by Kimber Chin
"Great-grandsons," Igroek mumbled in wonder.
Great-grandsons, not great-granddaughters. Figures the male chauvinistic pig wanted boys.
"Igroek." Tatyana waved her gun in the old man's direction, bringing them back to the topic at hand. "What do we do about him?"
"No need to kill me. I'll support the marriage." It was an abrupt about face from the crazy gnome. "Your grandson will have my full protection, Kaerta. I give you my word."
"For what that's worth." Tatyana's eyes narrowed. "Backstabbing bastard."
"Let the bastard live, Granddaughter," Nikky's grandfather advised. "Nothing will happen.
Trust me. I wouldn't put your Nikolay in danger."
"I trust you." She didn't trust Igroek.
"Grandfather will keep him honest, Brat." Nikky lowered his gun. "Then it's settled. The wedding happens tonight."
"At midnight." She wanted him reinstated as heir. Nikky wouldn't be happy with any other position.
"Sooner."
Three hours. Nik sat at the poker table. Couples got married in drive-thru chapels every damn day, yet his bride claimed it'd take three hours for her to get ready. No, not his bride.
His mother. Accompanied by an amused Father Kaerta. A midnight ceremony. They were going to have a church wedding in the middle of the fucking night.
"She really would have shot me?" Igroek repeated for the thousandth time.
"Yes." Nik was glad she hadn't had to, as he was glad he hadn't had to shoot his own grandfather but, if pushed, they would have.
"Nikolay would have shot me," Grandfather said with pride. "His gun hand was rock steady."
"You trained him well," Igroek conceded.
Trained him. Like a damn dog. "You going to play or talk?" Nik scowled at his hand. He'd rather be holding Tatyana than cards.
"I fold." That would be talk. Grandfather tossed his cards on the table. "Guess I should be booking a flight to Philadelphia soon, huh, Igroek. Look over my new city."
"Go to hell, Kaerta." Igroek slammed chips down. "I raise."
Tatyana's grandfather bluffed. He had nothing. But he was too proud to fold. A weakness Nik would exploit in the future, to ensure Tatyana's happiness. .
"A new city, a new granddaughter." Grandfather sounded pleased. "I couldn't have arranged it better myself."
"You did arrange it yourself." Grandfather had been the one to suggest their engagement from the beginning. And he'd complied, obedient dog that he was.
"Did I? No, I believe the engagement was your idea, Nikolay." His chair creaked as Grandfather leaned back.
It wasn't like Grandfather to reinvent history. "It was the only solution." Igroek, as impatient as his granddaughter was, called.
"There is always more than one solution to every problem. That was yours. It wasn't mine."
What was he saying? Nik laid his cards on the table. There were groans. Igroek cursed. "You said nothing." What other solution was there? He gathered up the chips, stacking them.
"What could I say?" He bumped his cigar against the ashtray. "I knew who she was, I recognized the ears. I knew the mess that would follow. That I'd have to deal with him again." Grandfather's nose wrinkled in disgust. Igroek looked even less happy. "But you wanted her, Nikolay, we all saw that, and what you want, you get."
"She is an Igroek. Why wouldn't he want her?" Igroek motioned to his man, Mikhail, the bodyguard with the snarly face. "I have something I want you to give her." Igroek passed a long velvet box from the bodyguard to Nik. "To wear tonight. Don't tell her it is from me, you understand?"
Because if Tatyana knew it was from Igroek, she wouldn't wear it. And it meant something to the old man that she did. Nik opened the box. A pendant on a fine gold chain, a mauve enameled egg covered with tiny gemstones.
Igroek poked at the egg. It opened, revealing a tiny golden swan. "This is an heirloom?" Nik asked. It had to be. It was a miniature work of art.
"My wife wore it on our wedding day. My daughter was to wear it on hers, but..." Igroek stared at the egg, his lips moving with no words. "You will tell her to wear it tonight," he demanded.
No one told Tatyana to do anything. "She will wear it." It was beautiful. It wouldn't take much convincing. "You want it back?" That would be more difficult.
"Ah." Igroek waved his hand. "It is hers to keep. Give it to your sons to give to their wives."
"Or to our daughters to wear on their wedding day." Nik wanted his little girl.
"You will haveȄ"
"Igroek," Grandfather barked.
Fifteen
"Every leader makes mistakes. You learn from them or they kill you."ȄSergei Kaerta
"I'm glad you came to your senses, Nikolay, before the flowers wilted." His mother glowered at him. Like it was his fault the wedding had been delayed. "I misted them to keep them fresh."
"They look good, Mother." Nik didn't care about the flowers. As long as this night ended with him married to the brat, he'd be satisfied.
His apprehension over that happening grew as Joey Chan entered the church. He was flanked by four men, too many for a casual attendance. Their eyes met. Chan's chin lifted in a dare. Shit. There was trouble.
Nik glanced over at Pavel. The big man nodded, crossing his arms. He was aware of the danger.
