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Bloody hell. Sonia would flip. She was a romantic at heart and would not want an arranged marriage. I doubted Dariusz would either. Miki was making the wrong decision. I knew it.
“She’s not going to like it,” I said, stating the obvious.
“She doesn’t have any choice,” he said.
“We all have to help the family in our own way. This is hers,” he stated with finality.
I huffed out a breath. I felt strongly against this proposed marriage and would back Sonia up if she was adamantly against it, but that needed to wait for another day. We had too much to deal with right now. I only hoped that Miki hadn’t sealed the arrangement and there was a way out of it. Otherwise, this family was in for a great deal of strife in the near future.
“I’m not happy about this. You’ve made a mistake, Miki. However, this isn’t the time to deal with that,” I said, shaking my head in disgust as I got up to leave, turning my back on him. I was bloody angry with him.
“It’s done!” he practically shouted.
I turned around and looked him in the eye, and when he broke contact first, I sighed. He might have made the arrangement, and he might have had the final say as our pakhan, but Miki, our brother, was uncomfortable with his decision. The fact that he had made such an arrangement showed that he was more concerned with our current issues than I had realised.
He leaned back and sucked in a deep breath before leaning forward, rubbing his forehead and squeezing his eyes shut as if he had a headache coming on. He looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I guess, in some respects, he probably did. I didn’t envy him.
I let out a long breath, releasing the tension in the air.
“I need to go; Gracie’s cousin Claire and Marcie are due back from their spa trip today, and we are going back to Gracie’s so I can introduce myself.”
“Good luck with that,” he called after me, chuckling.
CHAPTER 29
GRACIE
MONDAY - INTRODUCING ASH
After having such great sex with Ash, I spent the morning absolutely glowing. I wrote some great scenes, too, after all of that inspiration. My first sex scene was in the bag, and I couldn’t wait to get down and dirty with Ash again later, solely for research purposes, of course.
After Ash had finished talking with Miki, we headed back to Claire’s house so I could introduce him to her when she and Marcie got back from their trip.
I couldn’t believe how everything in my life had changed since they went on their trip. I had become a badass with a sassy attitude and had a Bratva boyfriend to rival any book boyfriend written by my favourite authors.
On top of that I was writing.
Wow! In the space of a week, my life went from zero to almost perfect.
I just hoped Claire and Marcie agreed. Things had moved so fast. I knew they might have concerns about that, but I hoped they would still be happy for me. I also hoped that they wouldn’t worry too much about Ash’s dodgy side. I knew Marcie might not have picked up on it when working for this family on the legal side of their businesses, but Claire, with her uncanny ability to see through anyone, definitely would.
Before we reached the house, Ash told me about the expected attacks. He kept details quite vague as he didn’t want to worry me, but I wished he would tell me more. I didn’t push him for more information now, but I would definitely do so later. I knew he just wanted to protect me, but I wasn’t planning on being kept in the dark.
However, at the moment, I was more concerned with other things.
Ash had said that although the two guys who beat him up were now dead, their boss, Siri, wasn’t, and he could pose a danger to me and possibly even to Claire and, by extension, Marcie. Although I felt safe with Ash, especially when we were at the Estate, I needed to know that Claire and Marcie were safe, too.
That’s why we planned on spending the next couple of nights at Claire’s. Firstly, to introduce Ash to Claire and Marcie as my boyfriend and secondly, to make sure that they both remained safe.
Ash had arranged for several of his men to keep a watch on the house and also on the girls whenever they went out. I was aware he had a couple watching us, too.
It helped that Marcie’s flat was being re-decorated and wouldn’t be complete for another few days, so she would be staying in the spare room at Claire’s. That meant both girls were predominantly in the same space whenever they were home.
I was glad that he was ensuring they stayed safe, and it made me fall for him a little bit more.
We’d be returning to the Estate in time for the plans to unfold, whatever they were. Ash had only told me that there were two attacks planned and, therefore, two plans of defence, one at the Estate and one elsewhere. As I would be at the Estate when it was under attack, Ash said he’d tell me what I should expect nearer the time. I was a bit worried about that, but I trusted the guys had everything under control. Ash certainly seemed confident enough.
On Wednesday, Ash was hoping to arrange for Marcie to go to one of his clubs, Platinum, down south in Ripley, Surrey, for a couple of days. He was planning on encouraging her to take Claire, too. He was going to get Luca Orlov, the manager for Glitz, to go with them. Luca oversaw all of the clubs for their company, Platinum Entertainment, and would be getting Marcie to look at the club for an event they had planned in a few months. He was also Bratva and so could take care of business while protecting the girls by keeping them out of harm’s way.
