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Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms loosely. “No, I’m not. This isn’t the life I chose for myself, and it definitely isn’t the one my father wanted for me either.” She responded with a soft scowl.
“Is that why you were fine with that guy we tossed in the trunk months back?” Arseny questioned, bringing up the fateful night.
“Yeah, I could care less what happens to half those shit heads. Besides, that guy deserved whatever he got for what he’s done. Please tell me he’s dead.” Her eyes eagerly searched mine for an answer. Her eagerness caught me off guard.
“He is.” I answered her flatly.
The corner of her lips twitched softly, but she hid the smile. “Good.” She sounded somewhat satisfied.
“Well, you don’t seem too loyal to your people.” Lev piped up with his own scowl, his hostility taking a bit of an edge. He probably still felt a little butt hurt over the fact I took Angel for myself rather than let him wed her.
“I’m only loyal to my father and those who are loyal to him and me... And now my husband...” She didn’t seem to be lying about being loyal to me, even if she did sound a little hesitant, I didn’t detect ill will from her. She was probably still adjusting to the fact she has a husband now.
“Besides, that man was not one of mine, nor would I want a serial child abuser to be in my ranks.” She clarified with a soft glare at Lev.
“Fine, that aside, how can we know you’re not lying? Obviously, your loyalties sound very questionable.” Lev did pose a good question, and it was one that hung in the back of my mind as well.
“My loyalty might be to a select few, and even if this marriage wasn’t by conventional means, I’ve sworn myself to Nikolai minutes ago. Believe it or not, that is up to you, and that is nothing I can force you all to change your minds on, but just know that I would never betray Nikolai or his family, which includes you all.” She seemed defeated, but genuine. If she lied, then she was very good at it.
Yawning, she rubbed her eyes softly and leaned against the window before letting out a small chuckle. “You know, when I heard that she wanted to clean her hands of me with this marriage, I thought about calling in that favor from you. Guess there’s no point in doing that anymore.” Her eyes drifted to me out of the corner as she kept her head planted against the glass.
“You still remember?” A part of me thought she’d thrown it out the window the moment she got home, and as the days stretched on and I heard nothing from her, I figured as much.
“Mhmm. Never had a use for it, until now, but I can’t use it now because you can’t exactly get rid of yourself or me out of this marriage.” She chuckled softly while glancing at me.
“You were going to have me get rid of your husband?” I asked with an amused smirk. I could see how that would be impossible with this situation. There was no way in hell I would let her go now that I had her in my grasp.
“If I wanted to be in a committed relationship then I would, alright? There is a reason why I am single, err was single. Besides, if it was a forced marriage to anyone else, then yes, I would have called in that favor to have his body in a body bag.” She replied in a low voice.
“Anyone else? So, you’re fine being married to Kolya here is what I’m hearing?” Stepan teased Angel with a playful smirk, making her blush.
“Well, I mean, he wasn’t a dick to me when I met him initially...” Then she muttered something under her breath I couldn’t quite catch.
Soon, questions started to get tossed back and forth, and I let it go on for a little while until I noticed Angel getting overwhelmed. “Alright, quiet down.” Not one peep after I uttered those words.
Reaching over, I pulled Angel against me, inhaling her sweet scent with a deep breath. It didn’t smell like she wore any perfume, but she had a clean scent to her, like fresh water with a hint of citrus, a nice fresh breeze. It was so refreshing and nostalgic. “Rest, Angel, you deserve it.”
Angel gave me a faint moan in return before settling against me, making me suck in a deep breath as I felt my body awaken. I’ve longed to hold her in my arms, have her body against mine. Ever since she saved me that night, I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind.
The thought of tracking her down had occurred to me, and it wouldn’t have been hard given how I knew her name and her profession. Yet, I refrained from it. She was too kind when I met her, there was no way I could drag her into my world. I might be selfish and driven, always getting what I wanted no matter what, but I couldn’t bring myself to steal her away for myself. She was an angel, and I the devil.
So, it was much to my surprise when I saw her being dragged out earlier. Granted, I was angry at the sight of her in such a state, but beyond that, I was happy to see her again. I just took it as a sign from the universe we were supposed to meet again. I wasn’t going to complain about this marriage, forced or not. I volunteered for it, so I really can’t complain. But only because it was to Angel.
Once I was sure Angel was out, I began to speak again. “I’m going to drop Angel off first then head to the club. Stepan, I need you to go see what the problem at the High Wind Casino is about. Lev, there’s some trouble with one of our apartment complexes, seems like the 99thStreet Gang is trying to take it from us. So, teach them a lesson, but you know the rules, Lev.” I paused for a moment to glance at him from my phone.
With a roll of his eyes, he looked at me like a child whose fun got spoiled. “Yeah, yeah, just scare them, no children or women or anyone innocent, just broken bones, no lethal shots unless necessary, keep damage to a minimum, yeah, yeah, I got the spiel at this point.” Lev grumbled with a wave of his hand.
Nodding my head in response, I quickly sent him the address before addressing the twins. “Alexei, you’re going home. Arseny, I’ll drop you off at Guilty to handle business there.”
“Oh good, thought you were going to send me somewhere, not that I would argue with that, it’s just I’ve another shift and am on call tomorrow.” Alexei gave a sigh of relief as he sat back in his seat.
Alexei was the least involved with the family business. He never was interested much with it growing up, always just sticking around because of us. It’s why we always cut him the most slack and never involved him unless we thought it was necessary or unless he demanded to come.
I would never force any of my brothers to be involved with the family business. I knew how dangerous and stressful this life could be. So, I always gave my brothers the option to partake in the bratva life or not. They’ve all made their choices at this point, but I always let them know they always have an out if they choose so.
Another small moment passed before some more words filled the car. “Who would have thought that you’d end up marrying the hot nurse that patched ya up.” Arseny chuckled and patted my shoulder. “Lucky bastard.”
“Wait, she’s the one who saved you from that car crash?” Stepan asked with a surprised look, bouncing his eyes over to Angel for a split second before returning them to me. “Nah, no way she dragged your fat ass out of that car by herself.” His playful laugh filled the car, making most of us smile and chuckle in response. I still found it hard to believe she dragged me out as well.
