Page 25 of The Bratva's Arranged Virgin Bride
Chapter 14 - Nat
Oh crap, and I was actually starting to have a good time. Kolya’s club, Temptation, was great, despite having a name that I thought was more suited to a strip joint. It was both wild and decadent, all gold and red velvet, flashing lights and mirrors. It was like we’d been transported in time, but I couldn’t figure out if it was to the past or the future. It was just shy of being gaudy, but in the best way. Kolya must have paid a fortune for the best designers because it really should have looked like a strip club instead of the newest hotspot in LA. It was one of the best places I’d been in, and I loved going out to dance and mingle with the locals wherever I was.
On the way up to the VIP area, I saw plenty of famous faces, but I was still stewing about that little stunt with the photographers and refused to be impressed just yet. I didn’t appreciate his power play, because by morning, the entire city would be flooded with those pictures. Once I was settled in and had a sip of my cocktail, I decided it was probably for the best, no matter how uncomfortable it made me. The whole world, knowing, made it much more difficult for my family to dispute that we were together.
Or so I thought, until they showed up, looking like they were ready to tear the place apart, starting with Kolya. They had most likely been tipped off by one of their ever-present spies the moment I showed up on Kolya’s arm. Hell, maybe the pictures were already showing up on some of the social media accounts they monitored to stay ahead of whatever was going on in their town. Either way, they didn’t look happy or like they wanted to be the first to congratulate us on our nuptials. Far from it.
Kolya waved for his guards to let them pass into our section, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I was sweatingthrough my dress with anxiety. Not just the fact that there might be a scene, but that he might actually get hurt. I mean, I wanted to be the one doling out the pain.
Once past the guards, Mat took the lead, while my uncles, Ivan and Nik, stood back, giving death glares as freely as Halloween candy. While my father was away, Mat was technically in charge, and it was most likely his ass that got chewed the hardest for what I’d done.
“We only want to talk to Nat,” he said, holding out his hand for me to take.
Kolya shook his head, covering my hands with one of his. “Then come on in, have a seat,” he said, perfectly pleasant. “What can I order you to drink? On the house, of course.”
No one took a step further. No one answered him or even looked his way. All the death glares were for me now.
“We want to speak to her alone,” Ivan said.
After what seemed like hours of staring, Kolya stood up. “You can speak with her here. She’s not going anywhere with you.”
Ah, as lovely as usual to be talked about like I wasn’t there. I finally spoke up. “Stop being ridiculous,” I aimed at my cousin and uncles. “I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine.” I gave Kolya a hard look, and he nodded, easing his way out of the cordoned-off area.
“I’ll be close,” he told me, as if I needed protection from my own family.
Maybe I did. As soon as he was out of sight, they started laying into me. What I did was stupid, thoughtless, and dangerous.
“Masha still has a headache from whatever you dosed her with, and she’s mad as hell. No one should want to be on her bad side, not even a so-called beloved cousin,” Mat said, shaking his head at me in disapproval. He was as close to Masha as my uncles were to me, and if anyone had done that to me, well, they’d be dead by now.
“It was just some sleeping pills,” I said, feeling awful. I hated that it made her sick. “I’m really sorry about it.”
“Not too sorry if you’re out here partying like nothing happened,” Nik said.
God, they were so pissed, and really, rightfully so. “I’m genuinely sorry,” I said again. “But I had my reasons. Ones I’m not willing to share.”
Mat snorted. My uncles rolled their eyes. “We know what you told Aleks and Katie,” Ivan said, clearly disgusted. “Is it true? Do you actually…” he trailed off, too horrified to continue.
I shrugged, glancing meaningfully toward the other side of the velvet ropes, where Kolya was surely lurking. I lowered my voice as much as possible and still was heard over the thumping music.
“He was in the room. What else could I say?”
“Then why?” Mat all but bellowed.
“You’ll just have to trust me for once to know what I’m doing,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Well, we don’t,” Nik told me.
Mat held up his hand, leaning closer to me. “Why didn’t you just volunteer in the first place?”
He didn’t understand how sheltered I’d been, and my uncles’ outraged noises answered the question for him. I neverwould have been allowed. I had to find out about the damn alliance by spying. Ignoring my hurt feelings, I put my chin up and gave each of them a long look.
“I’m part of the family, therefore I’m part of the Bratva, no matter how you feel about it. And I’m not as innocent as you might think.”
I was referring to my short-lived life of crime, indulging myself in Kolya’s art scam in Milan, but they must have thought I was talking about something else. All three of them immediately shot to their feet, fists clenched, ready to beat the stuffing out of Kolya.
“Oh my God, sit down,” I cried, lunging across the low table to grab Mat’s arm and the edge of Ivan’s jacket. “That’s not what I meant. It’s still just a business agreement.”
Just barely. My face burned with embarrassment that they were treating me this way, but also at the memories of just how close I’d come to giving in to my passion only a few hours ago. They continued to stare at me, trying to assess why my face was now beet red.
