Page 69 of The Payback

I shift uncomfortably, looking over my shoulder at Nik, who still has his eyes locked on us. Sending him a smile that probably looks more like a grimace, I try to convey that I’ve got this.

“Speak freely, dear. Nikita cannot hear from there.”

He can’t, but I’ve got my camera linked up and recording everything. I keep that mask of “shy new bride” affixed to my face, letting it flood my system with slight fidgets and glances. I need to sell this, so I put myself in the mindset, lettingElsawash over Eleanor.

“I just... I’m so far in over my head,” I admit, letting that annoying tremor enter my voice again. “Things were different back home; wives stood by their husbands in everything. I know there’s an adjustment period, and we’ve only been married a short while, but I can’t help but feel I’m being pushed aside.”

“How are things done in the Emerald Sabres?” Sergei asks, cocking his head to the side and picking up the wine bottle. I refuse the pour he’s offering and twist my fingers together in front of me, letting him see my nerves.

“Mum and Dad do everything together. They talk about everything, and she supports him at home even if she doesn’t go with him for work. It is the same for all the wives. They play a more active role, knowing what they’re getting involved in. After all, how can a husband come home to a supportive wife if she doesn’t know what she’s supporting?”

I let the silence build as Sergei considers the question. He swirls the wine in his glass and raises it to his nose, savouring the bouquet before taking a careful sip.

“You wish to be more involved, then?”

It’s not common for wives to do the dirty work and climb the rungs of the Bratva’s ladder, so I redirect. “More than anything, I wish to understand. I know I’m new”—I say with a self-deprecating chuckle—“but I am not stupid or useless, Sergei. I want to be the best wife to please Dimitri and the rest of the Bratva.”

Sergei assesses me shrewdly, and I keep my eyes locked on him. Turning my lips into a frown, I let the lower one wobble.

After what feels like an age, he nods and says, “You are pleasing to us, little Elsa. That you are here, hoping to learn what a good Bratva wife does, is a testament to that.”

“Perhaps I should have asked Oksana or Ana to lunch. This was a stupid idea, Sergei. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” I place my napkin on the table, but before I can stand, Sergei stops me with a hand on mine. “Sit, Elsa. This is neither a waste of my time nor a fool’s errand.”

Settling back into my seat, I study Sergei’s face.

“You are untested, that is to be sure. And you are not one of us.” I frown, but Sergei just chuckles. “And that is a good thing, Elsa. You are a breath of fresh air in a stagnant room. And you’re right. There is much to learn, and we haven’t afforded you the opportunity. Some things will not be shared with you for our—and your—protection, you understand? But if there are smaller matters I can counsel you on, you only need to ask.”

Sergei’s hand still rests on mine, and I fight the urge to shake it off and wipe away any trace of him on my napkin. He’s too touchy for my taste, but reprimanding him right now will do nothing to give me the answers I seek.

“What can I do? I cannot sit idly by, wasting my time away in the apartment, staring at the four walls. I’ll go mad. There must be something beneficial I can do for the organisation.”

“Don’t fret, Elsa. It’s still early days, and Dimitri will allow you to contribute, eventually. But for now, you are a princess in her tower. You must be protected at all costs because you are Dimitri’s future. You and your heir will provide our people’s security for a future untainted by succession questions.”

I rest my free hand on my stomach, pretending that the future he speaks of is a possibility.

“But what if something happens to Dimitri before our child is ready to lead?”

“Then someone else would step up in the interim.”

“Well, surely it would be you,” I counter, raising a brow. “After all, Dimitri says that you’re the most experienced. You’ve been the brigadier for how long now?”

He chuckles. “Longer than I care to admit. And yes, should there be no heir or clear line of succession, the role ofpakhanwould fall to me.”

The theory about Sergei being the one behind the attack makes sense. After all, how many men are content in the station they currently hold? How many are grasping for the next rung on the ladder, no matter who they step on?

The waiter delivers our food—a wedge salad for me and a steak for Sergei. Damn, his plate looks good. I swallow the saliva pooling on my tongue and stare down at my rabbit food with a shielded grimace. Not that it’s terrible or unappealing, but with the hours I’ve been putting in at the gym out of pure frustration, I want a substantial meal.

Alone again, Sergei continues. “Well, you’ve only been married a short while. It’s impossible to say whether an heir is growing in your belly, but I assume you’re performing your wifely duties.”

“Of course. My parents were clear I was to do as Dimitri asked, and I know my role. I just... I’m inexperienced, which I understand is a prerequisite for any bride. But...” I put my fingertips to my cheeks, pretending to hide a blush I don’t have because Lord knows I haven’t been a virgin since I was twenty. “I’ve looked online and checked if I can do anything to help guarantee that our relationship will result in pregnancy, but without medical and infertility testing, there’s no way to tell.”

“Elsa, this is highly inappropriate to discuss with me,” Sergei says, raising a brow and checking over my shoulder at where Nik is seated. I feel his gaze on the back of my neck but ignore it, not letting those flickers of emotion play across my face.

“Please.” I reach across the table and take Sergei’s hand with my own, clutching his thick fingers to show my desperation. “What else can I do? I know it’s inappropriate. I know I shouldn’t be coming to you for this kind of advice. But I don’t know who else to talk to. The only thing they taught us in school is preventative measures—condoms and birth control. But where do you seek advice when you want the opposite? Oh, sure, I found mummy blogs full of home remedies and putting your stock in the stars or prayer. Which, fine, I can do that too, but there has to be a more surefire way.”

Sergei reaches across the table and places his other hand on top of mine, sandwiching them between his. “Elsa, you’re a beautiful girl,” he says, a bit more than kindness entering his voice. I peek at him from under my lashes and notice his gaze has travelled down my body. “The best way to ensure it happens is to use that to your advantage. Lie with him as often as possible. Make yourself available to him anytime, day or night, even when he takes a break for lunch.”

My thoughts wander to Nik in the kitchen after he made peanut butter and jam sandwiches for Anya. And then again when Dimitri laid me out on his counter that first time we fucked and left me so close to the edge without relief.

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