Page 5 of The Bratva's Forced Bride
“No, I couldn’t possibly know.”
“...keeps me on my toes, and I find myself looking forward to something new and different every time. For me, he is simply the best there is. I never thought I would meet someone like him. I thought men like him no longer existed. Can you imagine that? He was talking about a vacation in the Bahamas. Just the two of us, in one of my dad’s beach houses. I mean, right now I’m not sure I want to travel, but that doesn’t mean I’m not considering it.” I sighed and noticed the small eye roll from Maria. “He’s so caring, so affectionate, so handsome, so—”
“Bahamas, huh? Strange.” I heard her murmuring to herself.
That got my full attention. “Huh?”
Her shoulders rose and fell in the most casual way I had ever seen. “I said he was strange.”
I should not have cared. I was the one who was in love, not her. She didn’t know Logan like I did. But my smile faded, and I straightened in my seat. Outside, a heavy rumble echoed through the sky, lightning flashed through the air and the rain intensified. But the weather didn’t concern me. What Maria said did, and it made everything else sound like an unpleasant noise.
“What are you talking about? What do you mean by strange?”
Happy, talkative Maria, I could handle. But when she was solemn, like now, it worried me. She bit off more of the croissant from my plate and frowned. “You two haven’t known each other for very long.”
“Logan and I have been together for five months now.”
“Months, Addison.” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and glanced out of the window. Then she looked at me again. “Five months doesn’t sound like a long time to me to get to know someone who bumps into you on the way out of the elevator.”
“Five years would suffice?” I didn’t bother hiding the sarcasm in my tone and, surprisingly, she picked it.
She shifted in her seat, took my hand in hers, and gave me a warm smile. “I don’t mean to rain on your parade, Addi, but marriage is a serious matter. In my opinion, it’s really too early to be thinking about marriage. You’re twenty-one, you've got your whole life ahead of you. You’re so young—”
“We’re both so young, grandma.”
She laughed, and the tension rolled off my shoulders. I relaxed and patted her hand. As I said, Maria loved me. This display of overprotectiveness was her way of looking out for me.
“Honestly, I thought about it—the early marriage thing—and brought it up. But he said he was already too much in love and couldn’t wait to make things official between us. He wants to marry me as soon as possible.”
I blushed, but Maria didn’t look at all convinced. “And your father?”
I withdrew my hands.
“Addison?” Her voice was soft, and it wasn’t meant to be, but it brought me to the edge. She had hit a sore spot. Hot tears burned my eyes. “Is he okay?”
I shook my head fast and sniffled. Besides Logan, Maria was the only other person who knew.
“He is, um ... better, I guess? Logan and I, we, um ... we've spoken to the doctors. They're not hopeful and it’s not encouraging, but that’s another reason Logan says he wants to speed up the wedding preparations. He knows my father ...” I swallowed and suppressed a smile. “So, he wants to be there to take care of me.”
Maria and I sat together in a comfortable silence before she gave me a reassuring smile. “Fine then. If he makes you happy, I’m happy.”
Chapter 3 - Mark
“The more the merrier.” – John Heywood.
Touch down.
Slowly the steps sank to the ground and the eager steward announced a cheerful “Welcome to Chicago” from the cabin. No sunshine, just rain. Yuri grunted and I shared his lack of enthusiasm. The reason we were here was more like ‘goodbye’ Mercer.
The sky was a dense, eerie shade of blue and gray, but soon our view was blocked by a dozen black umbrellas that were held over our heads. Fuck! From one downpour to the next. Windy City at its best. But the harsh weather wasn't going to stop me from my mission.
The rain dripped on Yuri’s suit while more men escorted us to a row of Teslas on the tarmac. Soon we were on our way out, speeding past the hazy lights of the buildings. I didn’t care about driving, I needed to sort my thoughts racing in my mind. All I could think about was tracking down the bastard.
The cars pulled up at an estate with high iron gates, a huge mansion, and a group of men dressed in black standing in front of it like harbingers of death. The gates opened wide, and we drove up the long gravel driveway, past a fountain, and stopped in front of the entrance to a chic Mediterranean house. Not at all what I had expected.
The car doors opened, and more umbrellas went up. I got out and Yuri came to my side. We marched up the stairs and stopped a stone's throw from the person in charge of the entourage.
His lips curled upwards at the sight of us. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a coffee-brown suit. “Smirnov,” he confirmed to Yuri with a curt nod. Yuri nodded back.