Page 17 of Cruel Russian Monster (Safin Bratva #2)

A smile tugged at my lips before my eyes were even fully open.

The past five days with Jaroslav were amazing, although I was super disappointed that we didn't have sex. Then we came home last night, and I was craving him so much, and the wine didn't help, so I put myself out there, and he accepted. Unfortunately, I fell asleep.

I had woken up sometime during the night and realized he was sleeping next to me. I was worried about him being angry, but the fact that he had stayed and slept in my bed told me he wasn't. I threw one arm over his chest and a leg over his thigh and snuggled in.

And honestly, I was looking forward to spending more time with him.

Yup. In bed. Between your legs.

Daytime sex could be just as fun, couldn't it?

I sat up in bed, wondering where he was, and listened. He wasn't in the bathroom. Then I heard it—raised, angry voices coming from downstairs.

Wait.

Yegor and Zahkar?

Shit.

I scrambled to throw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Barefoot, I flew out of my room and down the stairs. The voices became more distinct as I got closer.

“You really think that shooting us will stop others from coming for Vera?” Yegor yelled. “Last I checked, none of her brothers aligned her with you. You have no rights to her.”

Shit!

I ran to the hallway, and when I got there, I froze. Jaroslav only wore sweatpants. The muscles in his back were tight, his gun aimed between my brothers. In return, my brothers had their guns raised to him.

“Hi,” I whispered.

“Vera,” Yegor bit out. “Leave now.”

“No,” I said. “What you guys need to do is put down your weapons.”

“Like hell we will,” Zahkar shot back.

“Vera, this isn't a damn negotiation. Get in the car now,” Yegor snapped, his eyes still locked on Jaroslav, who hadn't said anything.

Why not? Was it that he wanted me to go?

I pushed the thought aside and walked slowly towards the men. I positioned myself between Jaroslav and my brothers.

“Yegor and Zahkar,” I pleaded. “Please, lower your guns.”

“As soon as he lowers his.” Zahkar tipped his head towards Jaroslav.

“Jaroslav,” I said firmly, without turning around. “Please, lower your gun.”

I felt Jaroslav come to stand right behind me, and my brothers lowered their weapons. I sighed with relief. Then I opened my eyes.

My brothers looked tired and on edge. My eyes misted. My brothers were here. They came looking for me. I hadn't seen them in a few weeks. I threw my arms around Zahkar and then Yegor.

“Fuck, Vera,” Yegor said. “We've been looking everywhere for you.”

“Does Artyom know where I am?” I asked quietly.

“If he had known, do you think we'd be standing up here without him?” Yegor responded.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

I looked between my brothers. “Please, don't tell him yet.”

“Of course we won't. He doesn't need to know, because you're leaving here with us,” Zahkar said.

“Jaroslav and I are married,” I blurted out.

Zahkar swore under his breath.

Yegor’s eyes darkened. “If Artyom finds out you're married to a Safin, he will more than lose his shit. Artyom is not going to give a flying fuck if Katya or Alexi dies. He won't stop until this territory is flattened to ash.”

My heart skipped a beat.

I held Yegor’s hand. “Yegor, please. Just don't tell Artyom yet. We're still trying to figure out how to tell him.”

Zahkar’s eyes narrowed. “Do Lev and the others know?”

“Yes.”

“And how did Lev take it?” Yegor asked.

Jaroslav finally spoke. “He could've taken it better.”

“So in other words, he's pissed,” Zahkar stated, looking over my shoulder at Jaroslav.

“Yes.”

“And you don't care?”

“He'll get over it.”

“And the others. What do they think?” Yegor directed his question to me.

“The others are okay with it. But I need support from my older brothers.”

Yegor sighed. “Fine,” he said reluctantly.

“Now, have you eaten?” I asked.

Girl, after your brothers pulled their guns on Jaroslav, you're inviting them to stay?

“Are you trying to bribe us with food?” Zahkar asked, amused.

“Yes. And I haven't seen either of you in forever, so please stay.”

“Sure, why not,” Yegor said.

I took both of their hands and led them to the lounge. I heard Jaroslav following. He probably doesn't trust that they won't snatch me away once his back is turned.

When we got to the lounge, I stepped away from them.

“Jaroslav and I will be down in a few minutes.” I gave them another quick hug before exiting the room.

Jaroslav didn't say anything as we made our way up the stairs. By the time he followed me into my room, I was nervous.

Was he angry that I had asked them to stay without asking him if it was okay?

How pissed was he at my brothers for pulling their weapons on him?

As soon as Jaroslav closed the door, he spun me in his arms and kissed me hard. When he pulled away, he placed his forehead against mine. We stood there a few moments before he pulled away, and my gaze met his.

