Page 5 of The Bratva’s Arranged Virgin Bride (Fokin Bratva #8)

I was stunned, practically hanging over the edge of the balcony to hear every last word. I never believed my heart could hurt worse than it already did after what I just learned. Or that I could be so angry.

The piece of crap was Arkadi’s brother.

It all made perfect sense now. Mila’s caginess and holding back, always changing the subject with lightning speed whenever I brought Kolya up.

It was because she knew. Mila knew all along that she was married to the man’s brother, and she still kept it from me.

I, as good as a sister, was always there for her when her own brothers turned their backs on her because of who she married.

No, I had to be wrong about that.

Once my heart climbed back down out of my throat and slowed to a somewhat normal pace, it also made sense why my uncles and cousins were so adamant about kicking me out of the meeting before Kolya arrived.

Ugh, just hearing them say his name made me want to punch something.

To think I used to like saying it, used to believe the smiles he gave me when he heard it were real.

But I still hung out with Mila, so excluding me went beyond the usual need to keep me far from danger.

This time, they were keeping me on the outside because they didn’t trust me not to say something to Mila about this disgusting new alliance.

That in itself hurt, but not as much as the memories assailing me.

That pain and betrayal gnawed at me as I listened to their plans. Why were they doing this? I was too shocked to care, too devastated at hearing his laughter as they agreed to an alliance. A marriage .

The whirlwind of feelings assailing me crystallized into my old friend, rage. I remembered the thing that had been fueling me for the past months, the thing that helped me get out of bed in the morning when nothing else seemed worthwhile.

Revenge against the piece of crap, Kolya Cheslov. No, Mikhailov. Even his name had been a lie. He was nothing but lies. My hands tightened once more around the railing, to keep myself from running to my father’s gun safe.

Closing my eyes, I indulged in a nice little fantasy about which gun I’d choose, how I’d burst through the patio doors as they were toasting their insane plan.

As soon as Kolya recognized me, I’d shoot him somewhere really painful first, maybe the kneecap.

Then, as he screamed in agony, I’d end him before one of my uncles got the gun away from me.

It was a nice daydream, better than having to welcome that swine into my family.

The only hitch was that he wouldn’t suffer very much, just a few seconds of intense pain.

Nowhere near good enough when I’d been suffering for months.

Thinking about it calmed me down enough to keep listening as they hashed out the details, and there was no way anyone could convince me my uncles and cousins hadn’t planned this together beforehand.

They believed that Kolya was plotting something with Arkadi and wanted to keep an eye on him.

My cousin Masha, like me, was young and female, but she was one of the biggest badasses in the family.

She was a crack shot, skilled at surveillance and hacking, and had so many judo medals they lined her parents’ walls in their family home back in Moscow.

Neither my uncles nor my cousins were worried in the least that Masha couldn’t handle herself, and in fact, once Kolya left, they were crowing about the fact that she’d get all the info they were after within a few weeks, or even days.

I sat back, closing my eyes against a sick feeling in my stomach, threatening to make me heave my guts out over the balcony edge.

That man would be right under my nose from now on, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing I could do about it.

Especially not when my family seemed to need him for something.

I’d have to be civil to him, welcoming even. Would we pretend we didn’t know each other? Oh, he’d probably love that. Thinking about him laughing to himself because of that made me stalk to my room before I threw something and gave away my hiding spot.

Normally, my childhood room was a safe haven, a place that shielded me from all cares.

Many fond memories filled the bright, airy space.

Some of my favorite stuffed animals still hung out on the giant bed, resting against all the cream and rose pillows.

Framed pictures of happier times littered my desk, along with my unopened laptop and a stack of thrillers and romances I was working my way through.

They were supposed to keep me from thinking too much, but they didn’t help at all.

Kicking off my shoes, my toes sank into the thick rug, where I began to wear a track with my pacing. The gauzy curtains were thrown open to let in all the late afternoon sunlight, but I still couldn’t shake the darkness that engulfed me after what I heard.

