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Grayson
I watchthe car pull away and rush back into the house to call the guard shack to deny her leaving me. I see Erika’s rings sitting on the counter. Mybabushkais standing there with her hands on her hips, looking like the matriarch that she is.
I hold my hand up to her as she starts to speak, and I head to my room to look for my cell phone. I find it finally and dial the guard shack knowing it’s too late. When he confirms, I hang up on him and dial the next stop for her.
“Alek, when she shows up, detain her. Don’t let her leave.”
“Erika?” He knows, almost as if he suspected something like this would happen. “How long until you get here?”
“I need to deal withBabushkaand then I’ll be in. Erika is half-dressed. Please don’t let anyone see her that way,” I growl as I hang up the phone. I slip into a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a black shirt before I step back out into the great room whereBabushkais waiting. I had originally come out because of the smell of coffee. I hadn’t realized what was happening until I saw her rings on the counter and mybabushkafacing off with her.
I try to calm myself when I seeBabushkapouring us each a coffee. Erika obviously made it and had the fixings for breakfast on the bar waiting for her to cook. Riggs hasn’t left the front door since I slammed it closed a bit ago. He tried to chase after her too. My dog is in love with my woman.
“Babushka,I don’t know what you said, but you’ll be apologizing. She’s my wife and will be for the rest of both our lives.”
“Oh, please,moy syn. She is just like your birth mother was. Asuka shlyukha.” She throws her hands out as if I’m being stupid.
I look down at the counter where my hands are fisted. My body tight. “My wife isn’t a bitch whore,Babushka.” The words are growled out through my gritted teeth. I want to scream and yell at her, but she deserves respect. “Erika is good, sweet, kind, and way too trusting. She’s too fucking good for me.” I drop my head to my chest, the words so true. A better man would have told her everything from the beginning.
“She’s just after your casino.”
I lean back against the other counter and cross my ankles as I take my coffee, trying not to shatter the cup in my hands or throw it. I need to be out chasing after my princess. Thank goodness I know where she’s headed and that Alek will do as I say. I’m not a complete part of the family, but I’m enough that most people fear me. That and my past have shown others not to cross me. I’ve earned all the bratva tattoos that line my body, even as far as going to jail. I was young and it was juvie, but it still counts.
“She could probably buy my casino out from under me. She doesn’t need it. I was the one who tricked her into marrying me. I knew she wouldn’t marry me on her own. She’s been hurt in the past and she didn’t know who I really was.”
“How can someone not know who you are?”
“She’s not from around here,” I say like it’s obvious. True, most people in Vegas know who I am and who my father and brother are. But with Erika it was nice to just be a man.
“That doesn’t explain how she looks.”
I slam my coffee mug on the counter and rip open my shirt to show her my tattoos that she knows all about. “Look at me. She and I match. I earned mine by being a thug and a criminal. She got hers because it’s what she does, and she looks beautiful. I love how she looks. She’s an artist.”
Babushkapauses and looks between me and the door. She’s not an overly judgmental person except for when it comes to her kids. She raised all of us. We are herdeti, she’d say. Her babies. My father is powerful and good at what he does, but raising his kids isn’t one of his strengths. He left us to his mother. She raised us with the belief that nothing is more important than family. My sister is the only one of us who has bucked against the system and is on the legal side of the law. Well, at least I think she is; she doesn’t always tell me what she’s done or is doing. She was in the military for years. She left when she got tired of defending the fact that she wasn’t bratva.
I move back to my room to change my shirt again now that this one is ruined. I decide to change into a suit since I’m going into the office.
“Syn.”Babushkamoves to the entrance of my room as I step out of the closet in an all-black suit. The only color is the pocket square and tie in a purple that matches my princess’s hair. She told me purple was her favorite color. “Why her?”
I pause as I put on my cufflinks and tie tack. Turning around, I take her in. She’s in her church clothes. She attends Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy every Sunday. She says that she needs to atone for all our sins.
“Babushka, I can’t explain it, but something about her called to me right from the beginning. The first time I saw her, I knew. Everything in my body demanded I have her. That I make her mine and never let her go. Then she opened her mouth, and I couldn’t stop myself.” I know how I feel, but I want Erika to hear the words before anyone else. I slip her wedding rings into my vest pocket alongside the pocket watch my sister had made for me. Until they go back on Erika’s finger, they will be with me. I turn back to mybabushka. “I will get her back, even if I have to kidnap her.”
“Then bring her to me so I can apologize.” When she’s wrong, she admits it. But it’s rare, so I can’t help the tip up of my lips. She smacks my chest before I lean down so she can kiss my cheek.
Moving through my house, I stand in the fenced entrance asBabushkagets into her limo that just pulled up. Mine is coming down the road. I’m too angry to drive, so I called for the car. When I see Ilya step out, I know I’m going to use him to protect my princess. He’s done a good job, until I lost her.
“She hasn’t returned to the casino,” he says, and I stop before I get into the back of the limo. I look back at my house.
“Monitor the airports and all hotels. On and off the Strip,” I order him, and he nods. “You’re her protection from now on.”
“Yes, sir.” He bows his head slightly and then turns to get into the front passenger seat, while I climb into the back and close my own door. I pull out my phone and dial Aleksei
“She hasn’t returned, and her room is empty.”
“Ilya told me. He’s checking things. Pack her room and have it all moved to my house. Call the dog sitter and have him come get Riggs. Also, prepare the jet just in case we have to chase after her.”
“Are you sure you want to chase after her right away? Give her time to calm down. I don’t know what happened, but I imagine when you told her you are bratva she ran.”
