Page 15 of Nobody Wants Me (Volkov Bratva #5)

V ictor

Okay, so Freya was getting under my skin.

Ivan had given me an order, and I intended to obey, but in my own damn time.

My wife was staying as my wife, until we both died.

Unless I died before her, and then Ivan would probably find someone else for her to marry.

Or vice versa. I didn’t want to marry anyone.

Holding Freya in my arms, I couldn’t deny that it felt right. I also knew her tears were caused by her fucked-up family, and that only served to piss me off even more. They were all going to pay for her tears, every last one of them. Freya should not be crying.

At the sound of her stomach rumbling, I take her chin and tilt her head back just a little. “I think it’s time for us to finish that breakfast.”

I was still starving, but there was no way I was cooking bacon and eggs, when I didn’t even know if Freya liked them. This was my way of being nice.

“Don’t let them win,” I said.

I watched as she took a deep breath and then nodded her head. I wasn’t convinced but I knew for now it would have to do.

Following her into the house, we went back to the table, and I held the chair for her to sit in as I slid it under the table.

On instinct, and I don’t know why I did this but it felt natural, I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

It wasn’t any big deal, just a little kiss.

Then, I stepped back and didn’t even look at her as I made my way to my seat.

I wanted more food, so I served myself some more.

After all, I had cut lots of the damn stuff, waiting for her to appear.

I’m not used to having to put in any kind of effort when it comes to winning a woman. They flew at me. My position, the power, the money drew them in like moths to a flame, and it wasn’t like I fought it. I just did.

We hadn’t gotten off to a good start, Freya and I. I was still pissed that I had to marry, and I didn’t want to get close to any other woman. Losing my mother and sister, knowing I couldn’t save them, that they had been gone before I got there—it had been more than I could bear.

Killing my father hadn’t helped. Well, it had given me a sense of peace knowing the piece of shit was no longer living, but it hadn’t changed what happened. My mother was still dead, as was my little sister.

I didn’t want to get close to Freya. She was my wife, and I didn’t have a choice.

But I had a plan. This was all business.

I could do what needed to be done. Get her pregnant without committing to her, without allowing myself to feel anything for her.

This is what I wanted to do. It felt like it could be easy.

But I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t going to be.

Staring at Freya, seeing the redness of her eyes, I knew there was a story there.

Her father had been a piece of work, but I didn’t know the whole puzzle.

He hated her enough to sell her to the Volkov Bratva, and to also put a hit out on her.

Not just any kind of hit, but one that would tear her apart.

I ran a hand down my face and tried not to think about what all of that meant.

I would keep her safe. If we didn’t, the repercussions would be a pain in the ass. It would start to show Ivan as being weak.

The Grid were a piece of work. I don’t know how The Beast and The Butcher hoped to bring them down, but I wasn’t going to stop them, or criticize them.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

The plan was still in place. I had to get Freya to open up to me so we could have sex again. I was already aware of the fact she had a menstrual cycle. One of the maids had to ask the guards if they could go to the store to get her some feminine products.

Our wedding night didn’t do the trick. I was going to have to fuck her until we sealed the deal.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just wondering what we should do to fill the time.”

“You want to take a walk after this? Go and see the island?”

She looked out toward the doors and nodded. “Yeah, I would love to. So, do we need to come up with a code or an alarm in case someone comes here and tries to kill us?”

“No one is getting to this island,” I said.

“They’re not?”

“Ivan sent us here because it is secure. It’s why The Butcher had to bring us in, and the only way out for us is when she returns.”

“What about boats?”

“Knowing Ivan, he has resources that will stop them.”

“You have that much trust in him?” she asked.

“He’s never let me down. If Ivan said this place is secure, then it is secure.”

Also, it didn’t look easily accessible by water, otherwise, I had a feeling The Butcher would have come along on a speedboat rather than a helicopter. I didn’t even know that woman could fly.

We finished breakfast, cleaned the dishes, and then headed out. I offered my hand for Freya to take, and at first she looked at my hand as if it was some kind of evil thing. Then, it was like whatever came over her passed, and she placed her hand in mine. I was merely doing my job, that was all.

