Page 47 of Brutal Bratva King

Rodion shakes his head, “nobody cares what her hair looks like.” He laughs.

“You tell her that. You know how she is.”

“I think I will tell her. If we leave her up there, breakfast will be over, and she will still be busy.”

Rodion leans close to me and says, “I’ll be right back.”

I want to protest. I don’t want him to leave me alone here with his brothers. But he has already let go of my hand and he’s walking towards the stairs.

I smile tightly as I look around the open-plan living room and dining room area. His brothers seem to all turn and look at me at the same time.

“Anya Dubrov,” Renat says, walking closer.

“It’s not Dubrov, Renat—she’s a Kuznetsov now.” Rigor chuckles from the sofa where he is reading a magazine.

“Oh, yes, of course, the downgrade,” Renat says sarcastically. “How are you managing living with the commoners now?”

“Oh, stop it, you bunch of assholes.” Ruslana comes walking into the room, looking glamorous. She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly. “Ignore them, they love making people uncomfortable. But they’re just being dickheads.” She throws them each a look or warning.

Renat holds up his hands. “I was just teasing.”

“Well, go tease somewhere else,” Ruslana snaps.

Rodion walks into the room and looks around at the sea of faces, grinning awkwardly. “What did I miss?” he asks, a dark undertone to his voice because he can sense the tension in the room.

“You missed your brothers being immature idiots. That’s all,” Ruslana sasses while raising her brows at each of them in turn.

“Sorry, man, we were just teasing Anya. Didn’t mean anything by it,” Roman says, standing up and running his hand through his hair. It’s amusing how nervous they all are being confronted by Rodion.

“Anya?” Rodion turns towards me, a stern look on his face.

“They were just teasing,” I smile broadly.

I’m not a snitch. And they better learn from this.

Rigor walks over to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “So, Anya, can I make you a coffee?” he asks, his gesture is friendly, but his tone is still a little cold.

“Thanks. That would be great.”

Rodion’s expression softens and everyone returns to whatever they were doing. Ruslana chuckles and pulls me out into the garden. “Come, I’ll give you a tour of the place. It’s a really nice property. You’ll see from my room—I have amazing views.”

When Ruslana and I return from the house tour, the guys have the table fully set up and breakfast is ready and waiting. The room is filled with the smell of crispy bacon and buttery eggs. Hot, freshly baked rolls are steaming in a bowl in the center of the table.

Rodion pulls a chair out for me and gestures for me to sit down. Then he takes a seat right next to mine and pulls my chair a little closer to his.

Our legs brush beneath the table and images of this morning flash through my mind. I wonder how frustrated he is feeling.

I grin, a small giggle escaping my lips.

He turns to look at me, his brows knotted and a slight grin on his face.

I bite my lip and turn my attention to Ruslana, who is scooping too much bacon onto my plate. “Oh my goodness, that’s enough.”

She laughs, “I could eat this whole bowl by myself.”

“That’s because you went out partying last night and you are fighting your own hangover,” Roman taunts her.

Rodion’s eyes pierce into her and I can sense he is not pleased. “You were partying again?” he asks, his voice deep and full of accusation.

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