Chosen by the Badman (Russian Bratva Book 9)

by Hayley Faiman

  His eyes narrow into slits and his next words slice through me like a physical blow. “You get knocked up, that’s the end of me, and that baby would probably be terminated,” he states.

  “What?”

  “You think that your father didn’t make stipulations in your contract?” he asks, arching a brow. “Dominik’s contract had a loophole, your father’s will not.”

  I close my eyes and think about Inessa and Dominik, about the scandal that surrounded them. She was not his intended, he was actually contracted to another. His contract was clear that if he got another woman pregnant, it could be voided, or if he caught his fiancée cheating—incidentally, both scenarios happened at the same time.

  “I’m sure that there’s something in mine,” I whisper.

  Konstantin laughs, it’s harsh and it pisses me off. “Your father is not stupid, Kiska. I’m sure it’s iron-clad, and I’m sure if he knew what we just did, twice, he’d have my fucking head.”

  I sigh and close my eyes. “We have three years, Konny. I don’t want to think about it right now. What I want is to enjoy my freedom,” I whisper. “I’m on the fucking pill.”

  Konstantin grins, but it looks kind of sad. I watch as he walks over to me, sitting down beside me and shifting my hair over before he leans down and presses his mouth to my shoulder. “I panicked. Enough about the future, yeah?”

  I let out an exhale and nod. “Okay.”

  “Get dressed, Viv probably has banana bread left over from yesterday. I need to talk to her anyway,” he mutters.

  I open my mouth to say something about Viveka, like how I refuse to eat her bread, but I don’t. Konstantin doesn’t let me, he picks me up and carries me to the bathroom. We take a long, warm shower together and then dress. I try not to think about Viveka and her bread, or what on earth he needs to talk to her about, but I try not to at least act on my jealousy.

  “You good?” Konstantin asks when I throw my duffle bag strap over my shoulder.

  My head jerks up slightly and I look into his dark eyes. “I’m fine,” I lie.

  His lips twitch into a small smile. “Just a friend, sladkaya, nothing more,” he mutters before he leans down and gently brushes his lips across mine.

  “Yeah,” I breathe.

  His hand wraps around the side of my neck, and his thumb traces my bottom lip. I watch as his eyes follow his thumb’s path and they darken even more. “I can read you like a book, Kiska. You’ll see though,” he states.

  “What will I see?” I ask when he doesn’t elaborate.

  I watch as his lips turn into a grin. “You’ll see that you are the only woman I notice. The only woman I want in my bed.”

  If I could physically melt, right now would be the moment that I would. Rolling onto my toes, I press my lips to the underside of his jaw. “Okay, baby,” I whisper.

  Konstantin’s hand presses against my lower back to keep me close to him. “Tonight, after class, if you’re not too sore,” he whispers. “I’ll introduce you to a little more of what I like.”

  My entire body shivers and my pussy tingles at his words. More of what he likes? I can’t wait.

  He doesn’t say anything else, what he does do is wrap his hand around mine and locks up my apartment before we walk over to his place, together. He knocks on his own apartment door, but I don’t ask him, why. Viveka opens the door a few minutes later, and her eyes automatically glance at our hands before her body jolts.

  “Kon,” she states. Her eyes avoid mine, lifting instead, to focus on his.

  Konstantin doesn’t say anything, he tugs me behind him and into the apartment, closing the door behind us. I stand to the side but am not able to get too far away, as I watch him lock the door behind him. He faces Viveka and just when I think that he’s going to ask me to go into the other room he speaks.

  “Madam Minsky is no longer an issue. I’ve taken care of her. You’re working under me now, as is the rest of her stable until I can find places for them. This makes my work double, with the same number of hours in the day. You’ll help with schedules until you have clearance from Dr. Pavlov to get back to work. Hopefully, by then, the girls will all have permanent places to work.”

  Viveka’s face pales at the news, as I’m sure mine does too. I know enough about this life to understand what it means to have someone, taken care of. I can’t imagine Konstantin, my Konstantin, the man that made love to me last night and again this morning, is capable of killing a woman. Though I can’t imagine the same of my father, but I have no doubt that he’s probably done it.

