Page 51 of The Bratva's Arranged Virgin Bride
Chapter 27 - Kolya
It was a hell of a bad day, dealing with some delivery issues at the club that needed a bribe to smooth it out. I had a feeling the trucking company was ultimately owned by a Fokin, but my club was legit; they could spy on it all they wanted. When I owned everything that was theirs, I’d decide if I’d repay them in kind with such pettiness.
I couldn’t wait to get home to Nat, and found her in her studio, once again scowling at a blank canvas. I wish she could understand how talented she really was and get past the insecurities that kept her from finishing a project.
She was beautiful even with the frown on her face, and remembering how passionate a little paint had made us, I moved behind her to nuzzle her neck. She snapped out of her trance and jumped.
“I didn’t hear you come in.”
I kept kissing her, moving her hair aside to get to the spot near her ear that made her shiver with delight. She slid out of my embrace and asked how my day was, not so subtly keeping me at arm’s length and not so subtly trying to get something out of me.
Finally, she asked if I knew where Arkadi and Mila had gone, since they had left LA several days ago.
“So that little visit from your Uncle Nik wasn’t just a social call,” I said. She seemed shocked that I knew about it, but of course I did. And that they’d sat outside talking for more than half an hour. When she didn’t answer, I raised my hands. “You know, if he wants to know where Arkadi is, he could just call him. I’m sure he must have the number. Or at least Mila’s.”
“Are you spying on me?” she demanded.
I almost laughed. “What do I have to gain from that? Why don’t you just tell Nik that my brother’s in Rio.”
“Is that where he really is?”
Now I was getting pissed. I was really beginning to think she was starting to trust me.
“That’s where he told me he was going.”
This was partly a lie, because Arkadi was still dodging my calls, but that was where my surveillance people thought he went. Who knew with the master of disguise and his wily wife, though? He could have been anywhere.
So much damn subterfuge. It was wearing me out.
She shrugged, like it was no big deal if she knew or not, then asked me where I’d been all day, as if the problem at the club couldn’t have possibly taken so long to sort out.
“Where did you go after you left the gallery?” I countered.
The color drained from her face, and if I hadn’t already known she met her cousin, I would have instantly suspected she was hiding something. Damn it. This wasn’t how I wanted the evening to go. We should have been sharing a bottle of wine and laughing together by now.
“Masha finally agreed to speak to me,” she said, a note of desperation in her voice. “I had to jump at the chance to apologize in person.”
“For stealing me out from under her?” I asked, not heading in the direction to get us on track for a pleasant night. “Or out from under your family’s true aim? Your cousin Masha could probably kill a man twenty different ways. Are they pissed off that I’m still alive?”
Nat’s mouth dropped open. “None of that’s true,” she sputtered. “They never wanted you dead, just under their…” she trailed off, her face flooding with embarrassed color. She was no professional spy, and she’d just slipped up badly. She clapped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. “That wasn’t my plan, though,” she said. “I honestly wanted you.”
I might have fallen for that a few minutes ago. Now, I didn’t know what to believe. All I knew was I had to get out of there before I said something I’d really regret. With a harsh laugh, I turned and walked away.
As I was leaving, she hurled a whole damn easel at me. The sound of the blank canvas hitting the floor made me whirl around and jump out of the way, causing the spindly wooden structure to fold up against the door frame and fall with a crash. Swearing that she missed, she tossed a bottle of acrylic paint at me. It bounced harmlessly off my chest and rolled under her desk.
“Why are you so angry?” I asked. “Is it because the truth is out now? Because it doesn’t change a thing. We’re still married, and we’ll remain that way.”
“Do you think that’s the only reason I have to be mad at you?” Her face went red when I shrugged. “You stole everything from me,” she screamed. “You left me with nothing.”
I scoffed at that. “Do I need to remind you who you are? I hardly left you on the verge of homelessness.”
God, I couldn’t stand the look in her eyes. I knew damn well I hurt her, but it was only to save myself. I hated myself now, more than I hated myself then. I thought she’d get over me in a week, when I was still thinking about her months later.
Her pride took over, not allowing her to admit how badly she was hurt.
“You stole over half a million euros from me. That’s not a joke to anyone.”
“It is to someone like you. I can’t believe you’re still upset about the money. I’ll transfer double that to you right now if it will make you feel better.”
“You took my paintings.” She clasped her hand around another paint bottle missile.
“I paid for them,” I reminded her. “They were just dupes, remember. Worthless.”
The bottle went flying. I let it hit me again. “One of them wasn’t,” she said, fighting tears now. “One of them was important to me. More than someone as heartless as you could ever know. What did you do with it?”
Heartless, was it? Then why did that thing in my chest hurt so much, watching the tears start to spill over her eyelids? I was about to break, but remembered she was only there because the Fokins wanted to keep me under their control. And Nat still thought she was one of them.
“How can I possibly remember one painting from the next?” I lied. “I sold them all in a bulk lot. What else was I supposed to do with them?”
Her ragged gasp tore me in two. I spun around and left the room so I didn’t have to see her cry.
