Page 84 of Savage Little War

After finishing dessert and another glass of sparkling cider, Sean pays the bill and leads me out of the restaurant where Dmitri is standing, waiting by the car.

Dmitri smiles at the sight of me and kisses me on the cheek once I reach him. “How was dinner?”

“Great,” I tell him, smiling before turning serious. “Did you talk to your spy?”

Dmitri nods, his smile fading into something sharper. A smirk. “The Council is planning to kill me on our wedding day.”

My jaw drops. “What?”

“They’re trying to make a statement, yeah?” Sean replies with a shake of his head.

“My death is supposed to be a warning to any other Bratva families thinking about defying the Council,” Dmitri says. “They want to kill me at the ceremony in front of everyone.”

“How do they plan on doing that? There are going to be dozens of guards posted,” Sean scoffs.

“Doesn’t matter. They won’t get the chance because I’m going to kill them first. Them and any hired hitmen they bring in,” Dmitri replies, that sharp smile still in place. He places his hand on the small of my back. “Don’t worry. That won’t interfere with our wedding plans.”

I’m so shocked that I start to sputter. “What? But…how? What are you going to do?”

“Well, my bachelor party is tomorrow night,” Dmitri says. “I’m going to gather my friends, my best man, and have one hell of a night.”

I release a distressed sound that’s a mixture between a sigh and a groan. “Dmitri…”

He pulls me closer to his side, his eyes locking with mine. “I’m going to be just fine, milaya. The Council members are old and weak. I’ll have plenty of support backing me up.”

“He’ll be fine, Cara,” Sean assures me. “Better he gets this out of his system before the ceremony than after.”

“Their demise has been a long time coming,” Dmitri tells me. “I know now they were aware of Mikhail’s death. He was a good Pakhan, fair, but they didn’t agree with some of his decisions. They could’ve worked with Ferro to get rid of him.”

Given all that Dmitri has told me about the Council, that certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Corruption runs through their veins, and for the benefit of all Bratva families, they need to be removed.

Permanently.

“Just be careful,” I warn him. “I expect you to show up on time for our wedding.”

Dmitri smiles and cups my face, love filling his eyes that were just full of fire. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, milaya.”

I fail to fight off a smile as he presses a soft kiss against my lips. As nervous as I am about him killing every single member of the Council the night before our wedding, I can’t ask him not to go. Dmitri has to do this.

No, he needs to. Not only for our safety, but also for the safety of our child.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” I tell him.

26

Dmitri

I can’t think of a better way to spend my bachelor party than hunting down the men I hate most with good friends I trust.

“You’re in charge of making sure Cara stays safe,” I tell Isaak as I stand outside the penthouse building with Andrei, Luca, Mark, Leo, and Denis.

Isaak nods. “Ivan is posted by the front door. I’ll have patrols sweeping the building and the block for any unusual activity. We’ll keep her safe tonight, sir.”

I pat his shoulder as a grin tugs at my lips. “Good. I’m marrying her tomorrow. I’m trusting you with my entire life, Isaak.”

“We won’t let you down,” Isaak promises me. “Be careful out there.”

“We’re going to have a hell of a time,” I say, glancing between Andrei and Luca. “Ready to kill some Council members?”