Sinful Bride (Belaya Bratva 3)

“Time for what?” I asked haltingly, afraid of her answer. She had said I could go back, but what if whoever held my thread had changed their mind?

What if my life as I knew it was over?

“For you to go back to your love,” she said, squeezing my hands. “You are very lucky, Gavril. Naomi loves you unlike anyone I have ever seen, and your child is going to be loved just as much.”

The ache in my chest intensified. I needed to get back to my love, to the woman who had given me a life I thought I would never have. She was the sole reason I was going to survive this setback.

“Don’t fuck this up,” Katya replied as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to my cheek, her perfume assaulting my senses. “All right?”

I chuckled as she stepped back, her hands sliding through mine until our touch was severed completely. “You know me far too well.”

A real smile crossed her lips. “Just remember, diamonds and flowers go a long way, my love.”

I grinned at her as she started to walk away. “Katya,” I called out. “How do I get back?”

She paused, turning to look at me. “Just do the same thing that you did to get here, Gavril.”

I watched as she disappeared into the fog before I shoved a hand through my hair and lay down once more, the swirling fog settling around me. I hadn’t done anything to get here but open my eyes.

Oh, was it as easy as that?

I looked up at the hazy sun for a moment, knowing that once I closed my eyes, I would be thrust back into a world of pain, but at least Naomi would be there. I was going to make it for our child, I decided, shifting on the floor. I was going to live for the love I had found with her, for the life that she was going to provide me.

Naomi had changed me. My life with Katya had been turbulent, a young man wanting nothing more than to succeed in his Bratva.

Now I had other priorities, and they began with my wife and child. They were what mattered, nothing else.

Drawing in a breath, I hoped that Katya wasn’t screwing me over again. Somehow I doubted that.

So I closed my eyes.