Page 50 of Hunted By the Bratva
Kolya squeezed my arm before letting go. As he stepped back into the doorway, he spoke. I could hear a vibration in his voice. It was slightly shaky. “I’ll do my best for you. I am happy if you are happy, but…”
“Stop,” I interrupted him. “I’m happy and leave it at that.
Kolya bowed his head and took a deep breath. “Okay, just remember, I love you. I will see you again soon, I hope,” he said, giving me a warm smile.
“I’ll contact you,” I replied as he turned and stepped out.
I stood in the doorway watching as Kolya walked towards his car. I wanted him to be the man I remembered him being. But I knew it would be a while before things returned to normal. Maybe in time, he would be more considerate of others.
Heading back in, I decided to go sit outside at the back. I wanted the peacefulness the flower fields offered. I hadn’t sat long when I heard Iosif coming out. “Are you okay? I saw your brother leaving,” he said. His tone was soft and soothing.
Glancing back at him, I smiled and nodded as I replied. “I’m okay. I think things will get better from here on out.”
Iosif nodded in agreement as he came to sit by me. I leaned against his chest as we looked at the stars in the sky.
Chapter 27 - Iosif
The last couple of months had been filled with ups and downs. But once we settled our differences with the Aslanov family, things have been climbing steadily and have settled. I wouldn’t call us best friends, but for Clara’s sake, we kept it civil.
We have come to a peace agreement. Kolya kept his promise to leave us alone, which was nice. We could move on, and I have started building a life with Clara. I had been burning to ask her to marry me, but I wanted to wait until the baby was born.
However, I didn’t want to wait any longer. The last couple of months had felt like an eternity had passed us by. I have taken her to so many places, realized her dreams of traveling the world. But she can no longer fly as it is too close to the baby's birth.
I walked through the mansion, giving orders to the staff and the guards. I had to ensure everything kept running smoothly and stayed tight. Safety was my only priority when it came to Clara and the baby.
Business had been booming. Our alliance with the Morozov-Dubow families ended up being a solid thing. I headed upstairs to my office. Moving down the hallway, I heard Clara fussing in the nursery.
I approached slowly. Standing outside the door, I listened. She was mumbling to herself. I was curious to know what she was on about, so I peeked around the door. She had been very busy the last week scrubbing and cleaning, as well as repacking everything.
The walls were painted, the crib was in place, and there were shelves lined with books and bears. Boxes of toys and a tonof clothing. I swear the baby had more clothes than I had in my entire life. I felt Clara was overdoing it a little. But it made her happy, and that made me happy.
Clara had also taken up painting with me, which was something we could now do together. It was nice to take her with me when I went to visit my friend, Lucas in Mexico. We have gone twice now and plan to do another trip once our precious angel arrives. We spent two or three days there at a time. Sometimes, we just sat and watched the sunset.
Today, though, was going to be different. It was going to be a special day. I had been planning for weeks. I wanted to surprise her, but keeping it a secret took more control than I knew I had. It took time to get things in place.
Sitting down before my desk, I opened my emails. I wanted to get work out the way so I could spend time with Clara. But I felt my mood changing as I read the email Avgust had sent.
There was a meeting scheduled for this morning with a new client. The client had insisted I be there, or no deal would be made. Sighing heavily, I sat back and rubbed my eyes. I knew there were no other options. This client’s business could have a major impact on ours.
Getting up, I went to find Clara. This time, I pushed the nursery door open and walked in. She glanced at me over her shoulder.
“Hi, why the long face?” she asked. She knew me well by now.
“I’ve got to head out,” I replied. “Something came up. I didn’t want to go out today, but this has to be done.”
Clara got up from where she was refolding the baby's clothes. She rose to her toes and kissed my cheek. “It’s okay,” shesaid softly. “I understand. Sometimes there’s going to be things that need to get done.”
I pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her passionately. “Thank you for always understanding,” I whispered. She had been so calm and understanding, I didn’t know how she managed it. Just being in her presence seemed to keep me calm as well. “I won’t be long,” I added as I headed out.
Taking two of my guards, I went to the meeting spot. I didn’t want to take chances; it was a new client, after all. As the client asked for me and no one else, I had to be cautious. We stopped a block away from the corner café.
After sitting for a minute and scanning the area, I saw Avgust and two of his guards arriving. They took a table to the side. We were only two blocks from our new main warehouse. It wouldn't be an issue if the client needed to visit the premises.
We pulled closer to the café, and I got out. My guards followed. Avgust nodded at me as I came in. I sat down at the table before Avgust, and my guards each took a table to my sides.
I was glad we didn’t have to wait long. I had just ordered a cup of coffee when a convoy of cars came closer. They slowed and then stopped. An elderly man got out of the back and casually came walking towards me.
He sat down, smiled at me, and then spoke. “Finally, we meet.”
