Page 68 of Paved in Venom

“Yeah,” I tell her, scrubbing a hand over my face and scratching at the stubble. “How do you like the piano?”

Her face lights up with her smile. “I love it so much. I’ve never played on anything so nice before. It’s amazing.”

I smile and kiss her. “I’m so glad you love it.”

When Lev and Matvey walk in, Simona gives me a gentle push towards the nearest barstool. “I’ll make some sandwiches. Just sit down and relax.”

“I’ve been sitting,” I tell her and start grabbing stuff from the fridge. She sighs at my stubbornness and smacks my ass when I’m bent over trying to find the mustard. I can’t help but laugh, but then I say, “I’m the only one who gets to spank, baby.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that,” Lev says, making me laugh again even as I tell him to fuck off.

“Hey, what’d I miss?” Vitaly asks, walking in. “Who’s getting spanked? Simona, have you been a bad girl again?”

I shoot him a look that makes him laugh and then hold up his hands. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”

Roman and Emily walk in right as Simona turns around, and as soon as Emily sees her bruised neck, Emily lets out a gasp and walks over.

“What the hell happened to you? They said that doctor guy didn’t get to you last night.”

“He didn’t,” Simona says, her eyes darting to me for help.

“We had to improvise a bit last night,” I say, trying to make this as painless as possible for all of us.

“Improvise by strangling her?” Emily asks, raising a brow at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.

Vitaly and Lev laugh, making it clear that they’re going to be no help whatsoever. I’m surprised Vitaly hasn’t started making popcorn while they watch this show unfold.

Roman wraps an arm around Emily and pulls her close. He whispers something in her ear that makes her face turn a crimson red before she lets out a mortified groan.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” she whisper shouts at him. “I look like a dumbass right now!”

He laughs and kisses her cheek. “You could never look like a dumbass, baby. You do look unbelievably cute and naive though.”

“Great,” she mutters, but she smiles and laughs when Roman kisses her again. He keeps one hand on her lower belly when she looks back over at us.

“Never mind,” she says, and we all start laughing. “Yeah, yeah, can we just forget all this happened?”

“Yes, please,” Simona says.

“Not a chance in hell,” Vitaly says. “This is what families do, and you’re both a part of this family, so prepare to be teased. We can’t make exceptions just because you’re women. That would be so unfair.”

“Agreed,” Lev says. “Everyone gets made fun of. It’s the rule.”

Matvey gives Simona a small smile when he sees the huge one she’s giving at being called a part of the family by one of my brothers. I kiss the top of her head and grab the cutting board and some tomatoes. Turns out everyone is hungry, so while I’m chopping I ask them if they found anything while watching the address Stefan gave us. We keep the conversation in Russian, but Emily and Simona don’t seem to mind.

“We saw a few men go in this morning,” Matvey says, “but they left a few minutes later. We didn’t spot any women and no cars came around. We put a few guys on it and told them to work in shifts so it’s being watched nonstop. They’re going to call if they see anything at all, and they’ll write down any license plate numbers.”

“The place is rundown,” Vitaly says, grabbing one of the sandwiches. “It looks like an old hotel that should’ve been torn down decades ago, the kind of place that any sane person would avoid.”

Lev gets everyone a drink. “They’re going to realize Stefan is missing if they haven’t already.”

Roman sits down next to Emily and says, “I’m guessing we’ll get more information in a couple of days when Pink opens up. Emily’s dad’s already texted me, telling me he’s eager to attend and is bringing a bunch of friends.”

Emily looks at him. “What are you saying?”

“Telling them that your dad will be there opening night.”

Emily groans. “He’s such a fucking perv. We’re never letting him near our baby.”

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