Page 51 of Paved in Hate

“Then let’s not give her anything that could hurt Alina,” Matvey practically growls.

I don’t know who Alina is, and I don’t want to get caught spying since that will only make me look like I’m working with my brothers, so I start walking, making no attempt to be quiet about it. As soon as they hear me, they stop talking.

“Ptichka,” Vitaly says, quickly coming over to meet me at the bottom of the stairs. He cups my face and gives me a sweet kiss. “I’m sorry you woke up alone, baby. I was going to surprise you with breakfast.”

I hug him back. I’m completely addicted to the feel of this man’s arms around me. Nothing feels better than being wrapped in a Vitaly hug. When I look over at his brothers, they’re all standing and staring at us.

“Wow,” Lev says with a soft laugh.

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t just seen it with my own eyes,” Danil says.

Roman smiles. “When Mila was kind enough to send us the photo she took of you two, I thought maybe it was just a fluke, a moment captured that wasn’t quite what it seems, but no, she was spot-fucking-on.”

“I heard you talking,” I admit, because I’d like things out in the open between us. “I’m not going to tell my brothers anything. I don’t know what your family is involved in, but I know you’re nothing like Konstantin and Osip. I don’t like what my brothers do, and I want no part in it.”

“But you don’t know what we’re up to,” Matvey says. “What if you find out something that could hurt them? Your loyalty wouldn’t lie with your family?”

I wrap an arm around Vitaly’s waist and step in closer. “My husband is my family.”

When I lift my head, the look on his face makes me smile. He’s fucking beaming at me, and I’ve never seen anyone look so damn proud. He leans down to kiss my forehead.

Looking back up at his brothers, he says, “Katya’s my wife, and she’s a part of this family now. We need to trust her and tell her everything.”

His brothers don’t say anything for several seconds before Matvey finally breaks the silence.

“If Katya’s a part of our family now, then she’s a part of our family only.” His dark eyes meet mine. “I’m not trying to be an ass. I have my reasons for being cautious. If you want to know everything, then you have a choice to make.”

“What choice?” I ask.

“You can be a Melnikov or you can be a Lebedev, but you can’t be both. Vitaly just told us that your brothers want to have lunch with the two of you, so go to the lunch and then come back here and let us know your decision.”

When I start to say something, he just raises a hand and says, “Don’t answer yet. You need to really think about it, because once you decide to be one of us, you won’t ever see your brothers again. It’s too risky. You can’t be in contact with them at all, which means you hand over your phone and you cut all ties. If they get suspicious, you can have a very supervised phone call with them to put them at ease, but no more visits and no phone contact without supervision.”

He looks over at Vitaly, “I’m sorry, brother, but that’s the only way this can work. I will happily welcome her into our family as a sister if she hasn’t changed her mind by the time you get back.”

“I understand,” I quickly say, not wanting Vitaly to think I’m upset. “Matvey’s right, and I have no problem cutting ties with my brothers. I’ve known for a very long time what kind of men they are, and I don’t ever want to be around it again.”

I meet Matvey’s eyes again. “I know you said to wait, but I can tell you my decision right now. I choose Vitaly.” I look up at my husband. “Always. It’ll be the same answer I give when we get back this afternoon.”

Matvey nods. “I look forward to hearing it, Katya.”

“Okay, sounds good then,” Lev says, clapping his hands together one time and giving a soft laugh.

“Check out the fridge,” Roman says, smacking Vitaly on the back.

“I’ve seen your kid’s small penis.” Vitaly looks down at me and lifts a brow in mock horror. “A teeny tiny nub.”

Roman looks at me and rolls his eyes. “Your husband is a giant dick.”

“A burden your son will apparently never have.”

“Fucker,” Roman laughs. “It’s a sonogram photo. Everything about him is teeny tiny.” Roman looks back down at me. “It’s the other photo I’m talking about.”

Vitaly leads me to the kitchen, and we both laugh when we see the photo that Mila had taken of us. Someone has blown it up and printed it out, hanging it front and center on the fridge. They’d even drawn a red heart around our faces and writtenVitaly loves Katya.

Vitaly laughs and shakes his head. “They’re never going to let me live down falling in love with you.”

“I hope you think it was worth it.”

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