Page 8 of Bratva's Stolen Bride
“Please darling,” her husband-to-be begs.
I’ve had enough of this shit. My hand twitches for my gun but Payton’s interlocked fingers tightening on mine stop me. I look down at her.
“It’s her wedding.”
Oh fuck why do I have to have a weak spot the size of the Atlantic for this girl?
She’s your son’s girlfriend, I remind myself.
She won’t be for long, a voice reminds me. As soon as Payton is safely on that plane, I will go to kill my offspring.
The things a father has to do.
“You.” I point at the pilot. “If this plane isn’t in the air in five minutes your head will be all over the tarmac.”
I turn to the wedding couple. “I’ll refund whatever you paid, and if you go to Beckenham Court House in my car now, you can get married. Which I assume is the most important part of this trip.” I arch an eyebrow.
“But what about the floral pergola on the beach—” the woman protests.
“Consider yourself lucky to be alive,” I mutter and walk away, dragging Payton behind me. I take the stairs up to the jet two at a time, and she has to run to keep up.
“Get your hands off me!” comes a screechy voice from below as we enter the plane, so I assume my men have done their jobs and are getting rid of the results of Ivan’s little travel-agent hobby.
I refocus fully on Payton Love.
She’s sharing her glances between me and the luxurious aircraft as I pull her further inside to large, comfortable leather seats and… Oh the irony, there’s a bottle of bubbly on ice. Champagne.
I guide Payton to a seat, and before I’ve thought better of it, sit next to her.
“Pakhan.” The senior flight attendant approaches me, head bowed.
I spend a lot of time at my secondary residence, a private tropical island I bought almost twenty-five years ago, when I made my first obscene amount of money with a new weapon that became vital to every country that could afford it. So the jet’s staff are familiar with me.
They also know that I can be unpredictable, and potentially deadly. I once had to take a dead body on a flight and this stewardess hasn’t been comfortable with me since.
“We’re ready to go now.” She doesn’t meet my gaze.
This is my cue to leave.
I feel the words. They’re just behind my tongue.
“What’s going to happen?” Payton asks in a small voice.
The plan was to ditch Payton in a safe house an hour away in Scotland to keep her out of the way until I’d dealt with her boyfriend. My island, on the other hand is much further across the ocean, then a boat trip that takes a couple more hours.
“Ivan will discover that I’m onto him and his scam of selling wedding packages to fund Camden’s blackmail, as well as the ‘hobby’ that got him into this trouble. If he’s desperate for money, or thinks he has nothing to lose, he’ll come after you.”
She creases her brow in confusion.
“It seems everything is in place for a trip to my private island, so you can go there. I think you’ll enjoy the weather there more than where I was going to send you in Scotland.”
I should explain fully and then leave. But Payton’s lip wobbles.
“Can I have my phone?” she asks in a small voice. “There’s someone I need to talk to.”
“Ivan?” I ask with dangerous calm, fury bubbling to the surface.
“No,” she whispers.
