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She told me about her test, confident she passed, grateful that I’d let her have the time to study instead of insisting on her performing her personal assistant duties.
“It was hard to give you up,” I told her, giving her a long look.
She returned it with a smile, her hand creeping closer to mine. Was it time to reach for her and put us both out of our misery? Her eyes were heavy with longing and the haute cuisine was ignored on both our plates. It was as if we’d never had an argument earlier.
As I was leaning closer, my phone rang shrilly from the counter behind me. I’d set it so only Max could reach me, since he was staying in San Francisco until we were certain the attack on the bar was just random and not something bigger that needed to be squashed.
Letting out a rumbled curse, I told Jenna this would only take a second and moved toward the kitchen so she wouldn’t overhear.
“What?” I snapped into the phone.
“That thing that we hoped was nothing?” Max asked. “It might be something. It happened again.”
“Damn it.” With a sigh, I looked over my shoulder at Jenna, staring intently at me. I didn’t want to give up this evening with her, but as Max told me about another of our properties getting trashed, there was no way I could stay. “I’ll meet you over there,” I said.
Trying to arrange my face in a way that didn’t alarm her, I gave her a smile she didn’t return this time. “I have to go out,” I said. “Hopefully, it won’t take long.”
“What’s going on?” she asked, eyes full of worry. And a bit judgmental, too, since it was past ten at night and difficult to explain away.
“It’s nothing you have to be concerned about,” I said, wincing at the scowl brewing on her face.
She stood and blocked my way as I tried to hurry out before another argument erupted. “Didn’t you say you’d answer whatever questions I asked?”
“I did,” I said tersely.
“It’s clear this isn’t anything to do with the lobbying firm. So I’m asking, Lev. What’s going on?”
Maybe it was time she saw what things in my world were really about. I made that promise to her, and I meant to keep it. Especially since she was not just asking but demanding. I liked that fire and fearlessness. Max would be there, along with some of my men. We’d all be armed to the teeth, and if there was a whiff of danger, I’d just get her out of there.
“Fine,” I said.
“Fine?” she repeated, eyes widening with surprise that I was being so agreeable.
I nodded. “If you really want to learn about all sides of my life, then now’s as good a time as any.” I reached for her hand and led her to the door. “I hope you’re ready to see what it’s like to be a Bratva bride.”
Chapter 20 - Jenna
As we drove further into the seedier part of San Francisco, I wasn’t so sure I was ready. It was late, but not so late that the streets were deserted. Most of the bars and restaurants we passed were still open and people still roamed the sidewalks looking for entertainment.
When we turned onto one twisting street and pulled up in front of a small dive bar with a few burly, serious-looking men outside, there were a bunch of curious onlookers milling around and brandishing phones. I wanted to stay in the car and keep my head down for a moment. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t feel safe with Lev at my side, but I was terrified of ending up on someone’s social media feed if one of the videos went viral. The internet was forever, after all.
As soon as Lev opened the car door, one of the tough guys guarding the building rushed over. “Get rid of them,” Lev snapped, reaching for my hand.
The men immediately began to push the gawkers back. One of them grabbed someone’s phone when he tried waving it over his shoulder to get a better view. The bouncer threw it to the ground and smashed it, ignoring the man’s howls of fury. Everyone dispersed after that, and I took Lev’s hand, scooting across the seat to stay ducked under his arm as we hurried inside.
The small, dim space looked like it might have had charm at one point, with red vinyl barstools and dark, polished wood paneling. A few stained glass hanging lamps were smashed and lay in shattered pieces on the booth table tops. Framed black and white pictures were torn off the walls and trampled on, and broken bottles seemed to be everywhere underfoot.
As soon as I took in the surroundings, I noticed Max interrogating someone rather forcefully near the back. He had his hand curled in the man’s shirt collar, and it looked like the guy had already taken a few punches. He still sneered at Max and said something my brother-in-law clearly didn’t like. I turned away quickly as he reared back his fist, not wanting to see what came next.
Lev kept me glued to his side, pulling me toward the bar to speak to an older man who must have been the owner or the manager and a guy about my age with a green apron on and a split lip and burgeoning black eye. The three of them spoke in fast Russian, but with all the hand gestures, I was able to get the gist of it.
The place was overrun at gunpoint, robbed, and ransacked by a masked crew who really made a point to make a mess of the place. Lev grumbled in English that he didn’t think they were solely after money. The older man shrugged and nodded woefully, while the young guy looked pissed off, and I couldn’t say I blamed him.
Max came over, alone, and I peeked behind him to see the man he’d been questioning lying in a limp heap on the floor with zip ties around his wrist. Did they just carry zip ties wherever they went? I found it hard to swallow and took a slow, deep breath. I thought I was being pretty subtle, but Lev squeezed my hand reassuringly.
“That one admitted they were ordered to set the other place on fire,” he said to Lev, his eyes hard and dark. “They would have done the same here if they had a chance.” He seemed to notice me for the first time. At first, he looked shocked, then nodded a greeting as if I belonged there, same as they did.
I stiffened my spine, trying to take a journalistic view of all of it. I was gathering information, after all. So far, though, Lev hasn’t done anything wrong. He looked furious, but anyone would be if their place of business was attacked.
