Page 56 of Possession of the Bratva

I woke the next morning hearing Mila whispering. Opening my eyes, I saw her standing by the window. She was on the phone and holding her hand over her mouth, trying to be quiet.

Sitting up, I smiled as she turned to me. “If you wanted to be quiet, you should have gone out of the room,” I said as she hung up.

Jumping onto the bed on her knees, Mila wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. “Good morning, sunshine,” she said. “I was waiting for you to wake.”

“Oh, okay. I’m awake now. What was so important that you had to wake me?” I asked.

Mila laughed as she got off the bed. “When will we be back? The family wants a dinner meeting.”

“Friday morning. We can have dinner at the casino. I’ll arrange for a private room upstairs,” I replied, slipping on my jeans.

Nodding, Mila replied hastily as she headed out. “Great stuff, get moving. We need to meet the others in half an hour.”

Pulling on my shirt and shoes, I grabbed my bag and followed her to the car. The drive to the airport was quick. Piotr, Leon, and Anton were already there. “Late much, brother?” Anton asked in his usual cocky tone.

“Just get on; we have to go,” I replied calmly.

The flight was pretty quiet. Mila watched a movie, and I must have fallen asleep somewhere. “Hey, baby,” Mila said, shaking me lightly. “We’ve landed.”

I had arranged a limo for us. Once we got to the hotel, everyone went to their rooms. After we sorted our things, we had a quick lunch together. “Mila and I are going to explore the city,” I said as we got back to the lobby. “We’ll see you all here in the morning.”

“Don’t get lost,” Piotr joked as we headed out. Miami had a lot to see. We visited a carnival, the mall, and the beach. We ended up having supper in a small Italian restaurant, listening to the waves crashing on the beach.

It was a great day. Once we got back to the hotel, I felt drained. Flopping onto the bed, I heard Mila calling from the bathroom. “You coming to join me?”

“In a minute, dear,” I replied, closing my eyes.

Opening my eyes, I noticed it was early morning. Turning, I saw Mila sleeping soundly beside me. I missed showering with her. Leaning over, I kissed her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I whispered before getting up.

After washing and dressing, I ordered breakfast and woke Mila up. “It’s almost time, dear,” I said, stroking her hair.

She smiled at me. “You missed the shower,” she replied.

“I’ll be there for the next one,” I said, kissing her forehead.

I waited as she got ready. Once we had our breakfast, we went down to meet the others.

“Ready?” Piotr asked as we stepped out of the elevator.

Glancing at each other, we all nodded. The limo took us to Ivan’s club. It was a magnificent place. I had never been to one of the Morozov establishments. But if they were all similar to this one, they were surely noticeable.

Ashan was waiting for us as we arrived. “Hi,” he said as we peeled out of the limo.

“Ashan,” Piotr replied, giving him an open hug. “Nice to see you again and be back here.”

“Same,” Ashan added. “Ivan and the rest are waiting.”

Piotr glanced at us and nodded. We followed Ashan through the club to the back. Entering the private room, I saw four other men and one woman. The room seemed dark even though it was well-lit.

In the middle was a large oval table with chairs around it. “Welcome the large, tall man in the middle said. “Come in, please have a seat.”

Piotr stepped closer and held out his hand. “Ivan, good to see you again,” he uttered, glancing back at me.

Ivan was the biggest man in the room. In fact, I felt sure he was the biggest man I had ever met. Stepping closer, I felt a knot forming in my throat. “Hi, Aleksandr,” I said, shaking his hand. His grip was powerful; I had to fight not to pull my face.

“Welcome, sit,” he replied, waving his hand across the table. As we all sat down, the introductions started. Piotr introduced us, and Ivan introduced his family. He named them from one side. First was Roman, Ashan, Sergei, and then Ivan. To his other side was Leo, and Evelina.

They were a big family, and these were only some of them. I felt small for a moment, but then Mila squeezed my hand. She gave me strength; she was my pillar.

---