GavrilI caressed Naomi’s stomach, reminding myself of the child that was growing inside. She had asked me what she might’ve thought to be an innocent question. But to me, it was a hell of a lot more complicated than she realized. There had been a time with Katya that I would have left willingly.I believed that my mother knew it, which was why she was so against our relationship. Had Katya not tried to kill me that night, I might have truly given up everything to be with her.Maybe it was a fucking blessing in disguise, what Katya did. It would have been difficult to regain control after walking away from it all, especially from my mother. She would have seen me as a failure, not that she didn’t see me that way now.And now. I was looking at Naomi before me, not Sveta.I was looking at the woman who carried my child, who held my future in her hands whether she believed it or not.How could I not imagine my life with her outside of the Bratva? How could I not look at her and see a fut
NaomiI had to admit. Having naked Gavril run my shower water was enticing. Having Gavril do anything for me was both intriguing and filled me with emotions that I didn’t want to try and decipher right now.After what we had just shared with one another, and the sexual experience that had left me breathless, I didn’t want this day to end.This was the Gavril I loved, the one who had clearly stolen my heart and made me hope for a future. It could be hopeless for me to even think he would return my feelings after what he told me about Katya, but I wanted to show him that I wasn’t that bitch.I truly cared about him, about his soul, his future, everything about him, honestly.Gavril straightened, the taut muscles stretching and rippling as he did so. He was in top shape, his muscles cut in a way that seemed to defy any body type.It really wasn’t fair. In a few short months, I would be as big as a house, and he would still be stupid perfect.He turned toward me, and I blushed as I realiz
GavrilI sat in the lounger on the terrace, Naomi settled between my thighs as we soaked up the late afternoon sun. After her nap, Vera had provided us lunch in Naomi’s bedroom. The housekeeper had arched a brow as she saw me in my joggers in the middle of the day, but wisely said nothing.It was odd for me not to be working. But after what the day had brought, I had two reasons for being here. First was to make sure that Naomi was safe. After that fucker had gotten on my property and scared the shit out of her, I was begging for him to show up again so I could handle him personally. If that meant staying home today with her, then I would.It wasn’t just protecting her though. I was enjoying myself. That was the second reason for me being here. She made me feel like a human, like I could be someone different and still keep my pakhan world separate.My phone vibrated in my pocket. I sighed. I pulled it out and looked at the number. It was the fourth time that Anatoly had tried to reach
NaomiI rolled my neck and shook out my arms, feeling the coldness of the mat underneath my bare feet. The weather sucked outside, another rare day where rain came down in sheets and the sky was gray even though it was nearing noon, but I was glad not to be in bed watching it.When Gavril had woken me this morning and said he wanted to show me some self-defense moves that I could use if and when I was ever threatened again, I’d jumped on the chance to do so. It wasn’t that I felt like I couldn’t fight back, but clearly Gavril had been able to protect himself all his life, and surely he knew a better way than I did.Or at the very least, what he knew had been gained from practice and not some class.Jon was coming back. I felt in my gut that he wasn’t going to just walk away and forget he ever saw me.That, and he knew I was pregnant. I imagined that would fuel his plans even more.I wasn’t going to be his victim any longer. I was tougher than that. After all, I was married to the pakh
GavrilI sat at the table in the far back of the club, guarded by Anatoly and a few other loyal Belaya brigadiers. The sniveling man before me was Justin Vida, a businessman who had once been considered a partner of the Belaya Bratva. He had used his real estate business as a front for me to push money to a few of my friends in Mexico and Canada. Until now.Now, there were rumors that he was keeping some of the money for himself. I had taken the liberty of checking the reports on my own. The old Russian adage of trust, but verify. And sure enough, the numbers added up.So, I had called Justin here for a discussion. A chance for him to plead his innocence. Or at the very least, own up to the theft.I demanded loyalty. It was the one trait that my own mother had instilled in me when she allowed me to take over the reins. Loyalty was everything to a Bratva but also to the businesses that I dealt in. If I couldn’t keep my own men honest with me, then how could I keep my reputation with th
NaomiI pulled the blanket tighter around me as I watched the sappy movie on TV, hating the way I was feeling. It seemed that no matter what I watched, my emotions always got the better of me and I ended up crying.Stupid hormones. If they were already this bad, I couldn’t even begin to think what they would be like in a month or two.Glancing over at the clock on the table, I frowned. It was well past midnight. Gavril had promised that he would be back in an hour or two, but it had been well over four already.Had something happened?I drew in a breath, trying not to think in that manner. At some point, I needed to get used to the fact that Gavril was always in some form of danger.That thought inevitably brought me to thinking about our future together. After the last couple of days, I felt like something was finally coming together. Even despite the terrifying display of violence that Gavril had shown me in the training room, I still cared for him.I loved him. I hadn’t lied to him
GavrilI stood at the window, looking out as the city lights twinkled in the distance. In a few short hours I would be going to war to protect my Bratva and all that I cared about.Including my wife.I hated that Naomi hadn’t told me the truth about Jon. I fucking hated that it had to be someone like Konstantin Poroshenko who forced me to confront the truth about my marriage and my relationship with Naomi.A tortured chuckle escaped me. Naomi wasn’t my wife. The name on that marriage certificate wasn’t hers, and now that the secret was out, I could cut ties with her permanently. I didn’t need to have her in my fucking house for her to give birth to my child.She had deliberately and willfully held back information that could destroy all that I had worked for. Her ex could bring hell down on me, and no number of good fucking lawyers was going to dig me out of that hole.I fucking hated it. I thought we had gotten past that, gotten past the point of her hurting me.It was an ugly admiss
NaomiI glanced down at the clock wearily, feeling another hour slip away that didn’t bring any peace to my life. I felt like my body was moving at a snail’s pace, the fog around me never truly lifting.More than that, I continued to hear the sound of the crib crashing to the ground repeatedly in my mind, a lifetime of what could have been dreams and hopes for the future gone in an instant.It had been Vera who had found me still curled up against the door and had helped me to my bed, even holding me briefly and whispering that it was going to be just fine.I allowed her to do so, comforted that the stern older woman would even consider offering me comfort when I was the subject of so much pain for the man she served.Did she know that I wasn’t Sveta now? Did they all know? Was I the butt of some joke that Gavril was dealing with?Had I truly ruined everything for him?It was all my fault, after all. If I had only told him about Jon’s true identity in the beginning, he could have been