Page 60 of Cruel Russian Monster
Yegor and Zahkar sat on sofas facing each other. Both of them, though, leaned back, turned slightly to Jaroslav, their eyes glued to him, faces unreadable.
I blew out through my mouth and walked into the room.
I poured each of my brothers a drink, which they took without question. Then I poured myself a glass of wine and two fingers of scotch for Jaroslav, which I knew he wasn’t going to drink because he'd be alert with Yegor and Zahkar here.
I handed him his glass, which he placed on the coffee table next to his chair. I needed to play doting wife to put my brothers’ minds at ease.
So, I did what any doting wife would do. I sat on my husband's lap. Jaroslav’s hand rested on my thigh, slowlymoving up and down. I gulped down some wine as I tried to ignore the heat from his hand.
Yegor's jaw ticked. “Vera, mind telling us how you ended up being Jaroslav's wife?”
I took a slow sip of my wine, this time, then set the glass down on the coffee table. My hand drifted over Jaroslav’s shoulder, fingers slipping into the hair at the nape of his neck. My gaze stayed trained on my brothers.
“There was a reason I went to Las Vegas alone. I went there to meet Jaroslav.”
“But, you can see him at Lev's house. Why did you need to go all the way to Vegas?” Zahkar asked suspiciously.
“We didn't have privacy at Lev's to discuss anything. Nor did we want to tell anyone, because we didn't want them to talk us out of it.”
“Because you both knew it was a bad idea,” Yegor stated, a hint of anger in his tone.
“Yegor, it's not a bad idea. Like you said, Katya lives here, and so does Alexi. Artyom may not have warmed up to Katya yet, but we're hoping that my marriage to Jaroslav will put an end to the war.”
“But you could've come to us. We would've found a better way,” Zahkar stated.
I shook my head. “You guys have gotten in enough trouble with Artyom over helping Lev last time. There's no way I'm putting you in harm's way again.
“And maybe,” I met Jaroslav's eyes briefly before turning back to my brothers. “Lev will be willing to reopen the Eastern European smuggling route to appease Artyom.”
I looked at my brothers, but they didn't say anything. I got up from Jaroslav's lap and sat down next to Yegor, holding one of his hands in both of mine.
“Please, I need you to understand,” I sighed. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Always.” He looked at me as I spoke.
“The reality is that I played my part in starting this war. I didn't want to get married to Lev. And because I ran, he went looking for me, but found Katya. My actions set off a lot of negative consequences. Marrying Jaroslav helps me fix the mistake that I made. Dad always said it's not good enough to just realize that you've made a mistake, but it's up to you to fix it. Jaroslav doesn't have me locked up in a tower. He's a great brother-in-law to Katya. He protects her. Trust him to do the same for me, as my husband. And if you can't trust him…then trust me.”
“Damn,” Yegor muttered.
“We just want to be sure that you're okay,” Zahkar said. “That's he's not taking out the frustration that he’s feeling towards Artyom on you.”
“I’m okay, and he isn't,” I smiled.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Tomas.
“Sir. I purchased everything you asked for. The dining table is already set.”
“Thank you, Tomas.”
Tomas nodded in my direction and smiled before walking away.
I rose to my feet. “Now that that’s over, let's eat, because I'm starved.”
I led the way to the dining room, with Jaroslav bringing up the rear. When we entered, the table was beautifully set, an inviting spread of croissants, crepes, and toasted bagels laid out alongside a variety of fillings: smoked salmon, avocado, cottage cheese, assorted jams, eggs, and crisp bacon.
A tray in the center held a selection of drinks: coffee, orange juice, and a few bottled smoothies.
Once everyone was seated, with Jaroslav at the head of the table, I took the seat to his right, while my brothers settled on the left, leaving an empty chair between them and Jaroslav. We plated our meals and began to eat.
