Page 80 of The Bratva's Arranged Virgin Bride
Everyone was already assembled in the living area. The sunshine streaming in from the large windows was a harsh contrast to the sea of stormy faces, all seeming to glare at me.
Not really all. Mat spoke up for me right away, citing the times I helped them with raids while the elder Fokins were in Russia. Saved their asses was more like it, but I stayed quietand tried to look humble. To my shock, Nik and Ivan, Nat’s two uncles who were involved with arranging the alliance, also spoke up for me, admitting they saw no reason not to trust me. It wasn’t exactly glowing, and they might have been trying to save their own skins for their part in it, but I thought I saw respect in their eyes when I nodded at them.
Katie, Aleks’s wife, spoke next. “We’re sick to death of being divided,” she said, focused on her impassive husband. “None of us want to go behind your backs, but that’s what we’ll do if it comes down to it.”
Then Olivia, who was Ivan’s wife, stood up for her chance to speak. She looked at Mila, who had her hands in her lap and her head cast down. Then at, Nat, who tried to smile.
“Arkadi and Kolya could have done a thousand things against us in all this time,” she said. “But all they’ve done is help us. And love two of our own.”
Mila wiped tears off her cheeks and told her eldest brother it was true. Nat nodded, looking straight at her father for the first time since we arrived, and his stony face had her cowering.
No longer. My fiery wife jumped up and flew to Aleks’s side, reaching to grip his shoulders as if she wanted to shake him.
“I know none of this was planned, Papa, and I don’t want you to be unhappy or disappointed in me.”
“I could nev—”
She cut him off. “I love Kolya. I loved him before the alliance was ever an option. But when I saw it, I took it. I took what I wanted, just like you always do. I’m your daughter. I’m Bratva, no matter how hard you tried to keep me out of it.”
In her pause, Aleks opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His eyes were all but blazing thunderbolts, but he waited for her to finish.
“I won’t give him up, Papa. Don’t try to make me. You won’t like it, and neither will I.”
“Neither will I,” Katie said, a warning in her soft voice.
Aleks stood, forcing Nat back a step. “I want to speak to my daughter alone,” he said, giving her a glare that should have had her quaking in her shoes.
It didn’t. “No. No more secret meetings. Kolya is my husband, and he’ll remain my husband. He’s family. If you don’t agree, then you’re the one giving me up, not the other way around.”
Katie tried to speak again, but Aleks stopped her with a flick of his hand. At that point, I was done. No more humble gratitude for being allowed in the hallowed halls. I stood up as well, moving to Nat’s side. She reached for my hand, never taking her eyes off her father’s face. Stubborn eyes, just like his, but never more beautiful.
“There’s no way I’m giving up my wife,” I said simply.
Aleks turned to me. I didn’t back down, didn’t say another word. Neither did Nat. There was nothing more to say as we stood there, united. A pin dropping would have rang out like a church bell; it was so silent. No one would have ever known it to look at her, but Nat’s hand trembled in mine. I only held on tighter. I would not let her go.
The hard look finally melted off Aleks’s face. “Of course, I’m not giving you up,” he said to Nat, then turned to me. Reaching over, he gripped my shoulder hard enough to crack thebone. “But I’m not taking my eyes off you for a while. Maybe never.”
“I’d do the same,” I said.
“My firstborn daughter says she’s happy with you, so you better keep it that way.”
“Go ahead and watch all you want,” I told him, twisting out of his grip to put my arm around my wife. “Nat’s happiness is the most important thing to me. That and her safety. I’ll be glad to have backup.”
We continued to stare each other down, and then Aleks burst out laughing. “You’ll need it with this one,” he said, holding out his arms to Nat. She walked into them, the first hug from her father in so long, making happy tears roll down her cheeks.
Aleks pulled me closer, his smile still there, but with a touch of sadness now, maybe resignation. “I will be watching,” he said. “But that would go for anyone who married my Nataliye, not just you.”
There were cheers, calls for vodka. Soon, everyone was toasting us, and the fact that we could all be a united family. The party threatened to go on for the rest of the day, but after an hour or so, Mila claimed she was exhausted and needed rest, giving us the opportunity to slip away as well.
Once we were in the car, Nat threw her arms around me. “It’s over. It’s all going to be okay.”
“I thought you were never worried,” I said, leaning back to bask in her happiness.
She swatted me, and we headed for home, but I had another surprise for her and headed toward the gallery instead. She hadn’t been back since the abduction, and I wasn’t quitesure she’d want to return, so I held my breath, watching for her reaction to being there again.
Her smile was bright, with no sign of bad memories. “You kept it,” she squealed. “You haven’t done any shows without me, have you?”
“Have I left your side long enough?”
