Page 3 of Surrogate for the Bratva
I smiled proudly. “I have it all worked out.”
“Okay, tell me about how you will conceal your identity from your incubator?”
“Maria,” I growled to voice my displeasure at her teasing. “I will meet her, but I will not give her my real name. I am hardly a public figure so a fake name will be sufficient.” It was all worked out, the only thing missing was a good candidate. “And then you will raise the baby, and I will keep you both safe.” That was the rest of the plan, the part Mariahadagreed to.
“I am hardly in need of your protection, Igor. I never have been, but I let you believe it.”
She was right, of course. “And that is why you are the sister I never had, Maria.”
Her smile was sad, and I understood why even though we never spoke about it. Eventually she sighed and tilted her head as her gaze met mine. “You don’t have to do it this way, Igor.”
“I do and you know why.” I had a plan for my life that might have eventually included a wife and children but that was no longer an option. “That fucker Voronov, he took everything from me. He killed my brother, my sister-in-law, and their unborn child. He took the next generation from my family.” I smacked a fist against the table as the fury welled up inside my chest all over again. “Boris should be here, heading up the Bratva and issuing orders. He should be building the Romanov empire, not me.” It was never meant to be, and I was fine with that. As the second son I knew my place in the organization, and I accepted it. “Now that it is me, I must produce an heir.”
“Have you considered the traditional way of making a baby?”
I scoffed, disgust evident in my tone. “And end up like Boris and Nikita?” I shook my head, anger and hurt swirled in my gut. “Or worse, like Father?” He had to live out his days with the knowledge that the life he chose took away his greatest love. “Love is a weakness, and I will not allow it to be used against me.” I was not groomed for this position as Boris had been which meant I had to learn on the job, and I cannot risk the distraction a woman would bring.
“Fine, Igor. You know I am unable to deny you a thing. I will care for your lab grown baby out here in the middle of nowhere. I will be his spinster aunt,” she looked away, once again hiding emotions that we don’t talk about.
“You can and you should find love, Maria. You are young enough to have the life you want.”
“Perhaps,” she sighed. “But I refuse to leave my home for any reason.”
“Even the danger of being so closely connected to me?”
Her lips parted into an affectionate smile. “The danger is a constant, Igor. Father was an infamous assassin for Bratva and many of his enemies have family who would not hesitate to take my life.”
“Of course. But you don’t want to spend the rest of your days in this big, beautiful home alone. Do you?” Her lips pinched into a thin line. “I didn’t think so. You have options, Maria. Online dating is the perfect buffer and if you find someone you like, I’ll have Maxim vet him.”
“If only it was that easy, Igor.”
I smiled. “You are a catch, Maria. Beautiful and rich, and you can drink everyone under the table. What’s not to love?”
“What, indeed?”
Silence descended between us while we ate lunch and simply enjoyed being together. If I could have given Maria what she wanted, I would have. But my love for her was familial. “Lunch was delicious, Maria.”
“Better than those awful tacos you eat nonstop?” her lips twitched.
“I won’t go that far. Tacos are pure perfection, but no one does blinis and caviar quite like you.”
“Thank you. One more drink?” she discreetly summoned one of her servants. “An Igor special, please.”
Another servant entered with an awkward expression on her face and Mikhail, my driver, was on her heels.
I stood. “Mikhail, what is the meaning of this? Why are you not watching the car?”
“Ivan spotted Dmitry nearTreacherous.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Go back to the car and make sure it hasn’t been tampered with.”
He frowned. “It’s been less than a minute.”
“Which you will learn soon enough is more than enough time to do plenty of damage. Go.” I waited until he was out of sight before I took my seat again.
“You were too hard on him,” Maria smiled.
“He has a listening problem.”
