Page 42 of Claim Me (Dmitriyev Bratva #2)

M arissa

Was it possible my father had agreed to sell me off? No, I couldn’t believe it. Not a chance.

Then why was my stomach filled with what felt like a swarm of stinging bees?

The bastards believed I was part of the deal, even when offering ten million fucking dollars. I was angry. No, I was pissed off. Right now, that was much worse.

“Fucking assholes,” I hissed, which amused Kazimir. At least I’d sensed his fury all the way to my core. The fact he’d come to my defense with such vehemence had allowed me to see just how possessive he truly was.

Even now, the way he was looking at me was with admiration and perhaps a little bit of surprise.

The little wallflower musician had a spine.

I could almost feel everyone’s eyes on me.

The moment was cathartic for me. Being able to shred that huge check was freeing. But seeing the look on the faces of the two Russians would forever be priceless. Especially the younger one.

Whatever he’d said about me had set Kazimir off. What kept me from falling into utter despair and fear was the way Kazimir had reacted. I’d never seen him so angry and he’d been furious with me several times.

Shaking, I could no longer feel my legs. All sound dissipated as I’d always managed to do during times of stress. The confrontation had taken all my energy. For a moment, I was the lost little girl wishing I could run into Daddy’s arms as I once had.

I’d tried too hard to pretend I was strong, that I could handle the fear and grief, the constant anxiety without breaking into little pieces, but right now, I’d never felt so helpless or so small.

My own father. I closed my eyes briefly, reminding myself that Vladimir Popov was a criminal and would likely sell his own son for money.

It didn’t provide me with much comfort. At least Kazimir had prepared me for the possibility.

Without him doing so, I would have fallen apart.

Or would I?

“Yes, both are assholes. You handled yourself very well.”

“They’re both lucky I didn’t cut their dicks off and shove them down their throats.” I smoothed my hand down my dress. My words were caustic, but I was trembling all over.

“I like this girl,” Alexsey said as he winked. Heat rose on my face.

This wasn’t like me. The bad language. The desire to kill people. Everything had changed in three short days.

I no longer recognized myself.

Suddenly, I was in Kazimir’s arms and he was lifting my head with a single finger. Blinking, I tried to pull away if for no other reason than some instinct he’d chastise me for being so stupid.

I expected fury in his gorgeous eyes. Instead, I saw admiration. Respect.

“You are… amazing, Marissa,” he said in his deep, throaty voice that sent another entirely different kind of chill down my spine. “But be very careful. You’re already a target.”

“No, I don’t think I am special. Did I just start a war?”

He laughed and suddenly, the man I’d met briefly was directly beside us. “Marissa. It wouldn’t matter if you had. You are family now and we watch out for our own.”

Family. Why would anyone think of me as family? I didn’t know them. I barely knew Kazimir. “Thank you and I’m sorry if I did the wrong thing.”

“No apology necessary,” Mikhail continued, making certain I could read his lips. “Popov and his son are pigs. They are from a different time.”

“You mean a different century where women are not seen as equals,” Kazimir added. “They actually think we’re going to pay the inflated interest.”

“He’ll expect it,” Mikhail said. I liked Kazimir’s brothers very much. They were powerful and strong, almost as handsome as Kazimir.

“Rurik truly believes a deal was made and not just for the hotel. Yes?” I asked both men. “Don’t sugarcoat it. They’re going to attempt to force me into this arranged marriage. Right?”

Mikhail looked at Kazimir.

“What he believes and what will happen are two entirely different things.” Kazimir was so certain, so strong when I felt as if I was ready to collapse. “No one is going to touch you.”

“He’s right, Marissa. Vladimir is not a stupid man. He knows better than to lay a finger on you now that he knows we’re involved.”

I didn’t need stronger senses given my hearing to know everyone in the room was worried. I took a deep breath and nodded while they chatted briefly about the loan. At this point, all of the information had become suffocating.

Walking away, I headed for the window overlooking the pool, missing Charlie more than I had the last few days. I noticed Kazimir’s reflection before I experienced the heavy tingle of electricity.

“Are you about ready to begin our date?” Kazimir asked, obviously trying to break my train of thought and growing fear. I finally realized why he’d been so insistent that I never fight him and his decisions. I hadn’t understood the reality behind his life and a world that I knew little about.