“Thank you for wanting to stay.”

“You're welcome.”

“I was going to make you breakfast,” he smiled ruefully. “But now that we have company, I'll let Tomas bring us some stuff from the cafe.”

Wait, he was going to make me breakfast? A part of me just melted.

“You're not mad I asked them to stay?”

“I'm pissed they broke into my house, but I also understand why. I would do the same for Ninel and Mariya.” He paused. “Do you think they'll call Artyom while they're down there to let him know where you are?”

I shook my head. I knew once my brothers gave me their word, they'd keep it.

“No, they won't say anything.”

“Okay, I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes.”

He turned and walked out of my room.

Immediately, I went to my purse to take out my phone and call Katya. There was no way Jaroslav and my brothers would play nice during breakfast. Three Bratva men who had just pulled weapons on each other? Not happening.

She answered on the third ring.

“Hey, Vera.”

“Katya,” I said. “I've got a problem.”

I paced the room.

“Are you okay? Is Jaroslav hurt?” she asked, panicked.

“Nothing like that,” I said quickly.

I explained what I walked into this morning. When I had finished, she spoke. “So you need me to help you neutralize the men.”

“Yes. I know it's short notice,” I admitted.

“Vera, I'll be there. I'll call Ninel and Mariya and ask them to babysit. Love you, see you in about an hour.”

“Love you too, Katya.”

After hanging up, I took a quick shower, pulled on a jeans and a T-shirt, and slipped a pair of sandals on my feet before heading to the lounge.

I walked in and froze. Jaroslav sat in the armchair facing the door, his expression stony. Both arms were resting on the arms of the chair, both feet planted flat on the floor.

Yegor and Zahkar sat on sofas facing each other. Both of them, though, leaned back, turned slightly to Jaroslav, their eyes glued to him, faces unreadable.

I blew out through my mouth and walked into the room.

I poured each of my brothers a drink, which they took without question. Then I poured myself a glass of wine and two fingers of scotch for Jaroslav, which I knew he wasn’t going to drink because he'd be alert with Yegor and Zahkar here.

I handed him his glass, which he placed on the coffee table next to his chair. I needed to play doting wife to put my brothers’ minds at ease.

So, I did what any doting wife would do. I sat on my husband's lap. Jaroslav’s hand rested on my thigh, slowly moving up and down. I gulped down some wine as I tried to ignore the heat from his hand.

Yegor's jaw ticked. “Vera, mind telling us how you ended up being Jaroslav's wife?”

I took a slow sip of my wine, this time, then set the glass down on the coffee table. My hand drifted over Jaroslav’s shoulder, fingers slipping into the hair at the nape of his neck. My gaze stayed trained on my brothers.

“There was a reason I went to Las Vegas alone. I went there to meet Jaroslav.”

“But, you can see him at Lev's house. Why did you need to go all the way to Vegas?” Zahkar asked suspiciously.

“We didn't have privacy at Lev's to discuss anything. Nor did we want to tell anyone, because we didn't want them to talk us out of it.”

“Because you both knew it was a bad idea,” Yegor stated, a hint of anger in his tone.

“Yegor, it's not a bad idea. Like you said, Katya lives here, and so does Alexi. Artyom may not have warmed up to Katya yet, but we're hoping that my marriage to Jaroslav will put an end to the war.”

“But you could've come to us. We would've found a better way,” Zahkar stated.

I shook my head. “You guys have gotten in enough trouble with Artyom over helping Lev last time. There's no way I'm putting you in harm's way again.

“And maybe,” I met Jaroslav's eyes briefly before turning back to my brothers. “Lev will be willing to reopen the Eastern European smuggling route to appease Artyom.”

I looked at my brothers, but they didn't say anything. I got up from Jaroslav's lap and sat down next to Yegor, holding one of his hands in both of mine.

“Please, I need you to understand,” I sighed. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Always.” He looked at me as I spoke.

“The reality is that I played my part in starting this war.

I didn't want to get married to Lev. And because I ran, he went looking for me, but found Katya.

My actions set off a lot of negative consequences.

Marrying Jaroslav helps me fix the mistake that I made.

Dad always said it's not good enough to just realize that you've made a mistake, but it's up to you to fix it.

Jaroslav doesn't have me locked up in a tower.

He's a great brother-in-law to Katya. He protects her.

Trust him to do the same for me, as my husband.

And if you can't trust him…then trust me.”

“Damn,” Yegor muttered.

“We just want to be sure that you're okay,” Zahkar said. “That's he's not taking out the frustration that he’s feeling towards Artyom on you.”

“I’m okay, and he isn't,” I smiled.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Tomas.