Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I turned off the light and then stepped toward her sewing room. She spent a lot of time in this room, and I couldn’t help but think of all the time she must have spent getting that quilt together. I didn’t need shit from her.
This was my house, so I didn’t bother knocking, and I just stepped into her room. She wasn’t at her desk, and I quickly looked to find her in front of her fabric stand. Several of the bottom rows of fabric had been removed, and she was currently folding them.
I stood in the doorway and looked at her. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“How are you doing?”
“Oh, fine, why?” She frowned as she turned to look at me. “You mean, because I watched The Butcher kill someone, and you’re wondering how I’m doing?”
“It’s a lot to take in for someone.”
“But I guess it’s not a lot for the Volkov Bratva, right?” she asked.
She had been thrown into the deep end. Of that, I had no doubt. There was nowhere for her to run or hide. She was now involved. If she so much as stepped out of line, Ivan would kill her. Those were the rules.
“You know, I find it ... strange. I can’t help but think that man was coming to my room,” she said. She tilted her head to the side. “Why? I mean, if he was coming after you and you being the whole Bratva package or whatever the hell you call yourself—”
“A Brigadier,” I said, interrupting her.
This made her laugh. “See, it makes sense for him to come after you, or even The Butcher. I’m guessing she has made a lot of enemies over the years, yet he was coming to my room. Am I just unlucky?” She had this frown on her face. She didn’t know what her father had done.
“You’re handling it,” I said, and then turned to walk out.
“Yeah, of course I’m handling it. I’ve got no choice but to handle it. This is what I’ve got to do, right? Be wife to a man who can’t stand me. Accept that people are now randomly going to come and try to kill me. I just have to learn to accept it, right?”
I heard her voice start to lose control. I was not interested in pandering to the needs of a child, which was exactly what she was being, and I was bored.
Turning toward her, I look at her and make sure she is aware she is boring me. “That man wasn’t coming for me. He was coming for you. Your father has set the wheels in motion and there are now people on the hunt to kill you. At this moment, your death is a certainty,” I said.
Her eyes went wide. With that, I turned on my heel and left the room.
I came to a stop as I saw The Butcher leaning up against the wall. “You know, she’s not like us,” she said. “She is not used to people attempting to kill her. She has not grown up around the world of the Bratva, where death is a certainty. She has lived with an asshole father, who clearly never liked her.”
“Your point?”
“Would it kill you to show some compassion?” she asked.
“The Butcher is telling me how to behave?”
“I kill people and I enjoy it. It’s what I know. I trained for it, and no, it doesn’t bother me. But I also know there are a shit ton of people out there who are not like me, who cannot handle it, and trust me, it looks like I’ve got better skills than you.” And with that, she walked past me, going straight to Freya’s room.
I made my way downstairs to find Ivan in my office, although he had moved position, and was now sitting on my sofa, holding a drink that looked like my best scotch. Not that I was surprised. I only had the best. I didn’t drink cheap shit.
“I should divorce Freya,” I said.
“Not happening,” Ivan said.
My nostrils flared. “Do you think you can go around ordering people?”
Ivan tilted his head to the side and looked at me.
“I’m the Pakhan. The boss, the man in charge, so I guess that answers your questions. Freya is under the Volkov Bratva protection. The Butcher will remain here, as will The Beast. The Evil Savages MC are also close by. You have everything in your power to keep her safe.”
Ivan finished his drink.
“What are you going to do?” I asked. It was pointless trying to get him to see reason. I was not in the habit of repeating myself. If Ivan didn’t want me to divorce Freya, then I was not going to divorce her, although I felt it would be the best thing for her. But even as I thought it, I knew it was wrong. There was no way we’d be able to protect Freya without the sanctuary of marriage. We were stuck.