuz about that shipment of—”

“Careful what you say, brother,” Viktor says, cutting him off and shooting a glare right at Fiona. “Remember what father always said. Information is—”

“Yeah, yeah, information is the sharpest weapon,” Roman says, rolling his eyes. “It’s just us here, Die.”

“Have you tried this?” Anton asks, leaning forward and putting some sauce on Fiona’s plate. “It’s scrumptious with the meat.”

“Oh—yes, I’ll try it,” Fiona says, scooping it onto her plate.

“The shipment came in yesterday,” I say, taking a bite.

“Well, did Kuz say—”

“Maybe we should just keep the business away from the table,” Viktor says, interrupting Roman again. Roman turns, glaring at him.

“You said you’re in business school?” Anton asks, cutting his meat and taking a bite, all without breaking his eye contact with Fiona. “What courses are you taking? I minored in business.”

“Oh,” she says, “well, I’m not in class right now since it’s summer break, but in the fall, I’m taking Databases and Data Analytics and Intro to Managerial Finance.”

“You haven’t taken Managerial Finance yet?” Anton asks, his eyebrows shooting up. “How are you managing your other finance classes?”

“Well—” Fiona says when Viktor cuts Roman off again, claiming he’s revealing too much information. I watch as her face clears, and she sets her fork and knife down on the plate loudly, making Anton jump. “Viktor,” Fiona says, turning to the man and cocking her head at him. “When working for the Allards, I got to re-name files. I ran for coffee. I was even given the huge task of cleaning the bathroom when the janitorial staff walked out. Surprise—I got a fucking staph infection from that little adventure. I wasn’t privy to sensitive information. I had no idea what the hell James Allard was up to, and I certainly don’t intend to ever go back to that job.”

“That’s not to say you might sell our information,” Viktor says, jabbing his butter knife in her direction, “as retaliation for the kidnapping.”

“Are you kidding?” Fiona laughs, putting her hand to her mouth. “Do you think I would have allowed myself to be kidnapped if I didn’t want it?”

“Are you saying…” Anya asks slowly, looking up at her with wide eyes, “That you wanted to be kidnapped?”

“Yes—no. I don’t know!” Fiona says. “But I’m telling you this—the only reason I’m standing here now is because I want to be.”

“Well,” I say, rolling my eyes. It’s not like my security efforts are poor.

“The window in the west hallway has a rusted bolt,” Fiona says, “there’s a secret tunnel that leads out of the building and East—I’m assuming toward the city. Three motorcycles are in the outbuildings, and the keys are literally hanging on the opposite wall. Every single one of your guards is overworked and falls asleep around two in the morning, and if they’re not asleep, they’re suffering from sleep deprivation, which means their dumb little brains are working slowly. The chef is afraid of mice and will leave the kitchen immediately if she sees one—I happen to have a mouse in the desk drawer of your room to set loose in there if I want to go out the kitchen door.”

“Holy shit,” Anya says, her mouth opens in a smile as she looks at Fiona. Her head whips around to me, “Where the hell did you find her, brother? She’s amazing! She’s like one of us!”

“She is not one of us,” Viktor says, raising his voice and standing from his chair, favoring his good leg.

“Sit down,” I say, shooting him a look. Viktor sits, but Fiona doesn’t stop there, her chest heaving. I’m still trying to remember everything she said about escaping so I can address all those issues before she exploits them.

“I may not be one of you,” Fiona breathes, “but I sure as shit am not with the Allard’s. So, you should watch your fucking tone when you talk to me—or about me—or I’ll put a knife in your other thigh.”

The dining room is quiet for a long moment as the two of them stare at one another, and I wonder if I’m going to have to break up a fight between them. I’ll have to call Kervyn and see if his experience was anything like this—bringing Fiona into my home has been far more work than I ever thought possible.

Finally, Viktor lets out a low laugh, shaking his head.

“I have never met a woman like you before,” he mutters, still shaking his head as he takes another bite of his meal.

“Well,” Fiona says, taking a deep breath and looking around at all of us. “I can’t exactly say I’ve been abducted into a crime family before, so I guess it’s first time all around, huh?”

Anya laughs, and Anton raises his glass in a toast. I raise my glass, too, and pretty soon, we’re all laughing, clinking our glasses together merrily.

***

“I can’t believe you spoke to Viktor like that,” I said. I sent Ivan home and decided to walk Fiona back to the house myself.

“I get the feeling people don’t usually stand up to him,” Fiona says, glancing up at me, and when the moonlight shines on her face, I want to reach down and rub my thumb over her cheekbones, to feel the smooth skin there, but I hold back.

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