  “What about her daughter?” Viveka quietly asks.

  Konstantin jerks his head, jutting his chin out and I hold my breath. I’m kind of afraid of what he’ll say, about this woman’s daughter? Did he take care of her too? I can’t imagine him hurting a child, but in this life, anything is possible.

  “The girl is safe. Timofei hasn’t made a decision about her yet,” he murmurs.

  Viveka nods as she bites her bottom lip. “She’s a virgin…” she announces oddly.

  “Viv?”

  She shrugs. “In our business, virgins can make quite a bit of money. She’d be pretty, with a haircut and a little makeup. You could hold a client auction.”

  My eyes widen at her callous words. Holy shit, what a bitch. I turn to look up at Konstantin and notice that there is a muscle that’s ticking in his jaw.

  “No auction,” he growls. “This is not the Bratva of years past. We do not force women into prostitution. If that girl wants to do that, then when she’s eighteen she can voice her desires. Right now, she is underage, and there is no way I’m going to be like the men before me and force her to spread her legs because of her suka mother.”

  I want to congratulate him for being awesome, maybe give him a high-five, or tackle him to the ground with a kiss. I don’t. Instead, I squeeze his hand with mine, and he does the same, never looking away from Viveka.

  “You know what her mother had done to me, Kon. How can you just let her be free?”

  Konstantin shakes his head once. “I will not punish her for her mother’s crimes. Her mother was dealt with accordingly. Her fate will be set by Timofei, I have no control,” he says.

  Viveka’s eyes narrow. “Fine. Whatever,” she says but I know that this can’t be finished, not by a long shot.

  “You’ll leave her and it alone, Viv,” Konstantin warns. She only lifts her chin. “You’ll come down to my office today, I’ll be back in about an hour to take you,” he orders.

  My stomach drops at the thought of him coming back to get her, and then, them spending the day together—every day together. I hate the idea of it, but if I say something, it won’t matter, he’s made it clear that she is his friend, and that their relationship will not change—no matter how I feel about it.

  “Okay, Kon, I’ll see you then.” She grins then she turns to me and winks. The bitch. Konstantin leaves me in the entryway and makes his way to the kitchen. Viveka smiles at me sweetly as she crosses her arms under her breasts but otherwise stays quiet.

  “Fuck, Viveka. Maybe I should hire you to be my cook,” Konstantin moans as he walks back into the living area. Viveka’s smile widens, and I decide right then and there that I hate her. I don’t care if it’s irrational, I hate her.

  She tips her head to the side in an effort to look innocent. “You know, we’d be the perfect match, in so many ways, Kon,” she purrs.

  Konstantin shakes his head with a smile. “We’d kill one another, you know it. Besides, no reason to ruin our great friendship with the day-to-day headaches of marriage,” he grunts. I feel my face pale at his words. Viveka glances at me, and I watch her chest puff out just a little bit more. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  I don’t bother saying a word to her as Konstantin shoves more of her fucking bread in his mouth and places his empty hand on my lower back to guide me out of the door. I’m all too happy to leave. If I could strike her dead with just my glare, I’d do it—in a heartbeat. I
don’t even care what that says about me.

  Something is wrong with Kiska. She refused the banana bread I brought her and the way she’s walking, it’s not solely because her pussy is sore, it’s because she’s holding her body tight and she’s pissed. I’ve asked her twice what’s wrong but she insists that she’s fine, which is bullshit. When we arrive to the studio, I keep my hand tightly wrapped around hers and tug her to my chest, refusing to let her walk away from me.

  “What?” she sighs as she tips her head back to look into my eyes.

  Raising my hand, I wrap it around her slender throat and watch as my thumb slides up and down the center. I can’t wait to hold her throat in my hand while I fuck her, to put my marks on her. “Konstantin,” she calls, taking me out of my imagination.

  “Lazar will be here in a few minutes. I will be here waiting for you after class. Then tonight, just us,” I mutter, reminding her.

  She nods once, but there was a fire in her eyes that is a little extinguished now.

