Page 57 of Dark Bratva Christmas
“I fucking hate you.”
He arches a brow and stands to his feet. “Oh, Catarina,” he sighs. “You need to get control of those emotions. You have to be careful with the baby. You don’t want to do anything to fuck this up for me.”
I take a deep breath, unable to look him in the eye as he looms over me. He doesn't say anything for a few moments, beginning to pace the floor at the front of the bedroom.
“All of this started when you told me about Mikhail,” he begins. It feels like a knife to the chest because I already know where this is going. “I don't need to tell you how big of a pain the Volkovs have been. We've tried reasoning with them without success. And then comes Mikhail, handsome and sweet. By all accounts, not made forthisworld. He fell in love with you, and everything fell into place. At first, I thought the marriage would be enough. Maybe it would be strong enough to bring our families together once and for all.” He pauses, looking at me. “I couldn’t believe you could love an enemy, but you are your mother’s daughter.”
I shake my head. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“Foolish and guided by love,” he scoffs, shaking his head. “But anyway, the more I thought about it, I realized sharing power with the spawns of Dimitri wouldn't be ideal.” He pauses to laugh, shaking his head as if the idea itself is funny. “I figured they would be too much like their father to actually move forward. But then I realized a better plan. All you needed to do was get knocked up, which seemed easy enough. The problem was you chose the weakest sibling—and I needed to take them all out.”
My blood boils and I have the urge to rush to my feet and claw my father's eyes out. I feel sick, angry, and heartbroken.How could someone do this to their own child?
“You killed him,” I say, knowing exactlywhocould do something so sick.
“I had to. It was the only way I could make sure you wound up with Matysh.” He takes a deep breath and taps the side of his jaw, like this is amusing to him. “Surprisingly, telling him to marry you didn't take a lot of convincing. It was almost like he was waiting for the right time to make his move anyway. Or maybe… Maybe he just saw the advantage to having both names together.”
Another slice of the serrated blade he's digging into my chest.
“Marrying Matysh, now that was the ticket,” he continues, nodding his head. “I was expecting to have to wait a long time for the pregnancy announcement. You two did surprise me at dinner. I thought it was never going to happen.”
I laugh to myself, squeezing my eyes shut as I think about it. My father's reaction was bizarre, but I didn't think it was bizarre because he was planning on killing my husband.
I feel like a fucking fool.
“Everything has fallen into place exactly as it was supposed to, Catarina. Soon enough, there won't be a viable heir to the Volkov family, which means the child in your womb will be the only claim. The working men are eliminated, so we will take over the ranking and decision-making now that you have the heir. It’ll be my place to put someone in as Pahkan while we wait. We don’twant to eliminate them entirely, just have two families under one roof—and all under control.”
“You're a monster,” I whisper, staring at him with nothing but contempt.
“You might say that now, butthisis how we get peace. Not with some flimsy marriage certificate. It never would have happened with Matysh.”
“This isn't how we get peace, this is how you get more power,” I counter. I can't control the sob that breaks through at the end of the sentence.
“I know you might not understand this right now, but I've saved you.” He pauses, his eyes locked stoically on my face. "Marrying either of those monsters subjected you to the Volkov family. You would’ve always been treated as a problem in that household. Here, in mine, you can raise your child under my watchful eye. It will be just like it should.”
“And you just expect everyone to fall in line behind you because you're the grandfather to an unborn child?” My voice is dry and he narrows his eyes at the phrasing.
“When Matysh is dead they won't have a choice.”
My heart skips a beat. “WhenMatysh is dead?”
He ignores me. “You should get some rest. It's bad for the baby if you're stressed.”
“Wait—” I call out but am silenced by the slamming of the door and the exterior locks sliding into place.
I stare at it, my heart still loud enough that I can hear it in the silence.
Just stay alive, Matysh. Stay alive. For me.
Chapter eighteen
Matysh
“There's no sign of Petrov at his house.” Nikolai rubs his brow as we sit together in his tech cave, buried beneath Queens. “He’s not where he should be. They have to be hiding out somewhere.”
“While they wait for me to die,” I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. “Could Catarina have had some part in this?” The thought is meant to stay internal but slips out, a rare issue for me.
“Doubt it.” Nikolai scans the screens in front of him. “We’re going to need backup, and you’ve lost most of your men.” He peers up at me, to where I’m standing in the corner, nursing a bourbon.
