Page 17 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
He shrugged again, his grin wider than ever. “I might be.”
I huffed, storming past him toward the lodge to the sound of his laughter.
Chapter 11 - Daniil
God, Paisley was gorgeous with snow in her hair. And funny. And mildly annoying. Why was she holding back? There was no way I was imagining the chemistry between us, no way what we experienced that night wasn’t the best fucking time she’d ever had. Not when it was all I could think about and I was far more experienced.
“I’ll be succeeding soon enough,” I called after her jibe about me just trying to get her back into bed.
She nearly tripped, she went so stiff as soon as she heard me. That was fun, if also somewhat frustrating, but she was long gone and she’d bite my head off if I followed her. As much as she tried to get herself under control, she was clearly rattled about something when I walked up. Who was she talking to? Could I find them and break their neck for upsetting her?
With a sigh, I headed back in as well, the initially slight flurries of snow coming down harder. The hardcore winter sports fans must have been ecstatic, and after getting bit by the snowboarding bug myself, I could see why now. I wanted to see Paisley in action. It was clear she had skill, and I wanted to see her totally unfettered, not plodding along after the kids.
Right now, I probably should stop thinking up ways to get my cousins’ nanny alone and get to work on that new list of businesses added to what I’d been able to find through my own intel.
Besides me, it was only Mat, CJ, and Masha who seemed to remember what we were up against and hadn’t given in completely to the festive holiday atmosphere that permeated every inch of the lodge. It was rubbing off on me or I was truly frustrated about Paisley because I was dragging my feet gettingback to my desk. I needed to get out of this old folks’ home and find something to get my mind off of her and work wasn’t it.
Even my steadfast brother Rurik, who could always be counted on at any time of the day or night, was playing cards with a few of my other cousins.
“Care to join us?” Lev called. “I’m beating the hell out of your brother.”
“I owe him ten grand already,” Rurik said, not at all concerned. “Come and help me drain his bank account.”
“No thanks,” I said. It was barely ten o’clock at night and he was hunched over with our married cousins like he was eighty years old. “How about you come into town with me? There’s a great bar in the resort I stayed at the other night.”
“Nah, I’ll pass. I can’t admit defeat yet.”
I left them snickering and pouring themselves a night cap while I admitted my own defeat. There was no alternative but to get to work. I headed upstairs somewhat bitterly, but not motivated enough to go out on my own. It wasn’t that I hated flying solo, I did it plenty of times. It was more that I knew nothing waited for me at any of the clubs in the city. Nothing I wanted as much as the angry little nanny hiding out in her own room.
I transferred my bitterness to my brother. Rurik and I, along with our much younger cousin Lilia, were the only single ones left. I would bet everything I owned that shy and introverted Lilia wouldn’t go into town with me. She was probably curled up in bed with one of her favorite books already, lost in an adventure that only took place on the pages. She balked at real life adventure, and besides, if she did go to a club with me, I’d only spend the entire night keeping the men away from her and having no fun myself.
So, no prowling the clubs with my brother, no late night, starlit walk with Paisley, definitely no losing my shirt to my card shark cousins. Cross referencing corporations and trying to find ties to the Collective was all I had left to try to take my mind off of Paisley.
Much to my discontent, that didn’t work either, and I scrapped the task, going to bed before midnight.
Chapter 12 - Paisley
A few days went by, almost in dreamy slow motion. It might have been shock that took over me, but nothing much bothered me, and I was busy from morning to night. The kids were addicted to snowy activities and after I got in a quick run on my own each morning, the afternoons were spent sledding, exploring in the nearby wooded areas looking for animal tracks, and of course, snowboarding lessons with Alina.
The six-year-old graduated from the little bunny slope near the lodge and had pestered her parents to let me take her up the ski lift to more challenging trails, and of course, succeeded. The little ones were bereft, but usually one or two of the parents were more than willing to tag along and sled with them. It was a family vacation after all, and the Fokins were a very hands-on family, making the job super laid back, and one of the easiest I’d ever had, despite being constantly busy.
Dan was almost always one of those tagging along, a giant shadow looming over me. He would zoom past Alina and me on a trail, showing off his natural athleticism and easy conquering of a sport I’d spent grueling hours mastering. His grins and possessive glances had me burning up under all my snow gear. The man didn’t even try to hide it.
But the kids all adored him and he was great with them, patient and fun. And I had to remind myself he had every right to be there, even wondering if it was my ego making me misinterpret the gleam in his eyes when they swept over me. Then he’d say something embarrassing in his low rumble that made my mind go to places it shouldn’t and I’d remember that he was just an ass.
A big handsome ass whose looks set me on fire. It pissed me off. He pissed me off.
At least that was a distraction from Agent Pierce and his disturbing news that Mr. Caraggio was missing. Being irritated at Dan was better than thinking about the way my former boss had looked when he left Axon for the last time. Whether he’d been part of it and was past usefulness or just innocently came across information he wasn’t supposed to see didn’t really matter when the end result was the same. And would be the same for me if I didn’t remain hidden from the shady forces behind it all.
The FBI agent had sent me a couple more messages and tried to call me again, but I quickly swiped them away, doing my level best to keep my mind off of it. If he wanted information out of me, I didn’t have any, and if he wanted me to return to LA for my own supposed safety, then that was a resounding no.
I wasn’t about to screw up the chance to continue hiding in such style, and I felt safe around this tight knit family where all the men were built like towering sequoia trees. There was nothing I could do for my missing coworkers who hadn’t been found yet, and it was highly likely they were beyond anyone’s help anyway. There was no reason to answer his messages until this job was done and I was forced to make a decision about what to do next.
After several days of dodging Dan’s smirks and teasing, I got up early to get some time on my own on the trails. I managed to sneak out before anyone else was awake and had my board tucked under my arm, practically skipping toward the car that I was allowed to use to get down to the lift.
My butt had just hit the seat when the back door opened and a board slid onto the backseat beside mine. Then thepassenger door opened and Dan poked his head in, grinning as brightly as the morning sun peaking over the tops of the mountains. He had on a festive red sweater that would have looked ridiculous on someone less ripped, but no one was going to be making any Santa Claus references to him. His hand knitted hat was red too, with a big white pom pom, a recent gift from his cousin’s wife.
How did it make him look even hotter? It had to be his easy confidence. I bit back a groan, not from remembering his big hands on me, but because now my morning was shot to hell.
