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“Don’t be so sure about that, Kata,” my mother tells me with a conspiratorial wink. “Trust your father. His hands might be tied, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll give up without a fight.”
I roll my eyes. There has to be something different I could do at a time like this, and yet, all I can think about is Nikolai’s heated, silver gaze meeting mine for the first time.
“What’s this dinner about anyway?” I ask in an attempt to get my mind off the devil to whom I’ve been given.
Before my mother can provide an answer, the mansion’s door opens. I don’t have to look to see who it is. The loving expression on my mother’s face is the only answer I need.
“Just behave yourself, Kata,” is my mother’s only response as she goes to kiss my father’s cheek.
“Our guests will be here any minute now,” Papa says, his eyes traveling between me and my brothers.
“What for?” Igor demands and cocks his head.
“Business,” is his only reply.
I wonder if the dinner has anything to do with me and the Nikolai situation.
“Is that Boris Olenko getting out of the Mercedes?” Mikhail asks, watching through the window.
I let out a low whistle.
Olenko owns the majority of strip clubs in Brooklyn. He’s a man that not even my family has a good relationship with. But my father’s biggest rival, Sergey Gargarin, has an even worse opinion of the strip club owner. I guess the old saying about my enemy’s enemy being a friend is a true one, after all. I have no idea how else Boris managed to wrangle my father’s invitation to dinner.
There’s a lot about the Bratva I don’t really understand.
“Is Boris having dinner with us?” Igor asks. “Wait, is that his entire family? What’s going on, Papa?”
I swallow, all of a sudden becoming more than just curious. There’s another reason why I stand stiff with excitement. If I’m right, I won’t be the only one paying for Igor’s fuckups.
Boris‘s daughter was Igor’s classmate. She always had a crush on my knucklehead of a brother.
“You’re all going to be on your best behavior,” my father warns us before turning to open the door.
I take a deep breath. This isn’t going to end well, and I’m anxious to see how it unfolds.
“Oh, no,” Igor whispers and shifts uncomfortably next to me.
“Karma’s a bitch,” I taunt him under my breath. “Now pay attention to the show, brother.”
Without thinking, I reach for his hand and squeeze it tightly.
Mikhail takes his place next to me, his disapproving blue eyes flashing at me. I ignore my little brother’s judgment of my actions. Of all three of my brothers, he’s the only one that fears my temper.
Aleksander stands next to Igor and fixes his tie just as the seven faces of the Olenko family come into view.
The first is Evgenia Olenko, Boris‘s wife. She’s sweet but powerless. After her comes Vladimir, Boris‘s brother. He’s usually left in charge of the clubs when Boris goes on a business trip. Boris‘s nephew and Vladimir’s son, Fedot, comes next. He’s followed by his cousins and Boris‘s children, Galina, Maksim, and Grigoriy.
The last to enter is Boris himself.
“We’re honored to be invited to your home, Dimitri,” Boris says, as he shakes my father’s hand.
“It’s been long overdue,” my father replies as he pats Boris on the back.
With the first step inside, the head of the Olenko family releases a big breath, as if he has already done some heavy lifting to achieve this moment.
“May I present to you my family.” My father gestures at us. “My beautiful wife, Irina, my three sons, Igor, Aleksander, and Mikhail, and my lovely daughter, Katarina.”
“We’ve met before,” Galina blurts out. A flicker of longing burns in her eyes as she surveys Igor.
