Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the single photo we’d taken of Lottie, tied up, crying. We’d forced her to scream for this picture. Her face is scrunched up, and she looks very afraid. I almost feel sick about what we’d done, but it doesn’t last. This is part of the job. Lottie is another cog, one that will have a very good life, if this goes our way.
Throwing the picture on the table, I stand up. “When you realize what’s at stake, give me a call.”
This time I leave, but I don’t look back. Going straight to my car, I climb into the back and wait as Leo and Terrance climb into the main seats. My cell phone goes off and I see Ivan is calling me.
“How did it go?” Ivan asked.
“He’s got the picture. He’s loyal at the moment to Demon but he didn’t like that we have Lottie. He’ll call.”
“Good. So, now onto our next topic of business.”
“Nathan is getting close to Oleg. The fighting rings are proving to be his only way of building a reputation.” Which is already a violation of what Ivan wanted. The fighting rings had to go. Ivan hadn’t allowed them as they served as punishment, not as a way of earning money, at least not in Oleg’s territory.
Ivan had put in different rules for all his brigadiers. Some of us could have fighting rings, others could not. It was to stop certain competition between his men. Ivan had once said that he watched how other Bratvas fell. Men were pitted against each other, rather than rising as one.
“That is not what I was talking about. You and Adelaide need a honeymoon,” Ivan said.
This made me pause.
“There’s no time to take a honeymoon.”
“Every woman deserves to have one.”
“Now is not a good time.”
Ivan laughed. It sounded forced to me. “There is never any time, anywhere, to take a vacation, let alone a honeymoon. Don’t you realize our lives are all limited, Andrei? You need to learn to live a little.”
“I cannot leave. Not with Oleg or Ive, and especially not with Rage.”
“You can and you will. Rage made a quick decision and we’re going to make him pay for it. We will not be jumping through any Evil Savages MC hoops. Lottie is with Ive. At the moment she’s safe, but if they attack, her life will be over.”
This is news.
“They will attack my city,” I said.
“I will be taking over your city while you’re gone. I’ve already made the arrangements, and have all the necessary foods and details on my private island. You and Adelaide will have each other. The staff know not to be seen or heard, unless you want them. Trust me, you and Adelaide need this.”
Running a hand down my face, I want to argue with him, but this wasn’t a suggestion. Ivan was giving me an order. This was the first time he’d done it to me in a long time.
“There will be plenty of time, Ivan,” I said.
“And I’ve said you are to take a honeymoon. Your plane leaves tonight. I hear the forecast is for hot weather, so go and enjoy the sunshine for a little bit. Show me that it’s possible to be happy.”
This makes me even more tense. The life within the Bratva was not fun, but Ivan always seemed to find the positives. He was a ruthless son of a bitch, but I did hear a rumor that there might be someone in his life. Again, it was a rumor. There were always whispers and gossip that followed him. I doubted any of it was true.
If Ivan wanted me to go on a honeymoon, then I didn’t see a reason to put it off. Ivan controlling my territory was a scary fucking thought. I had nothing to hide. My loyalty was to him and him alone, and I would never betray him.
He’d given me the chance to exact my revenge, and I had taken it, gladly. Seeing my father fighting for his last breath was in fact a memory I treasured.
Hanging up the call, I smiled. It was a sick treasure to have, because right beside it was taking my wife’s virginity, and knowing no other man was ever going to touch her.
I was a sick fucking bastard.
Andrei
The first week of our honeymoon didn’t exactly go as planned. There was business at home to take care of, and I had no choice but to be available for it, at a moment’s notice. Ivan was handling everything, and I think his presence was scaring the fuck out of everyone. He did have a way about him that terrified most people.
Rage had been reaching out, and as per Ivan’s instructions, I hadn’t responded, ignoring the calls, and then focusing on my wife.
Adelaide had cried that first day, for our baby. Seeing those tears had broken my fucking heart. The desire to kill Bethany was strong, but seeing the pain on my wife’s face helped me focus. What I needed was to wait for Nathan to get close to Oleg. My suspicions were that Bethany had reached out to him, or possibly Demon, and in doing so, she had put Adelaide in danger.
I stare down at my sleeping wife. Today had been a good day. We’d spent it together, playing some chess, which she was bad at. She had no strategy for winning. She loved moving the pieces around the board, and making up names for them. I loved this woman. She had no idea how fucking much, but I had a feeling Ivan did. It’s why he meddled, why he changed Bethany to Adelaide.
I hadn’t slept with Bethany, not once. She had tried so many times. She knew a baby would have cemented her place as my wife, but I’d not been able to do it. I fucking hated the slut.
When Ivan first told me of the arrangements, I’d been fucking terrified of seeing Adelaide again. The first time I saw her after she’d helped me, I thought she would remember, but she hadn’t noticed me. Not that I blame her. That day on the streets, I’d been dirty, looked homeless, and I’d been cut up. She had helped me, no questions asked, and it was the first time in my entire life anyone had ever given a shit about me.
It was so fucking lame, I know. I’m a forty-year-old man, but this young woman cared. She loved, she … called to me. Reaching out, I stroke her hair back from her face. She is the only woman I have ever craved and not taken. I’ve watched her from afar, keeping an eye on her, while having a parade of women by my side.
Ivan had known all along, I know he had, and he’d made sure I finally got the woman of my dreams. He would act like it didn’t matter, like it was all one giant coincidence, but I knew differently. Ivan wasn’t stupid. He had his spies everywhere. At all times he needed to make sure his men were loyal to him, which is how his suspicions about Oleg came about.
Adelaide releases a sigh and turns toward me. The negligee she wore was way too loose for her. Since being hurt, she had lost a little weight, and I didn’t like it. I loved Adelaide’s curves. I had never been a man who liked skinny women. They were way too breakable, and it also reminded me of a time in my life I would rather forget. I’d been starved myself. Denying myself the simple pleasures of life was never going to happen.
The top of her negligee had fallen open, showing off her full, ripe tits. Seeing them, so beautiful and on display, made my dick ache. It had been too long since I had felt the pleasure of her pussy wrapped around me. Sliding my finger from her face, I stroke down the curve of her neck, down her chest, and stroke across the mound.
Another moan escapes her lips, and I smile. Gliding across the bud, I stroke the soft flesh and it immediately hardens beneath my touch. Adelaide’s body knows who’s the boss, but she doesn’t know it yet. This body is mine.
I stare at her face and wait, touching her, wanting her to wake up and not be afraid. Her breathing has changed so I know she’s awake, and as her eyes open, they stare right at me. There’s no fear there.