Ruthless Mafia King: A Dark Bratva Arranged Marriage Romance
Ruthless Mafia King: Chapter 43

A persistent knocking on the door wakes us up. I groan into Katarina’s hair.

“Maybe if we don’t move, they’ll just go away,” she suggests.

“I seriously doubt it,” I mutter, and raise myself off the bed. Something tells me that the news we’re about to hear won’t be good.

I pull a shirt over my head and open the door. Roman’s on the other side, his eyes alert, his face grave. When he heard what happened, he offered to come by to watch my back until we find a temporary replacement for Ivan.

“What is it?” I ask, instinctively tensing.

“The Gargarins sent a messenger,” he informs me.

When he doesn’t continue, I raise my brow. “And? What’s the message?”

Roman glances over my shoulder and lowers his voice. “I think you should come with me.”

“Give me a minute,” I say and disappear into the bedroom to get fully dressed. Katarina’s sitting on the edge of the bed, tying her hair into a low ponytail. I watch her profile as she silently observes me from the corner of her eye.

“I need you to stay here,” I tell her. Though it’s an order, I’m trying to phrase it as a suggestion. “I have some things to take care of, but once that’s done, we’ll go see your family together.”

Katarina’s facial expression is stormy. I can tell she’s not fond of this development, but that’s not my main concern. The thought of a direct attack on me and the people closest to me isn’t far from my mind. I’m sure the Gargarins are angry about what happened last night. What I’m not sure about is if they know it was Fedot who attacked them.

“I won’t be kept in the dark,” she replies firmly. “I want to know everything that’s going on.”

I sigh. “There’s really no need for you to worry,” I reassure her. “Let me handle it.”

She shakes her head, her blonde locks swaying side to side. “I’m not going to be the type of wife who’s happy to have her husband deal with everything. If you’re looking for that, you can look for someone else right now. I want to be a part of what’s going on. I want to have a say in all your dealings. If we’re together, we’re a team. If you can’t give me that, then you need to let me go.”

We glare at each other for several seconds until I drop my shoulders. Katarina sees it as a little win, but I’ve been around strong women all my life. It’s important to lure them into a sense of false security, so they don’t anticipate the attack.

“If we are to do this, there’ll be rules for you to follow,” I tell her, and when her eyes darken, I immediately add, “It’s nonnegotiable.”

“Fine,” she huffs. “What rules?”

“You’ll never, and I repeat, never question me in front of my men,” I tell her.

“That’s not something I would do,” she agrees.

“Also,” I continue, enjoying the way she’s hanging on to my every word. “You’re not going to challenge me after I make a decision. That doesn’t mean we won’t discuss it, but once I make up my mind, you’ll respect it and obey me.”

“Yeah, you’re the bossman,” she grumbles, obviously not happy with the stipulation.

“Exactly,” I reply with a devilish smile.

Before she can show her annoyance, I grab her wrist and pull her against me. I wrap an arm around her waist, keeping her locked against my body. I catch her plump bottom lip with my teeth and graze it with my tongue.

“Last, but not least, you’ll do what I tell you to because without even trying to, you became the most important thing in my life, and everything I do now is only for your and our baby’s sake. Our family comes first,” I rumble in my guttural voice, my dick hardening when Katarina slips her hand behind my neck.

“Okay,” she agrees, and lowers her voice to a whisper. “Kiss me, bossman.”

I chuckle and oblige her. My hands move lower, grabbing her hips. I slowly grind my hardness against her. Katarina tips her head back, sighing softly. My lips flutter over her exposed skin, my hot breath sliding down her neck, sending tiny shivers across her body.

“Once we finish up with the Gargarins, I’m going to eat this sweet pussy of yours again,” I growl.

“Sounds good,” she purrs, and cups my cheek. She moves her fingertips over my mouth, and I lick her flesh, loving the way she melts into me. We make out until Roman bangs on the door again, bursting our bubble.

“Fuck, Nik, can we talk?” Roman asks with annoyance. “Preferably today. Unless you have something else more important that requires your attention.”

Before I can reply, Katarina gives me a meaningful look, reminding me of our deal.

“Wait for me in my office,” I tell him. “We’re coming.”

I’m sure Roman noticed that I said we were both coming, but he wisely decides not to comment. Instead, his footsteps echo down the hall.

When I open the door for us, Katarina wordlessly slips by me and makes her way to my office, where we find Roman nervously pacing the length of the room. He barely spares Katarina a glance when we walk in. Instead, his agitation piques my attention.

“What was the message?” I demand, my mind back on business.

He makes a disgruntled noise. “Sergey thinks it was us who burned his bar down and killed his men.”

“Shit,” I curse under my breath. “What does he want?”

“It wasn’t that kind of message,” Roman replies. “It was a warning. A threat.”

“What did he say?” Katarina demands to know.

When Roman looks at her, his eyes shine with sadness. “He knows about the baby.”

Katarina looks like a marble statue. She doesn’t even blink or acknowledge what my CFO just said. Her hand subconsciously rubs her belly.

“How?” I ask, but it’s a rhetorical question. In our world, information is the most valuable currency.

“The Gargarins will come after all of us and everything we have,” Roman says, and then hesitates before continuing, “Or you give them Katarina and your unborn baby.”

My hands squeeze into fists so tight that the knuckles turn white. Everything in me vibrates with anger, itching to go after the Gargarins. I’ll slowly murder them one by one, simply for having the balls to suggest something this outrageous.

“It’s all my fault,” Katarina says with a shuddering breath. “I shouldn’t have told my family about the pregnancy.”

I force myself to take a deep breath. When I’m in control again, I grab her hand, giving her my full attention. I thread my fingers through hers, and without breaking eye contact, say, “It was going to come out anyway. We knew there were threats to face before we could start our life together.”

“He’s right,” Roman says. “We’d have to deal with them either way.”

“Well, I don’t care anymore what happens to me,” Katarina says, surprising both of us. Her pregnancy’s still in the early stages, but her fierce maternal instincts have already awoken. “But my child has to be protected.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect both you and the baby,” I vow. “As long as my heart still beats, no harm will come to either one of you.”

“Fedot is gone,” she replies, a faint smile playing on her lips. “I think that took some pressure off your shoulders.”

“Let’s finish off the Gargarins then,” I agree. “Once they’re gone, we’ll be free.”

“Couldn’t we just point them to Igor?” Roman suggests and offers Katarina an apologetic smile. “No offense, but he’s the one who fucked up in the first place.”

“None taken,” Katarina assures him, and gives her head a small shake. “I’m half-tempted to hand him over too.”

“It wouldn’t change anything,” I tell them. “Yakov came after you because they didn’t deem punishing Igor fitting enough for the insult and dishonor he brought them.”

“What’s the plan, Nik?” Roman asks, his back straightening in anticipation of receiving orders.

“I want to meet with Sergey,” I say, my brows furrowing in thought. “Find a way for us to get together on neutral ground.”

“Pardon me,” Katarina says, disbelief coloring her words. “You’re actually going to meet with that lowlife?”

“I need to get a read on him before I decide what to do,” I tell her. “The best way to defeat an enemy is to know who you’re fighting against. Right now, Sergey’s a mystery to me.”

“But I don’t think that’s wise,” she urges. “What if he doesn’t agree with whatever you have planned?”

Roman gives her a pointed look but keeps silent.

“I’m not a fool,” I reply softly, and glance at Roman, who nods. “We won’t go empty-handed.”

If Sergey violates the rules of the meeting, he’ll be the first one to go down.