  “Sladkaya?” I mutter.

  “Have a good day,” she replies.

  I watch her, knowing that something isn’t right, but unable to draw it out of her quite yet. I will, tonight. That is a fucking promise. “Yeah, Kiska,” I hum lowering my chin to press my lips against hers. “Be a good girl,” I whisper against her mouth.

  Lifting my face, I watch as something passes across her eyes before she replies. “You too, Konny.”

  I release her and watch her turn and walk away from me into the studio. Her sweet ass sways and I can’t believe that just a couple of hours ago I was buried inside of her tight body. I’ll be there again tonight, reminding her of why she’s mine—of why I want her and only her. She’s young, maybe she’s feeling self-conscious about us. I’ll push that shit out of her mind if that’s what she’s about. I’m over thirty years old, I know what I want, and I want only her.

  “Boss?” Bronislav asks a few minutes later. I jerk my head over and look at him.

  Lazar appears almost a second later, and I clap him on the shoulder before I turn to Bron. “I want you in on this meeting with the boss.”

  “Me?” Bronislav asks in confusion.

  I nod. “We may have a job for you,” I state.

  I found out who the John was that fucked up Viveka. I want him gone, but he’s some big shot businessman, so I have to get approval from Timofei, first. Bronislav follows me, and I make a call to Viveka on the way to Timofei’s office, explaining that I’ll be a little late.

  It doesn’t take me long to make the drive to Brighton Beach, less than an hour and I’m glad for it. Sometimes traffic can be a fucking bitch. Bronislav parks right next to me and together we make our way to Timofei’s front door. I can sense his eyes on me but he doesn’t ask any questions, he knows it is not his place.

  Timofei answers the door and walks away, toward his office, both of us follow. I’m surprised to see a couple of his men inside waiting for us as well. “Well, you killed a madam, you’ve taken on her entire stable, and now I have an underage child to deal with,” Timofei states.

  Bronislav coughs and I almost laugh. “I want Bronislav to take out the John who hurt Viveka,” I say.

  Timofei lifts a brow then leans back in his chair. “What is your need for vengeance for Viveka? Is she yours?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “She is a childhood friend, I’ve paid for her services before, but she is nothing more than a friend,” I explain.

  “The John isn’t just some nobody. Taking him out would cause too many questions, questions we do not need right now. Our focus has to be on whoever is fucking with our shipments. I want to grant this to you, but the work on covering our tracks alone would be far too time-consuming,” he explains.

  I let out a frustrated sigh and nod. I understand it. I don’t like it, but I understand it. “Now, onto the girl. What do you suggest we do with her?” he asks.

  Clearing my throat, I tell them what Viveka suggested. The air in the room goes almost electric. “I told her it wasn’t an option. I don’t agree with it, at all,” I admit.

  “What about sending her to a boarding school? Has she had any proper schooling?” Timofei asks.

  I snap my fingers as an idea takes place. “Send her to Russia to school. We have resources there, and once she’s finished with school she will not be alone, nor will she have the stigma of her mother. Perhaps she could even have a decent match set up for her.”

  Timofei nods. “I like that idea, Konstantin. She’ll likely hate us, but a fresh start would be good for the girl,” he agrees. “I’ll call Sergei today, get her on a flight this evening.”

  I let out a breath of relief, glad that she will not be here. I have no doubt that she would do well in boarding school, but there was just something about Viveka’s suggestion and the way her eyes lit up when she talked about it that rubbed me the wrong way. I want her far away. I know Viveka, and although I love her, as my friend, she can be fucking vindictive.

  We spend an entire hour discussing the trouble we’re still having with shipments. We’ve contacted several different tech guys, and none of them have been able to find out who is hacking the system. It’s fucking weird, none of the shipments are tampered with, but it’s becoming fucking inconvenient.

  “WHAT CRAWLED UP YOUR hoo ha?” Zoe asks during our second break of the day.

  I close my eyes and think about Viveka, Konstantin, then Viveka and Konstantin. They’re spending the entire day together, she’ll be working for him and with him, and it won’t be selling her body to other men, it will be sitting beside him all freaking day long.

