Page 69 of Paved in Hate

“He’s a fucking monster,” Jolene mutters from where she’s sitting on the end of the bed.

“They both are,” Katya agrees.

“Thank you for doing everything you could to not make things worse for my sister,” Roman says. “I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Katya quickly says. “I haven’t had to endure anything like what Alina’s been going through.”

“You’re still a victim to your sadistic brothers,” he tells her, repeating what I’ve already been telling her. “It may not be the same, but you’re a victim nonetheless, and none of us blame you for this.”

Katya nods at him, and I can tell she’s trying not to cry. I pull her closer and give her a kiss. “You’re a part of this family now,ptichka.You’re one of us, baby.”

She gives me a wobbly smile and rests her forehead against mine. I hold her while the others eventually get up and leave. Everything is about to change. Once we get with Dominic and Danil has the information he needs, we’re going to take on one of the world’s most powerful Bratvas. There’s no guarantee we’re all going to come out of this alive. The thought of dying hasn’t ever really bothered me before. I didn’t give it much thought. I obviously never wanted it, but I also just figured I’d be here one minute and gone the next and who the fuck would really care beyond my brothers? With Katya’s small breaths hitting my lips, I’m fully aware that everything has changed.

If something happens to me, then she’ll be left alone, possibly pregnant with our baby. The reality hits me hard, and I know I’ll never get any peace until I get this all sorted out. Cupping her face, I kiss her, taking my time and savoring the taste and feel of her against my lips. God, I could spend the rest of my life kissing this woman and never get tired of it. When I pull back, I smile at the pouty look she gives me.

“I’ll give you everything you need later, baby. I promise. I need to talk to Danil about something, though.”

“Okay.” She yawns, reminding me that she didn’t get near enough sleep last night because I wore her ass out and she had a nightmare.

Picking her up, I carry her back to bed. “Try and take a nap. I’ll be back up in a little bit to check on you.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me?”

I smile and kiss her forehead. “I always need you,ptichka, but I’ll be okay for a little bit, and you need to rest.”

Her eyes are already drifting closed before I’ve even left the bedroom. Walking past the gym, I see Matvey still hitting the bag while Lev gives me a nod from where he’s sitting in the corner, watching over our brother to make sure he’s okay and doesn’t try to escape the penthouse.

Making my way downstairs, I knock on Danil and Simona’s door. When no one answers, I try the next door, the one that leads to the soundproofed room Danil had made so his wife could play the piano without feeling embarrassed. We all know that’s not the only reason he had it made, and I can’t help but envy their nice, private space. I’m thinking about how big of a pain in the ass it would be to soundproof our bedroom when Danil opens the door.

“Am I interrupting anything naughty?” I ask, trying to look past him. “Is your wife getting another spanking?” I raise my voice and add, “Have you been bad again, Simona?”

Danil laughs and steps aside, showing me the empty room. “She’s upstairs with Emily.”

“It’s for the best, I guess. It’s not like you can spank your pregnant wife.”

“Not hard anyway.”

I laugh at the sad tone of his voice and walk over to the desk he has set up in the corner for himself. “I need your help with something.”

He sits in his chair and looks up at me. “What?”

“Well, it occurred to me that shit might go very badly at Konstantin’s, and I’d rather not worry about whether or not Katya will be taken care of, so I want to make sure that her name is on all of my bank accounts and that she’ll get everything if something happens to me.”

Danil’s already typing by the time I’m finished. His fingers fly over the keyboard, doing who the fuck knows what. I’ve long given up trying to understand his computer genius mind. I was baffled by it when I was fifteen and he started hacking and stealing us money, and I’m just as mystified at twenty-seven.

“Done,” he says, still typing, “and I’ve added in a will that states Katya is the sole beneficiary just for added protection.” His fingers still as he looks up at me. “You know we’d always take care of her, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I just feel better having this in place.”

“Yeah, I get that. I’m also going to set her up a personal savings account and put a million in it. She’ll be taken care of, so stop worrying.” He looks up at me after he’s finished doing everything. “Your ass is going to be fine, so enough with the morbid shit. We’re getting Alina, and we’re all walking out of there together.”

I smile and smack his shoulder. “My ass is always fine, brother.”

“It’s nice to see that marriage has humbled you.”

I laugh and head for the door. “If anything it’s made me even more full of myself,” I admit. “Katya can’t keep her fucking hands off me. It’s going straight to my head, brother.”

“Yeah, I fucking bet it is,” he mutters, making me laugh even harder as I leave the room.

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