And in truth, it scared me to death.

“Yes, I’d love that,” I said, uncertain whether I could handle anything but curling up in a tight ball and crying myself to sleep.

“I’ll be right back. Why don’t you have a drink and relax.” He squeezed my arm and I took a deep breath, nodding as soon as he did.

He walked away, immediately surrounded by a group of men who all looked similar to him. Big, powerful, and dangerous.

Nadia approached, both hands holding drinks. She smiled as she handed me one. “You look like you could use this.”

“Yes. That obvious?” I immediately brought the glass to my lips, thankful I didn’t slosh wine all over myself.

“You did great. Very formidable.”

My laugh was strangled. “I don’t know about that. I have no clue what I’m doing.”

“Fighting lions, tigers, and bears, but my cousin is able to handle himself and will keep you protected.” While her words resonated, so did the reality of what I was facing in the future.

“For how long? How long is he required to be by my side? How many men will be assigned to follow me around just to keep me from being swept off the street and held prisoner?”

“As many as it takes. Kazimir doesn’t like being pushed. He always pushes back. An admirable trait.”

“How can you tolerate living this way? Keeping a gun with you at all times, worrying about who might suddenly appear, either trying to kidnap or kill you. What kind of life is that? My guess is you keep a weapon by the bed.”

She took a deep breath. “Yes, I do, but not because I’m forced to.

I’m different than other women in our family.

I chose to be a part of the life you’re talking about, but you need to know every day isn’t filled with violence or contentious meetings with would-be oligarchs.

We run an extremely profitable corporation.

Do we have enemies? Absolutely, but so does any other Fortune 100 company. ”

“You make it sound so easy. What about having a family? Children? A pet?”

“I’m not interested in having a family. I don’t think there’s a man out there who can handle me. But I do have a pet. A beautiful Manx cat who hates me.”

I burst into laughter. “Cats hate me too. I just don’t think I can handle this. It’s risky. My parents and my brother lost their lives because of it.”

“But not because of their involvement. Right?”

“I don’t know. That’s what disturbs me the most. Was it possible my father had used me as collateral?”

“I think deep down inside you know your father would never do that,” Nadia insisted. “From what I’ve heard, they were trying to do the right thing. They didn’t ask to be in the middle of such a dangerous situation.”

“Exactly and they were murdered anyway because my father ignored his own instinct. He knew Vladimir would make him pay dearly for the loan.”

“Maybe so. Life is risky, Marissa. You can be sitting in your home watching television and a fire starts or jogging in your favorite park and some crazy serial killer just happens to be there.”

“Ugh. Now I really want to curl up in a ball or a hole and never come out. There’s too much danger around every corner.” I dropped my eyes to the weapon she had in her unfastened holster, shuddering as I thought about how there could have been a massacre.

She cocked her head. “That’s your choice. You can either live your life the way you want or give into your fears and go ahead and curl up like you’re talking about. But if you do, you won’t be able to go on a date with a handsome man and one who seems to adore you.”

“You think he’s handsome?” I grinned because she had a way of putting me at ease.

“Well, he is my cousin and trust me, a true pain in the ass, but all the Dmitriyev men are attractive. But I have my eye on one hot Italian stallion.”

I followed her line of sight to one of the group of Italians who’d walked into the room late.

All four were related. All four looked like GQ models straight from the Milan runway.

How was it that in every gangster news report I’d seen or television show like The Sopranos , men from mafia families were fat, ugly, and oily?

Maybe I should stop stereotyping.

“Does he know?”

She brushed her fingers down the side of her neck. “We’ve been flirting on and off, but one marriage between the two families almost killed my brothers and cousins. Two and they’d be six feet under by morning.”

“Ah, but you need to live your life the way you want. Right?”

Her nose wrinkled. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Yes, you did.” We laughed and I started to relax, even though I continuously glanced toward the door, fearful the rough and ugly dude would make a reappearance. He’d practically salivated when looking at me. It made me sick to my stomach. “So you think Kazimir isn’t angry with me?”

“Are you kidding me? Look at him now, nestled in the group of men. Their serious expressions would make you think they’re plotting some world war, yet his eyes barely leave you. If you dared try and walk out of the room, he’d spring into action.”

It was good to laugh, something I’d thought would take me a very long time to do again. “I think you’re right.”