And so, we walked together, making our way out of the house and going along the line of the beach. As I looked out, I was pretty sure I saw rocky surface, and that is why I had a feeling Ivan got this place. He had built his home, and it could only be accessed through the sky.

Now, I know people could get to us via helicopter, but I had a feeling Ivan did something to mess up the coordinates. Either way, it didn’t matter. If Ivan said this place was safe, it was safe.

We walked most of the morning, taking in the whole view of the beach.

For the first hour, neither of us spoke.

I was used to the silence. I also wanted Freya to get used to my company.

The best way to make that happen was to be silent and give her the time and chance to talk.

It didn’t take long before I was rewarded.

“I love this place,” Freya said.

“You do?”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s paradise. It’s not too hot. It’s not too cold. The sun is beaming down, but it doesn’t seem like it’s too much. Ivan has real great taste for home décor. His house is stunning. I love it.” She let out a little giggle.

This made me smile as I looked at her. She was so infectious. It was so damn cute.

Okay, maybe making this work wouldn’t be quite so bad.

“Doesn’t your dad have a private island?” I asked, and that smile disappeared. Fuck, I wish I had held off saying anything.

“He does, but I never went. I don’t think my brothers were allowed to go either.”

“Do you know much about it?”

She shook her head. “Dad was private. It was strange, because he would tell us everything to do with his business. Yet, we all knew he had a private island, but no one was allowed to go.”

“Did you ask him about it?” he asked.

“I did, and then I was never going to ask him again.”

“Why?”

“He hit me,” Freya said. “Actually, it was a slap, then he put a nice little punch behind it. Trust me, after that, I didn’t ask again. I figured he didn’t want to talk about it.”

That made me angry. “He hit you?”

Freya sighed. “My dad was not a very good father. In the public eye, yes, he was a good, kind person. A bachelor and all of those things, but I didn’t fit the image he wanted.”

I stared at her. We had stopped close to the house.

“Okay, go on, what image?” I asked.

“You know, being beautiful and blonde, and thin. I angered him because he wanted me to get plastic surgery. On one of the occasions, he even trashed my house, the one I stayed at on his property. He completely destroyed all my sewing stuff.” She let out a little chuckle.

“Kind of like what you did to that quilt I made you.”

And now I felt like a piece of shit.

“He destroyed my sewing room, burnt my fabric. Trashed my house. It took me a couple of months to replace everything and clean everything up.” She shrugged. “Those that get on his bad side and don’t do what he wants, pay the price. Don’t ever get on his bad side.”

She looked back at the house. “I’m hungry again. Do you want some food?”

I agreed and watched as she made her way into the house.

I knew Harris Harris was not a good guy.

What I didn’t realize was what a piece of shit he actually was.

Of course he had to be, he put his own daughter on the chopping block.

He married her into the Volkov Bratva, and then put a hit out on her.

When I found this piece of shit, I was going to fucking kill him.

****

T he Butcher

Arriving back at Victor’s house, I see Ivan and The Beast are already there. Victor’s staff had been given an extended vacation.

“They’re safe?” Ivan asked.

“Yes.”

He shouldn’t have expected anything less. I always followed through with orders. Ivan wanted Freya and Victor safe, that is exactly where they were. Safe.

No one knew the coordinates of the island.

Ivan knew them, and he had given them to me, to deliver them safely to his home.

The island was like a fortress. I had no idea how he was able to build a house on it, but then, I’ve come to see Ivan is not all he seems. He is a man of many skills.

Strange to believe that if his own father had just accepted his kid at the time, none of this would have happened.

Or, Ivan and I might have met under different circumstances.

“You get followed?” The Beast asked.

“Probably. What’s the plan?” I asked, turning to Ivan.

“The Grid moves around. There are a lot of high-powered players, and I think it is time for some of those players to end up dead,” Ivan said.

“The problem is knowing who the high-powered players are?” The Beast asked.

“Have you always been this pessimistic?” I asked.