Page 57 of Bound to the Bratva
His father seems impressed and nods at my words. “I see I picked well for you, son. Beauty and brains.”
“She’s the whole package, that’s for sure.” Maxim murmurs lightly.
As they usher us further into the room, I catch Maxim’s eye. He gives me an encouraging nod, sensing my nerves. I take a steadying breath, determined to make a good impression on his family. The last time we did meet, I wanted nothing to do with Maxim, so hopefully they see I’m invested in my marriage with him.
Maxim’ s phone pierces the air with its shrill ring, startling him into searching for it in his pocket. He glances at the Caller ID and answers it quietly, his voice barely audible over the background noise. The conversation is brief and he loops his arm with mine, taking me over to a quiet corner.
With a subtle gesture, he links his arm through mine and guides me to a secluded corner of the room. “I have to step out for a bit, but I’ll be back within the hour.”
My eyes widen in disbelief. “You want to leave, right now?”
He wants to leave me alone with his parents and sister, at their family Christmas party.
He gives me a curt nod, “Yes, but it’s only for a bit. I have some business I need to tend to. Will you be all right?”
He’s asking me like I have a choice. I nod, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Maxim doesn’t say a word to his family, he just walks out of the room to go deal with whatever that call was about. No one notices at first as his parents are caught in another deep conversation, while Vera comes over to me.
She arches a brow, “Off to handle something no doubt.”
I laugh lightheartedly, “At least you know how he is.”
She nods, staring off through the door he just walked through. “Any idea what it was about?”
I shake my head, “No, but I’m sure I’ll get some sort of explanation later. Sucks he left me here with everyone by myself.”
Vera offers me a soft smile, “Come on, we’re not that bad.”
I feel terrible. The last thing I want to do is insult her in some manner. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that. I only mean that I didn’t expect him to leave me here when I’m still getting to know everyone. It’s not like we’ve had very much time to chat in the past.”
Vera nods in agreement. “True, but what better time than the present? We have all the time in the world you know, especially with Maxim taking over. I just wish Maxim was taking over sooner rather than later,” Vera’s eyes go distant for a brief moment as she gazes at the floor, losing the typical confidence I’ve noticed she has.
I debate digging, but ultimately choose to. “Is there a reason you want him to?”
Vera chuckles lightly. “Yeah, to put a nip in the bud on my arranged marriage. It’s something my father agreed to. It’s to appease the man your father pissed off. I’m the cherry on top of the sundae so to speak.”
My eyes go wide. I almost forgot about that.“That’s right, they’re marrying you to someone within the cartel.”
Vera closes her eyes briefly. “Yeah, a son or something like that.”
“Maybe your betrothed isn’t as bad as you think. Look at Maxim, he turned out to be better than I thought.” I try to lift up her spirits, but end up falling flat.
Vera shakes her head and licks her lips. “I’m afraid not. I know the reputation of the man I’m supposed to marry, and he doesn’t have a good one. So, I’m trying to put it off as much as I can. Maxim’s helping me, but on days like this I know I’m going to be hassled about it.”
“Champagne, anyone?” a man in an all black tux comes over to us.
Vera swipes one glass for her, and another for me. She hands it over and mumbles her thanks to the man as he walks off toward her parents. Before she speaks again, she takes a sip. “Maxim is trying to push it off for as long as he can. Our hope is that he’ll end up nipping it in the bud, but who knows. Our father doesn’t seem like he’s in a rush to hand over the Bratva to him…but he should. Why else would he have him marry?”
I have thought it’s a little odd Maxim doesn’t have the power yet, but I thought maybe I was missing something. After all, this world is so new to me and I’m learning as I go.
I do wonder when the transfer of power will commence, and what Maxim thinks about it.
I realize I haven’t replied to Vera and left her hanging. “To continue the line, maybe. That’s also important to him, right?”
Vera nods, “Oh, yes. One thousand percent. I’ll be damn certain Maxim has no intentions on discussing that with you until after he’s the leader, though. Why give our father something he wants before Maxim takes over, you know? He needs some sort of bargaining chip with the way things are going.”
“The way things are going,” I repeat, hoping for more context.
