Page 18 of Hating the Bratva

Alek

A smile stays permanently on my face as I watch the stylist I’ve hired hand Delaney clothing through the dressing room door. Each time, she makes a puking sound before handing it back. She’s stubborn and childish, but I expect nothing else. She’ll marry Ivan at the end of this, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to make it easy on anybody involved—including me. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see Gavril’s name flash across the screen. Fuck.

“Hello?” I say, taking a step away from the dressing room so I’m out of earshot.

“You have Delaney?” Gavril asks. Denis must have told him. After I left Delaney this morning, Denis and I had a long talk. It didn’t go anywhere. It’s not like he has any real pull regarding who his daughter will marry, but it’s evident that he prefers me over Ivan. I don’t blame him.

“Yes.”

There was silence for a moment as I imagine Gavril trying to reel in his temper. He’s cool-headed, and it’s one of the things that makes him a good Pakhan, but that flip can switch if he’s provoked.

“Does Ivan know?” Gavril settles on saying.

I wander through the clothes racks, not paying much attention to anything in particular. “Not yet.”

“Are you trying to start a fight?”

I scoff. “Ivan doesn’t give a damn. I plan on talking to him after the meeting tomorrow.”

“Yeah, do that. And Alek?”

“Huh?”

“If you try to pull something over on me, we’ll have problems. My decision is final; she’s marrying Ivan.” He hangs up, and I shove my phone back into the pocket of my jeans. Gavril and I usually get along. I think he could be more heavy-handed, but it’s rare that I genuinely disagree with him on something, and in the past, when I have opposed him, he’s usually been able to get me to see his side of things. But not this time. This time, he’s wrong. The Miami brotherhood isn’t going to give a damn about Ivan’s marriage, and I hate the thought of Delaney being used as a pawn in all of this.

I wander back to the dressing room area just as Delaney steps out. She’s wearing tight skinny jeans and a blouse that hugs the small curves of her petite body. It’s not something she’d normally wear, but it’s casual enough. Her dark hair is pulled up in a loose bun at the top of her head. The color of the blouse highlights the freckles across the bridge of her noise.

“This is the best I’m going to be able to do. I have to sit in a classroom for at least four hours a day.”

The stylist looks at me as if asking permission. Delaney glares at him.

I nod my head once.

The man claps his hands together. “Perfect. Let me find some more options in a similar style, and we can work from there.”

She rolls her eyes and retreats back to the dressing room, but not before I get a good look at her ass.

By the time we’re finished, I’m holding two handfuls of bags. The cashier reads off the price, and I take my wallet out of my pocket. Delaney bites down on her lower lip as I pull out my card.

“What?” I ask as I hand the card over.

“Should you be buying all this shit for me? I mean, shouldn’t—”

“Bunny, I have enough money that I don’t know what to do with it. I think we’re fine.”

We’re. The word slips out of my mouth before I can catch it.

I cough. “It’s fine,” I say, trying to correct my mistake.

The cashier hands the card back to me, and we walk out to the car. The ride home is silent, and I wonder if she’s thinking about my slipup the same way I am.

*****

“Rick’s made good on his word. He replaced all the money that was taken from the bank. I checked yesterday, and he’s looking into his employees,” Mikhail says from the barstools he’s sitting on. Nearly all the Vory in the Boston brotherhood are gathered around the common area at the compound. The room is packed wall to wall. Some of the guys lean against the wall. Others have taken up the couch and chairs. Ivan sits next to Mikhail on one of the barstools. His eyes are bloodshot, probably from a night spent drinking. He is a good Vor, but he’d be a piss-poor husband.

Gavril waves Mikhail off. “Tell Rick not to worry about it. The Miami brotherhood is responsible for the break-in.”

Murmurs fill the room. This is news to them, as well as what Gavril’s going to say next. I try to keep my anger in check as he speaks again. “One more announcement before we’re out of here. Delaney Miller has been promised to Ivan.”

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