Page 65 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
He shook his head, silencing me with a stormy look. “You can walk up those steps or I can put you over my shoulder and carry you up. Either way, you’re getting on the plane.”
“Stubborn ass,” I muttered, loud enough for him to hear this time. I thought a half a dozen other rude things directed at him as I stomped up the metal rolling stairs.
He seemed to be reading my mind and looked as pissed off and frustrated as I felt as he crowded onto the plane behind me. “You have no idea, little girl. But you’re about to find out.”
Chapter 43 - Daniil
Now I was really pissed. What the hell was she doing, putting herself in danger like that? Did she still not trust me? Was she trying to be a hero? That was my job, not hers. I gave her a pointed look as she got onto the plane and turned around, her arms crossed over her chest. I nodded toward the leather seats. An unnecessary command to sit down and get comfortable.
She did, scowling up at me the whole time, but with nothing but worry in her eyes. I sat beside her and sighed. She didn’t trust me, and why should she when I had been keeping so many secrets from her?
“I’ve got a lot to tell you,” I said. “Just listen and don’t interrupt.”
“But—” She immediately tried to interrupt. I made a noise that made her lean back in her seat and press her lips together. “You don’t understand,” she tried again.
“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand, but I’m about to explain. And then you can talk all you want,” I assured her, hoping she would still speak to me once I told her everything.
“I know you think you’re in trouble, and that some big bad organization is hunting you,” I began, first wanting to put her fears to rest before I pulled the rug out from under her.
“And you think I’m not?” she asked sarcastically.
“No, you are, but remember I told you that I was worse than anyone at your old job? I wasn’t just saying that. It’s true.”
Her brows shot together but she stayed silent. I explained about my holdings in Moscow, how my cousins had been basically running most of California since their father emigratedwhen he was young. What we did, and had been doing since my grandfather’s day. And what we would continue to do. Organized crime.
“It’s part of my heritage,” I said. “I’m not a good guy, but I protect my own.”
She had slowly gone pale as I explained about the Bratva and how deeply entrenched my family was in so many aspects of her everyday life that she’d never know about. Now color rose in her cheeks at the implication that she was mine. She had to know it sooner or later.
“No one’s going to touch you again, Paisley,” I said.
She had so much to say before but now she was silent, putting her face in her hands. “I thought I was putting you in danger,” she said.
“We can handle it,” I told her. “It was an unlucky coincidence. No, I take that back. It was lucky you ended up with us because I doubt a regular family could have handled it.”
“I’d be dead right now,” she whispered, lurching forward.
I put a steadying hand on her shoulder. “I was meant to find you,” I said. “I think I knew it the second I laid eyes on you in that bar.”
She looked at me askance and made a tortured sound between a laugh and a groan. She was taking this fairly well, but also seemed to be in shock. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” she muttered, shaking her head.
“Things do tend to get pretty hot between us,” I teased, hoping to shake her out of her daze. She lapsed into silence and I left her to her thoughts until we were at the lodge.
Everything there was completely back to normal, with a second, smaller Christmas tree hiding the scorched wall. Themain tree was fully decorated and lit up, its branches drooping under all the tinsel and sparkling ornaments. It had piles of new presents underneath it, and stacked in rows under the smaller tree. My cousins must have gone into overdrive ordering replacements, paying triple for lightning fast delivery so the kids wouldn’t be disappointed. I scanned the piles and noticed a large, unwieldy package at the back, haphazardly wrapped in red and white snowflake paper. I smiled, glad that the plan I put into motion had been successfully carried out.
Barely a minute after we were inside, the kids surrounded us, nearly knocking Paisley over in the frenzy to hug her and ask where she went. As tired as she looked, she crouched down, giving everyone a hug and kiss and carefully dodging all their questions.
“We were on a top secret mission back in LA,” I said to keep them from hounding her.
She was as patient as an angel and just as beautiful and Katie nudged me hard in the side, tearing my gaze away to see her giving me a knowing look.
“You’re besotted,” she said.
“I am,” I told her. “I’m not keeping it secret anymore. If you want to fire her, I’ll find her a position at one of my companies.”
“Well, since she’s an accountant, I doubt she wants to be a babysitter much longer anyway,” Katie answered. “But it looks like the kids want to keep her as long as they can.”
So did I.
