Page 26 of Paved in Hate

“And the time before that?” Emily asks.

Grigori laughs and elbows Sergei. “She’s got us there.”

“Whatever, we’ve got Feliks now.” He looks over and nods his head at me. “How about it, Katya? You any good?”

“At what?”

“Video games,” he says, but I can tell by the smile on his face that I’ve already answered his question.

“I’ve never played,” I admit.

Emily smiles at me. “I bet she’s a fast learner.”

Aleksandr laughs. “You better hope so.”

I feel like I’ve been picked up and dropped on some strange planet. Who the fuck are these people? Bratva members that are laughing and joking around with the women and none of them are acting violent or pervy, what the hell kind of Bratva is this?

When the men start to act like they’re going to follow us, Simona waves a hand at them to stop. “No worries, guys. We’re just going to the nursery for a bit. Nothing scary or dangerous, I promise.”

The men stay where they’re at, but I notice the laptop sitting on the counter, and when I hobble past it, I catch a glimpse of various security camera feeds, letting me know this place is pretty well guarded. With slow steps that send sparks of pain through my sore feet, I follow the others to the nursery. It’s recently been painted and the light blue color will make the perfect backdrop for what’s already taking shape in my head.

“What do you think?” Emily asks.

I spin around in a slow circle. There are two full blank walls across from each other. One of the others is broken up by the closet, and the wall on my left has two large windows and built-in shelves beneath it with a bench seat on top.

Reaching into the bag I have slung over my shoulder, I take out my pad and pencils and sit on the floor. “Let me show you what I’m thinking,” I tell her as my pencil flies across the paper, giving her a very rough, very quick sketch of what I’m envisioning. When I hold it out to her, her mouth drops open and she reaches for the paper.

“I love it,” she says, holding it up for the others to see.

“Oh my god, can you do our nursery next?” Simona asks.

“Sure,” I say, feeling useful for the first time in my life. Well, useful in a real way, not in thelet’s marry you off to help our Bratvakind of way. “Do you know what you’re having yet?”

Her hand rests on her baby bump when she says, “Not yet, but we have an appointment coming up, so hopefully we’ll find out.”

“I think it’s a girl,” Emily says, gently elbowing Simona’s arm.

“Maybe, but a little boy would be so cute, too, and our boys would have so much fun playing together.”

“God, that would be cute,” Emily agrees, and the smile on her face makes it obvious that she’s already picturing their sons running around together.

“I think Lev has his heart set on a girl.” Jolene gives a soft laugh. “I mean, I’m just basing this on all the little pink sleepers he keeps secretly buying.”

Emily snorts out a laugh. “That’s really cute.”

We keep planning and talking until it’s time for lunch, and when we wander into the kitchen, the guys are still waiting and watching the laptop to make sure everything looks okay. Jolene starts grabbing sandwich supplies from the fridge while Emily grabs the bread and I try to not get in anyone’s way. When I see the tomatoes on the counter, I rinse them off and grab a knife. I can at least do this.

“So how’s it going with Anya?” Simona asks Aleksandr.

He groans and scrubs a hand through his light beard. “I should’ve never told you about her.”

“He saw her last night,” Sergei says, ratting his friend out with a smug grin.

Simona’s eyes widen with excitement. “At the club or somewhere else?”

I start cutting tomato slices while I watch the strange scene unfolding before me. I keep waiting to see a flash of anger in one of the men’s eyes or a sign of fear from the women, but there’s nothing. They act like friends, and even though the men keep a constant eye on the laptop screen and they’re all four wearing guns that I can easily see, the atmosphere feels laid-back. Aside from me, there’s nothing tense or nervous about this group.

While Aleksandr talks about the girl he likes, it becomes obvious that she’s a dancer at the club. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which club they’re talking about, but I ask anyway.

---