Page 38 of Bride of the Bratva King (Blood & Bride #1)

Chapter thirty-four

The New Order

A lexei

The call from Agent Castillo comes six weeks later, on a Tuesday morning while I'm feeding Viktor his bottle and watching Mila work at her computer with Katya sleeping in her lap.

"Mr. Morozov," Castillo's voice carries the kind of controlled excitement that means good news. "Washington has approved the pilot program."

"All of it?"

"Intelligence sharing, coordinated operations, and preliminary discussions about organizational transformation. You'll have six months to prove the concept works."

"And oversight?"

"Extensive but not intrusive. You'll report to me directly, with regular check-ins and evaluation sessions."

"When do we start?"

"The Baltimore operation is already under surveillance. We'd like to move on it within two weeks."

I look across the room at Mila, who's watching me with sharp attention despite her split focus between work and baby care. She's become incredibly skilled at multitasking since the twins were born, managing strategic planning while feeding schedules and business calls during nap times.

"We'll be ready," I tell Agent Castillo.

"Mr. Morozov? Thank you. For taking this risk, for trusting us with your family's future."

"Thank you for giving us the chance to honor Viktor's memory."

After I hang up, the weight of what we've accomplished settles over me like a warm blanket. Six months ago, we were fighting for our lives against Roman Volkov. Now we're pioneering a partnership that could transform law enforcement's relationship with organized crime.

"Good news?" Mila asks, though she's clearly already figured out the answer from my expression.

"The best news. Washington approved everything."

"Everything?"

"Pilot program, transition timeline, future partnership discussions. We're officially federal assets now."

"Federal assets with very dangerous day jobs."

"Not for much longer."

She saves her work and carefully transfers Katya to her crib before crossing the room to take Viktor from my arms. Our morning routine has become a carefully choreographed dance of baby care and business management, with both of us handling multiple responsibilities simultaneously.

"What happens now?" she asks, settling into the rocking chair with our son.

"Now we prove that cooperation works better than conflict. We save lives, build trust, and create a model that other families will want to follow."

"And if other families don't want to follow?"

"Then we'll have to convince them that transformation is better than extinction."

"How?"

"By being so successful that continuing the old ways becomes obviously stupid."

"You make it sound simple."

"Simple, not easy. There's a difference."

"What's the timeline for Baltimore?"

"Two weeks to provide intelligence. Then coordinated federal action to dismantle the trafficking network."

"And after Baltimore?"

"Miami, then Chicago. Three major operations eliminated in six months."

"That's ambitious."

"That's necessary. We need decisive victories to prove the concept works."

Viktor finishes his bottle and immediately starts the demanding process of being burped, which requires careful positioning and infinite patience. Mila handles it with the kind of natural grace that suggests she was born to be a mother.

"I have news too," she says once Viktor settles contentedly against her shoulder.

"What kind of news?"

"The technology company is ready to launch. Full legal operation, legitimate contracts, everything transparent and above board."

"Clients?"

"Three federal agencies who need cybersecurity consulting. Two international corporations looking for secure communication systems. And one very secret client who wants help transitioning their financial operations to legal enterprises."

"Very secret client?"

"The Petrov family. Dmitri recommended us."

"Dmitri is supporting the transition?"

"Dmitri is leading by example. He wants to be the first family to complete the legitimacy process."

"That's... unexpected."

"That's strategic. He knows change is coming whether he leads it or not. He'd rather be ahead of the curve."

"And the other families?"

"Watching and waiting. If we succeed, they'll follow. If we fail..."

"We won't fail."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because failure isn't an option. Because our children's future depends on this working. Because Viktor's sacrifice has to mean something."

"And because we're very good at what we do."

"Especially that."

The afternoon passes in strategic planning and family routine. Conference calls with Agent Castillo while the twins nap. Financial planning for the technology company while Mila feeds Katya. Security assessments for the Baltimore operation while I change Viktor's diaper.

Parenthood has made us more efficient, not less. When every minute counts because babies have schedules that don't accommodate business meetings, you learn to prioritize ruthlessly and execute flawlessly.

"Dinner," Irina announces, appearing in the nursery doorway with the kind of perfectly timed arrival that suggests she's been monitoring our schedule.

"What did you make?" Mila asks.

"Celebration feast. Borscht, beef stroganoff, blini with caviar. Everything appropriate for marking important milestones."

"How did you know we had something to celebrate?"

"Because this house feels different when good things happen. Lighter, more hopeful."

"And when bad things happen?"

"When bad things happen, I make comfort food and extra tea."

"What about when normal things happen?"

"Normal things don't happen in the Morozov household," Irina says with a fond smile. "Everything here is either crisis or celebration."

"No in-between?"

"No in-between."

The dinner is spectacular, as always. Irina has been feeding the Morozov family for three decades, and she understands that food is how Russian families mark important occasions. Every dish tells a story, every flavor carries memory.

"To new beginnings," I say, raising my wine glass in a toast.

"To honoring the past while building the future," Mila adds, raising her own glass.

"To Viktor and Katya, who will inherit something better than what their parents started with."

"To us, for being brave enough to try."

"To us."