"You're not angry, are you Nikolay? Because I helped Tatyana?" His mother worried, tweaking his boutonniere for the thousandth time, as his father talked to the priest.
Why would his mother helping Tatyana with the flowers make him angry? "Of course not."
It was ridiculous.
And distracting. Chan moved through the church. His casual pauses at the exits would have been imperceptible if Nik hadn't been watching for them.
"Good." His mother's shoulders lowered. "Maybe if you talked to your grandfather, he won't...he won't be upset with me, with your father."
"Grandfather?" That got Nik's full attention. "Why would he be upset about flowers?" He glanced back. Shit. Chan was gone, Pavel missing also. "We'll talk about this later, Mother."
He squeezed his mother's shoulder before slipping into the corridor. Tatyana would be in one of the private rooms, fixing that frizzy hair of hers one more time.
"You don't want Kaerta as an in-law." Nik heard Chan before he saw him. Who was he talking to? Nik inched along the wall, losing his boutonniere as it scraped against the stone.
"My granddaughter wants the Kaerta grandson as a husband. That is all that matters."
Igroek, defending him or negotiating for a better offer from Chan, Nik didn't know which. If it was the latter, he was negotiating from strength, positioned in front of the door, a brute to his left and to his right.
"Come on, Igroek." Chan chuckled. "We're businessmen and marriage is a business deal.
This is not about what the girl wants. This is about what we want."
"And what do you want?"
Negotiating, it was. Another backstabbing bastard. Damn it. The darkness to Nik's right shifted. Pavel. His number one man had his guns ready. A shoot out in the church on their wedding day with his wife-to-be's grandfather dead by his hand. Fuck. Tatyana would beat him into next Sunday.
"I want your support, financially and in manpower, for west coast expansion. That's it. I won't interfere with the east. That'll be your territory. You know Kaerta will promise no such thing. Rumor is...he has his eye on Philadelphia."
Philadelphia, the city Igroek already lost. Nik's top lip curled. Chan was a crafty bastard.
"And what do I get?" Igroek's face held no expression.
"You get everything, a united empire, my Asian connections, revenge upon Kaerta." Chan smiled, pleased with himself.
Nik waited for the agreement. That was all he needed. Then he'd take out Igroek, leaving Chan for Pavel.
"Is that everything? Money, power, revenge?" Igroek shook his bald head. "I used to think so. Now, I want more. I want more for my granddaughter. No, Chan, she'll marry Kaerta's heir, that's decided."
"That's a mistake, old man." Chan didn't take the rejection well, approaching Igroek. "I was being polite. I don't need your permission to take what I want."
A flash of movement and Chan was thrown against the wall, Igroek's hands around his neck. The bodyguards pulled guns. "You underestimate me, Chan."
He wasn't the only one. Nik stared. Fuck, the old man was fast.
"You do need my permission. You now need my permission to breathe." Chan's face was red. "So, here's how today will go. The Kaerta boy marries my granddaughter. There will be no drama, no reason to upset the bride, understand?"
Igroek shook Chan until he nodded.
"They marry, they give me great-grandchildren and they both live to a ripe old age. If they don't, you don't, understand?" The two were nose to nose.
Another nod.
"Good." Igroek gave Chan a tight smile as he released him, dusting off his shoulders. "You'll want to take your seat now, Chan, or you'll have to stand. The church isn't large enough to hold all those supporting this marriage."
Nik studied Igroek as Chan slinked away. He looked weak as though restraining the rival groom had taken everything in him. But he had earned Nik's respect. He was worthy of Tatyana.
"Thank you for that." Nik stepped out from the shadows.
"For what? Choosing you?" Igroek snarled. "Don't flatter yourself, boy. Chan killed his last wife. Despite what my granddaughter thinks, I'm not a demonic bastard."
Igroek had been protecting Tatyana. "She doesn't think you're a demonic bastard." She thought he was a crazy gnome.
"She does." Lines deepened on the old man's face. "And I'll prove her right if you ever hurt her. I'll kill you with a smile on my face, understand?"
"Understood." Igroek wouldn't make that threat if he didn't care. "And I'll be happy for that death because once Tatyana gets through with me..." His life wouldn't be worth shit.
"She's a hellion." Igroek grinned proudly. "Like her mother." His humor faded. "I won't lose her, too."
"I'll protect her." Silence stretched before Nik realized that wasn't what the old man feared.
"It'll take time, but once she gives her loyalty, it is for life. She'd defend her parents to the death." Igroek would do well not to insult them.
"And you. You have her loyalty."
Did he? He vowed never to do anything to lose it. Music drifted through the air. Nik's stomach fluttered. "It's time." He paused. Tatyana's grandfather was alone. No one should be alone today. "Will you walk with me to the vestibule?" They would wait for his bride there, for the blessing of the rings.
"No." Igroek looked back at the closed door, yearning on his face. "I'll stay here. She might need me."
Down or up? Tatyana stared at her tulle hazed reflection. