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He didn’t say a word but then looked at Malayna then back at them.
“You love her?”
“With all our hearts.”
“You speak for your brothers. They don’t have voices of their own?” he pushed.
He stepped aside and motioned with his hand.
“I love her very much and it will be an honor if she accepts us,” Krane said to her and kissed her cheek. She felt the tears fill her eyes.
Lucca brought her hand to his lips and kissed the top of it. “I love you, Malayna, and will always be here for you to protect you and support you.”
Border gave Star a tap and Border lowered onto one knee as Star and the others did the same in front of her. Malayna covered her mouth and watched as Star pulled a small red velvet pouch from his pocket.
“I love you. You know I do,” Border said and winked.
She blushed and then Star emptied the contents of the pouch into his hand. “Malayna, would you do us the honor of being our wife, of wearing this ring that has been in the Mulicheck family for several generations.” He smiled as he took her hand and showed her a gorgeous, very large diamond ring surrounded by smaller diamonds and her birthstone, emeralds.
“Yes. Oh God, yes, I love all four of you so much. That ring is gorgeous. What an honor,” she said and then glanced at her father.
“Well, kiss her,” Nicolai said and Star stood up, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her deeply. Then Border did and then Krane and Lucca. She looked at the ring that was absolutely stunning and she couldn’t believe it. She heard her father on the phone saying send them in and then the door opened and Nalia was there with her men along with Karlicov and one of the house helpers who brought in champagne and glasses. Nalia hugged Malayna tight and they went crazy over the ring as the men all congratulated them.
“She didn’t have a clue, Nicolai,” Star stated and Nicolai gave him a hug and then more celebrating filled the room as Soyva and Daren Mulicheck entered the room and immediately hugged Malayna and then their sons. It was the happiest day of Malayna’s life. She was in love and nothing else seemed to matter but the love she had for her men.
* * * *
“Why are you so uptight? Ellington and Pierre know that Malayna is engaged to the four of you. Do you seriously think they would want to mess with made men?” Nalia asked Krane as he watched Ellington and Pierre standing close to Malayna and looking over the artwork on display at the third gallery they had been to. Some of Malayna’s photos and paintings were released and the enthusiasm about her talent and the fact that she was shopping for a gallery had her busier than ever. She was under a lot of stress. Star’s meeting with Cruz hadn’t gone so well and left them all feeling a bit on edge. Cruz claimed that some drug shipments were ripped off and that word was Nicolai had ordered them. Star knew that Nicolai did some business with drugs but nothing like stealing other people’s deliveries. Something didn’t add up.
“I can’t help it. We’re protective of her and especially about what happened two weeks ago at The Crest,” Krane said to Nalia.
“I understand there’s some fishy business going on. Viktor and the guys have been concerned, too.”
Krane looked at Nalia. “You shouldn’t even be aware of what’s going on.”
“Why? Because I’m a woman? Give me a break. I know business and I know I can be an asset to the family. Karlicov understands that, as do my men. I’ve been thinking a lot about those shipments Cruz said were intercepted, and the fact that his sources as to who took them were vague, just that they were men working for Nicolai. Cruz runs a bit of the action on the Northshore. Nicolai owns a majority of the waterway and of course most of the city. He allows organizations like Cruz’s to make a little money. What if someone is trying to make it look like Nicolai can’t be trusted and is basically screwing other street businesses over? You know, to try and lose some leverage and trust?”
Krane looked at her and shook his head then smiled. “You should talk to Cosivan. He’s been throwing around a similar theory and has some inside people trying to find stuff out. The thing is, who would be stupid enough to try and frame Nicolai?”
“Maybe not stupid, but crazy. Think about it. He found his daughter, Malayna, now she falls in love with you guys who are sons of the second largest Russian family. It’s a great time to cause a little fear to run through not only the other families with the potential of the combined power, but also scare the hell out of enemies and their belief that they could gain more control and power. You are basically coordinating a monopoly of this city and in Texas. That seems like enough to call out the crazy and the stupid.”
Krane’s cell phone rang and Nalia walked over to join Malayna. Krane glanced at Dubkova and Murin, who were on standby watching out for all of them. Plus there were four other security guys by the entrance outside the gallery.
“How is it going?” Border asked him over the cell phone.
“Well, it isn’t fun,” Krane repli
ed into the phone, keeping an eye on Malayna.
“You mean the art and stuff?”
“I mean Ellington and Pierre standing close to our woman and her giggling and enjoying their silly jokes.”
“Hmmm, she’ll have to be reprimanded for that tonight,” Border teased. Krane chuckled. Border and Lucca sure did like to spank Malayna’s ass for being naughty. He was starting to think she did things on purpose to get those two going.
“Will Star and Lucca be at the penthouse when we get back?”
“They may be a bit late. Also, I got everything set for the trip to Salvation this weekend. We leave tomorrow night and can head back Sunday night late,” Border told him.
