Page 18 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

“We need to hit them hard and fast,” I reply. “But we can’t be reckless. The Vultures might be small, but they’ve got connections. And they’ve got that girl. We can’t afford to make too much noise yet. We need to extract the girl first, then deal with the rest.”

“Is it really worth it to you?” Anton questions me with a confused look. “We should just hit them first. Forget the girl. She doesn’t mean anything to us.”

“I agree,” Anya said, shooting me a firm but guilty look. She was always the most reasonable of the bunch. “It’s… unfortunate an innocent got in the middle of all this, but we shouldn’t risk time, resources, and men to get her back.”

I flip through the folder, stumbling upon a picture of Riley. A speck of guilt sprouts in my stomach at the photo, which is of her tied up to a chair, looking rough and terrified.

“They sent that this morning,” Anton tells me when he notices me looking at it. “Worker gave it to us in an envelope on the way in. It came with a note asking for fifty grand. Those morons.”

“It’s not for me,” I finally say, then let out an exhale. “It’s for my wife.”

Everyone immediately straightens their backs. “Wife?” Victor was the first to say. “What wife, Roman?”

“Her name is Gwen,” I reply, eager to keep everything short and simple, saving the other details for later. “I’m sure you’re all confused and have every right to be. But I’ll explain everything another time. Sure, the girl isn’t important to us, but these Vultures think she is. However, she is important to my wife. And I told her we’ll get her back, so we will. I won’t argue on this.”

When I look between my siblings’ faces, none of them argue. Though Victor looks wildly disappointed, and Anya is obviously intrigued, I continue.

“I ran into some of them last night. They said they owned a bar down on Heritage. I looked it up, and it’s called Rouge. Told us to give them a call to do business in exchange for the girl.” I shrug. “We’re not paying a ransom. Instead, we’ll play along as if we’ll do business with them and let them expand their business for a bit. In return, we start looking for the girl. That’s our first step, our second being taking every single one of them down.”

Boris, the youngest of us, nods, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced by something more serious. “I’ll start putting out feelers with my contacts in Vegas. Do a little more research into our guys to find out about other businesses and properties they might have and past connections. See if anyone knows where they’re keeping the girl.”

“I can talk to my connections at the station,” Anton added. “See if they got a documented history.”

“And what about Gwen?” Anya asks, her eyes narrowing as she studies me. “How’s she holding up?” She had always wanted a sister instead of three brothers. It was clear she had taken a keen interest in Gwen already despite not even meeting her yet.

I clench my jaw, thinking of her at the penthouse, still caught up in this mess because of me. “She’s... adjusting,” I say, though the word hardly feels accurate. Gwen is fighting this marriage every step of the way; the tension between us is heavy, and I don’t blame her. I put her in this position, and she didn’t ask for any of it.

But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s mine now, no matter how hard she fights it, and I’ll protect her with everything I have.

“I’ll get a few of my men to stay watch. Keep an eye on the Vultures for now,” Victor says, bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand. “But be careful, Roman. They’ve already made one move against us. Don’t give them another opportunity.”

I nod, the weight of responsibility settling heavily on my shoulders as the meeting wraps up. Victor and the others leave one by one, but before Anya goes, she catches my arm, her expression softening.

“You need to be honest with her about all of this, Roman,” she says quietly. “I know you want to protect her, but you can’t protect her from everything.”

I don’t respond; I just nod briefly before heading out. She’s right, of course. Gwen deserves the truth, but I’m not sure she’s ready to hear it. Hell, I’m not sure I’m ready to give it.

***

The tension between us thickens in the two days since our ‘marriage.’ Gwen has done a hell of a job of avoiding me, and the times that she can’t, she finds a way to bicker with me. It’s about the way I arrange my kitchen or the choice of movie I put on the living room TV. If she only knew how entertaining her arguments are, she might think twice about her stubbornness.

“No, I’m not watching Interstellar. I’ve already watched it twice before,” she says as she snatches the remote from me. I can’t help but raise my eyebrows at her. “Besides, you’re not going to understand it.”

“Are you calling me stupid?” I ask her, amused.

“No,” she says, avoiding my eyes. “But I’m notnotcalling you stupid, either.”

Quite frankly, I find her behavior adorable. I can already tell the game she is playing is trying to make me hate her. My guess is that she thinks it’ll achieve one of two things, or both: a) it’ll make me want to get her friend back quicker, or b) by the time all of this is done, I won’t be able to stand her and want a divorce.

But that’s not happening.

She thinks she can get away from me, but she’s mine to keep.

And she can only keep denying how I know she feels about me for so long.

However, I can still see the toll it takes on her. She’s trapped within the confines of my penthouse, unable to go out or return to her normal life. Her friend is locked away in a basement somewhere, enduring only god knows what kind ofsuffering. I can only imagine how maddening it must be for someone as clearly spirited as her.

I’ve tried to talk to her a few times now, just so we can get to know each other better, but she avoids talking to me for more than a minute at a time or when she doesn’t have to. I’ve tried getting the housekeepers to give it a go. Maria, an older lady who has worked for me for almost a decade now and who I brought over from Russia, has been trying to be friendly with Gwen nonstop but to no avail. Gwen is distant and barely leaves her room, only to grab food and lock herself back in there to eat.

---