My anger was so strong I couldn’t make myself care what my family’s ultimate plan for all this was. Not when I’d been waiting for my revenge for so long. I not only knew where he was, but he was so close. And yet, my hands were tied. It was a brand new torment.

About an hour later, Masha found me in my room, still worked up and with no idea how I was going to deal with Kolya becoming part of my family. Oh my God, he couldn’t live here with Masha, could he?

I had to arrange my face like I wasn’t about to tear my own hair out, and also pretend ignorance as she told me she would be moving out.

“Finally found your own place?” I asked.

She sat down on my bed and sighed. “I’ll be going in just a few days.”

“What? Why so soon?”

She wouldn’t give me a straight answer, and all her feeble excuses fell flat.

Not enough room? The wing she and Lilia shared had six bedrooms and bathrooms, a gym, and an entertainment room.

It wasn’t like it was inconvenient to her work either, since she’d been shadowing my father since she arrived.

I was so damn frustrated not being able to call her out that tears sprang to my eyes.

“I’ll miss you,” I said, trying to cover the true reason I was on the verge of crying.

Masha might have been a stone-faced assassin in front of my father, but she was my friend underneath it all.

We hadn’t been able to grow up together since she grew up in Russia, but we always found common ground whenever we visited, and since she and Lilia had moved here, we’d become thick as thieves.

She clearly hated keeping secrets from me.

“Why all of a sudden?” I asked, trying to worm information from her that I already knew. Trying to see if she’d outright lie to me. “Does this have something to do with that meeting all of you just had?”

She looked pained. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, really.”

“But you still can’t tell me anything about it. Doesn’t anyone trust me?” The pain I showed her wasn’t fake.

“It’s not that at all,” she hurried to say. “Of course, everyone in the family trusts you.”

I had to wonder, but since I wasn’t supposed to know anything, I couldn’t bring Mila into it. It was understandable if they didn’t want her to know something, but I’d already been warned not to speak of certain things with her, and I’d stuck to it.

“Then you think I’ll screw things up,” I said. “Whatever you’ve got going on. Nobody in this family thinks I’m capable.”

Masha’s pause lasted a beat too long. “No one thinks that.”

“Then why are you keeping me in the dark?”

She closed her eyes like she was trying to decide something. “I’m getting married,” she admitted, quickly adding that it was only going to be a temporary arrangement. “It won’t even be real. Probably not, anyway,” she said, glancing away.

I gasped. Masha was treating, possibly having to sleep with Kolya, like it was no big deal, just another assignment.

“You can’t,” I said, way too forcefully, shocking myself and her. She thought I was judging her and shook her head.

“Arranged marriages happen all the time in the Bratva. I’ll get the intel we need and get out fast. It probably won’t come to that.”

There was that word again. Probably. I studied Masha, with her big brown eyes and long dark hair.

In looks, she was the complete opposite of me.

Well, in capability, too, but that was because she’d been raised for life in the family business while I’d been sheltered from its dangers.

But she had no idea just how dangerous the charms of someone like Kolya could be.

What if her temporary arrangement turned out to be something more?

Bile rose in my throat as I realized the sick feeling that was eating at me was jealousy.

No, not possible. I pushed it down, sure I was just worried about Masha.

There was no way I was jealous that she’d be getting to spend time with him.

If anything, I was jealous that she’d be the one to be in close proximity to him, able to make him suffer in all sorts of ways.

Of course, she wouldn’t, since it wasn’t part of their plan.

The perfect opportunity to get revenge went to waste. That was the only reason that I felt so sick.

And just like that, it was as if a light snapped on, scattering all the dark shadows of anger and betrayal away. I smiled and took Masha’s hand.

“At least let me be there for the wedding. You’ll need support.”

Masha explained what I already knew from spying. It was just going to be her and Matvey at a small chapel. There was no reason to make a big deal out of it since it was agreed it was just going to be a business arrangement.

Probably.

“I’m not even going to wear anything special,” she said. “It’s not real, remember?”

Oh, but it was suddenly very real to me. And I was going to be there at that wedding, one way or another.