  Pressing my lips together, I try to keep my eyes from watering. I feel like a damn mess though.

  “Kiska?” Zoe asks, her brows furrowed.

  I tell her, I tell her everything, well everything that I can anyway. I tell her about Viveka being Konstantin’s friend, but I know she wants more, about how they’re going to be working together while I’m here dancing. Then, I tell her about losing my virginity to him last night.

  “Wait, you were a virgin? I thought the two of you were together?” she asks in confusion.

  I suck in a breath. “We are, we have been, we were just taking things slow,” I semi-lie.

  Zoe frowns slightly. “Wow, I feel so slutty, Bron and I went at it that night we met,” she smirks.

  I put my hand over my mouth, and I start to giggle before I burst out into a full-on laugh. “What’s going on?” Peter asks as he walks over to us.

  “Nothing,” I say through my laughter as I wipe the tears from my eyes.

  He narrows his gaze on me before he shrugs. “Okay, we find out tomorrow if we got a part, and what part, how do you think it’s going to go?” he asks.

  We all three look around the room, and we give our predictions. We know there’s no way in hell any of us will be anything other than background chorus dancers, but there will be a few that won’t even make that cut. Maybe it’s bitchy of us, but this is a competition, and we have to know who our competition is.

  When we’re called back to the floor, Zoe slips her arm through mine before she smirks, “Just enjoy the ride of Konstantin, Kiska. He’s so into you, it’s ridiculous. Maybe that bitch has a thing for him, but he only has eyes for you, gorgeous,” she grins.

  I’m unable to respond to her as the music starts and we warm back up before we practice our routine. I think about her words the rest of class time though. Does he only have eyes for me? He’s made it very clear that he wants me, and nobody else—that I’m his. I know that there is a timestamp on our relationship, but Viveka knows it as well, and I don’t think she’s just going to sit back and watch.

  “You know, if he wants someone else, then he’ll be with someone else. But just because another woman wants him doesn’t mean that he does too. You know it doesn’t mean he’s going to slip, fall, and land inside of her pussy, right?” Zoe whispers as we walk out of the studio, and toward the front door. I can’t stop the giggle t
hat escapes my throat.

  “Thanks, I feel marginally better,” I chirp through my laugh.

  That laugh gets caught in my throat when I see Konstantin standing on the street. He’s got his phone in his hand, but it’s as if he can sense my presence he lifts his face and his eyes, I swear they melt when they land on me. All thoughts of Viveka disappear. He does only have eyes for me, it’s as though those eyes can see into my soul as well. It’s downright beautiful.

  Konstantin closes the distance between us and I hold my breath. His hand wraps around the nape of my neck and his lips brush mine in a firm, but chaste kiss. “You hungry?” he murmurs.

  “Yeah,” I breathe.

  I’m starving, for food and him, I’m just not sure which one I want first. “Let me feed you, then you’re mine the rest of the night,” he announces. I shiver as my response and watch as he gives me a small grin. “Fuck, you’re going to be sweet for me tonight, aren’t you?” he asks in a whisper.

  “Yeah,” I breathe. I’ll do whatever he wants—whatever—at this point.

  He grins, then releases my neck as his hand shifts to hold mine, like he did this morning. I’m unable to stop the stupid smile from appearing on my lips as we walk down the sidewalk. I look like a sweaty hot mess, and he looks perfect in his suit pants and button up shirt, but I don’t care.

  He thinks I’m something special, and that is all that should matter. Viveka and Akim don’t play into what we have between us—at least for now and that is all I can worry about. The rest of the shit will come to the surface, but for right now, I have him and he has me.

  After our dinner of solianka soup for me. Lamb kabobs, sautéed vegetables, blinches with crab meat, and cold borscht soup for him. I couldn’t believe how much he’d eaten, and he had every single bite. I was too nervous to eat anything other than the soup he’d ordered for me. I was glad that he didn’t try to force me to eat more.

  “I have a couple phone calls to make, you go in and shower. Do not put anything on,” he directs.