Page 85 of The Bratva Betrayal

My father's good mood doesn't disappear. This type of argument is rare.

"The engagement is happening. The wedding will follow. Sophie is here to help Caitlin begin making choices⁠—"

Sophie takes this as her cue and begins spreading things across the table.

Swatches.

Lookbooks.

Venue photographs with color-coded tabs.

"Put it away," Killian clips out.

Sophie freezes, then glances at my father.

"Killian…” My father's voice drops. “Enough.”

"I mean it." He's looking at my father now and past the point of performing calmly. "You know she doesn't want this. You're sitting there looking pleased with yourself like you've done something good, and you've just⁠—"

"I've done something necessary. Things are happening that neither of you has the full picture of."

"Then give us the picture," Rian demands.

My father looks at his sons for a long moment. Then briefly at me, with something in his eyes that's as close to regret as he gets.

"I threatened Lucas Manifold," he says. Rian's expression doesn't shift, but Killian's does. " Told him to keep the task force pointed somewhere else and leave our business alone." He picks up his coffee. "He came back. Said he'd come down on us tenfold. I already knew he couldn’t be bought, but I needed to hear him say it. He means it. He's been building toward us for two years, and he's ready to move. We need cover. We need something behind us that makes him think twice."

"The Volkovs," Rian fills in.

"Benedikt Volkov has an army and the power to use it. An alliance with that family is the difference between a manageable problem and a war we lose. We need them."

"So go to Benedikt directly," Killian says. "Make a deal. You don't need to put Cady in the middle of it."

"Benedikt doesn't deal in handshakes. He deals in blood." My father's eyes move to me. "The marriage is the deal. It's a guarantee."

"You told Misha things were fine," I grind out. “Clearly, your plan is a reach. When you met with him, you told him the situation was manageable. That this was about alliance and mutual benefit. We're not negotiating from strength, are we? We need them, and he knows it, and you let him think otherwise."

"Da." Killian's voice is dangerously quiet. "You've handed Manifold a target. If he finds out she's connected to the Volkovs⁠—"

"Manifold finding out is the point. It's a warning."

"It's leverage." Rian sets both hands flat on the table, which for Rian is the equivalent of anyone else standing up and raising their voice. "You've given him something to go through if he can't go through Benedikt. You've made her the softer option."

"The Volkovs will⁠—"

"Misha Makarov," Rian says, “is not a wall. He's not protection. Artem would've been a better choice. Benedikt's right-hand man. Nobody gets near what's his without going through him first. If you want a fortress, that's who you pick."

Something close to an agreement moves through me before I can stop it.

I’m almost thinking about a kitchen and a bar set at the counter on either side of me, and a voice that said “wrong brother.”

I look down at my plate.

"Artem Makarov would never agree to it," my father says. "He's too careful. Too suspicious. He'd want to know what was behind the offer before he touched it, and I can't afford for him to know that. Misha is the lessor.”

"Misha is a fucking moron,” Killian sneers, then glances over at me. "I heard he's been sleeping around, Cady. I heard he hasn't stopped since the two of you started."

I keep completely, carefully still, and underneath that stillness, I take the information, fold it, and put it in the back of my head where I keep the things I'm going to need later.