The twins sleep through dinner, which is either excellent timing or divine intervention. By the time we finish eating and discussing the details of our federal partnership, they're starting to stir with the internal clocks that govern feeding schedules.

"Evening routine?" I ask.

"Evening routine."

The next hour is devoted to baths, bottles, diaper changes, and the gentle rituals that mark the end of each day.

Viktor has become more alert and interactive, tracking faces and sounds with obvious interest. Katya remains the more determined twin, expressing clear opinions about everything from feeding schedules to the selection of bedtime stories.

"They're going to be handful when they're older," Mila observes as we settle them in their cribs.

"They're going to be incredible when they're older."

"Incredible handful."

"The best kind."

When our children are finally asleep and the house settles into evening quiet, Mila and I retreat to our bedroom for the first private conversation we've had all day.

"So," she says, settling onto our bed with a smile that suggests she has something specific in mind. "We're officially federal assets now."

"Officially."

"Partners with the FBI in transforming organized crime."

"Partners with the future."

"How does it feel?"

"Terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure."

"Good terrifying or bad terrifying?"

"The kind of terrifying that means we're doing something important."

"And the exhilarating part?"

"The exhilarating part is knowing we're doing it together."

She moves closer, and I can see heat building in her dark eyes. The kind of heat that comes from shared accomplishment and mutual respect and the knowledge that we've just committed to changing the world together.

"Alexei," she says, her voice dropping to the husky tone that makes my blood run hot.

"Yes?"

"I want to celebrate."

"How?"

"I want you to show me what it feels like to be married to a man who's powerful enough to transform law enforcement from the inside."

"Is that what I am?"

"That's exactly what you are. And I find it incredibly attractive."

"Do you?"

"The way you handled Agent Castillo today, the authority in your voice, the confidence in your planning—it's very sexy."

"You find strategic thinking sexy?"

"I find you sexy. The strategic thinking just makes it better."

When she kisses me, it's with the passionate intensity of a woman celebrating a victory she helped orchestrate. I respond with equal heat, my hands already working at the buttons of her blouse.

"Fifteen months ago, you bought me at an auction," she murmurs against my lips. "Tonight, we're federal partners in the most ambitious law enforcement initiative in history."

"Quite a journey."

"The best journey."

"And it's not over yet."

"No, it's not."

When I strip away her clothes, it's with the reverent appreciation of a man who never stops being amazed by the woman who chose to build a future with him. She's more beautiful now than she was on our wedding night—confident, powerful, absolutely certain of her place in our world.

"I love what we've become," I tell her as I map her body with careful hands. "Partners in everything, equals in all decisions."

"I love that our children will grow up seeing marriage as true partnership."

"They'll never settle for anything less."

"Good. They deserve everything we have."

"They'll have everything we have and more."

When I enter her, it's with the possessive satisfaction of a man claiming his equal partner. She meets my intensity with her own, her body moving against mine with perfect synchronization.

"I want another baby," she says suddenly, her eyes locked on mine.

The words hit me like lightning. "Now?"

"Not now now. But soon. I want Viktor and Katya to have siblings."

"How many siblings?"

"However many we can handle. However many we can love completely."

"That could be a lot of children."

"Good. This house is big enough for a lot of children."

"And our work? The transformation, the federal partnership?"

"Our work will be easier with a legacy to protect. More children means more reasons to build something lasting."

"More children means more targets for our enemies."

"More children means more motivation to eliminate our enemies completely."

The logic is flawless, and the image she's painting—our house filled with children who grow up knowing they're loved and protected and valued—makes my chest tight with want.

"You're sure?" I ask, driving deeper as she arches beneath me.

"I'm sure. I want to give you sons and daughters who carry on what we're building."

"I want that too."

"Then make it happen."

"Now?"

"Now."

The permission unlocks something primal in me. I claim her with renewed intensity, driven by the knowledge that we're not just making love—we're planning our future, creating our legacy, building the family that will carry our transformation forward.

"Come for me," I command, reaching between us to circle the sensitive spot that makes her gasp. "Come for the man who's going to give you everything you want."

"Everything?"

"More children, a transformed world, a future without limits."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She comes apart with a cry that probably carries through half the house, her body clenching around me as pleasure crashes through her. I follow her over the edge, emptying myself deep inside her with the desperate hope that we're creating another life to add to our growing family.

Afterward, we lie tangled together in satisfaction, planning the details of our expanding future while listening to the soft sounds of Viktor and Katya sleeping through the monitor.

"Think it worked?" she asks, one hand resting on her flat stomach.

"If not this time, then next time. Or the time after that."

"You're that determined to fill this house with children?"

"I'm that determined to build something worth inheriting."

"And if the federal partnership doesn't work?"

"Then our children will inherit something different but equally valuable."

"What?"

"The knowledge that their parents were brave enough to try changing the world. That's a legacy worth having."

"Even if we fail?"

"Especially if we fail trying to do something important."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"And I love the future we're building."

"Our children are going to love it too."

"All of them?"

"All of them. However many we end up having."

"Could be a lot."

"Could be perfect."

The future stretches ahead of us, uncertain but bright with possibility. Federal partnership, organizational transformation, expanding family—everything we've worked for is finally within reach.

And we're going to seize it all, together.