Page 3 of Paved in Hate

“You’re letting me have it?”

Matvey laughs. “You’re always asking to borrow it anyway.”

She holds it up, and even though it’s way too big for her, it’s obvious she’s planning on living in it. It’s Matvey’s favorite hoodie, and I’m a little surprised he’s willing to part with it. When he was fifteen, he was in a fire and almost died trying to save his mom and sister. I heard him screaming from my own apartment and ran in to get him. I managed to pull him out, but that fire damaged him more than just the third-degree burns it left on him. My own hands carry the scars, but it’s nothing compared to what he endured. Matvey hasn’t been the same since that night, but he’s most like his old self when he’s with Alina. It’s the only time I ever really catch sight of the person he was before the fire.

“Maybe you should put it on now,” Matvey says, giving a soft laugh at the look on her face.

“I’m wearing more clothes than the women you guys usually surround yourselves with,” Alina says, and it’s a fair point, so I don’t say shit.

“They’re not you,” Matvey says, “and they’re not surroundingme.”

He looks over at me, and I laugh. “Guilty. What can I say? I attract a crowd.”

Alina rolls her eyes at me. “Well, not tonight. I want one night with you guys. All of us together, just like it used to be.”

“Don’t worry, Alina,” Lev says, putting the candles in the cake. “It’s just family tonight.”

She smiles and then laughs when we all sing to her. Before she blows out the candles, she darts a quick glance at Matvey and then closes her eyes to make a wish. I watch Roman, wondering how he’s going to take all this. He knows about Alina’s crush on Matvey, we all do, but she’s older now, and there’s no denying that things are going to be changing. His face is calm, though, when I look at him. If it was anyone else, he’d probably already have his gun out, but this is Matvey, and we all know he’d never do anything to hurt her.

After stuffing ourselves with more cake than is probably wise, Roman tries one more time to convince Alina that staying in would be way more fun. No surprise to anyone, she’s not budging. She waits while the rest of us get ready and grab our weapons. We don’t flaunt what we do around her, but she’s not stupid. She knows we’re involved with the Safronov Bratva, but she has no idea how deeply involved we are or that we have plans to take over one day.

When everyone’s ready, we decide on a nightclub that’s a few streets over. It’s geared for a younger crowd and not one that we typically hang out at, so hopefully we can avoid running into anyone we know. We pile into a dark SUV and make the short drive. The club is packed, and when we step inside, we quickly form a tight circle around Alina. Roman pushes his way through, leading us straight to the bar. When a group of women in dresses that are even smaller than the one I bought Alina come walking over, I’m already holding up a hand to stop them.

“Sorry, ladies, we’re not interested tonight,” I tell them. The one in front gives me a pouty look and juts her chest out even more. I sigh, but a promise is a promise, so I shake my head and wave them off again. I turn to see Alina giving me a big smile.

“Thanks, Vitaly.”

“You owe me, Alina. She wasn’t wearing panties.”

Alina laughs and looks at the woman who’d just offered herself to me as she disappears into the crowd. “How the hell can you tell that?”

“It’s a gift.” I lean against the bar and grab the shot Roman holds out to me because I sure as hell could use one.

When we’ve all got one, we raise a toast to Roman’s little sister. “To Alina,” we all say before downing our shots. She coughs as her face turns red and we all laugh.

“Okay, time to go,” Roman says, but she grabs his arm to stop him.

“I want another.”

“You saidadrink,” he reminds her.

“But I coughed. You have to give me a chance to get it right.” She grins up at him. “Just one more.”

Roman sighs and orders another round. We’re still waiting for them when I hear someone call my name. Looking over, I spot Anatoly and Grisha headed our way.

“Fuck,” I mutter. “We’ve been spotted.”

Roman hisses out a “goddammit,” while Danil and Lev step in front of Alina and Matvey wraps an arm around her, pulling her tight against him like it’s the most natural thing in the world. She doesn’t know that two of the Safronov’s top men are headed our way, and from the look on her face I can tell she doesn’t care, not as long as Matvey keeps his tight grip on her.

“Hey,” I say when the men are close enough, laughing when Grisha slaps me on the back and then waves a hand to get the bartender’s attention. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Same thing as you,” Anatoly says with a grin. “Having a drink and finding some pussy.”

We all share a laugh, and when they have their drinks in hand, they look over and finally notice Alina. Grisha groans in appreciation and nods his head at her.

“Who the fuck is that?”

I feel Roman tense beside me, and I force a laugh and nudge Grisha’s shoulder. “No one, just Matvey’s piece of ass for the night.” I refuse to look at Alina while I say it, and I hope like hell she understands why I’m doing it. If we even hint that she means something to us, it’ll only put a target on her head.

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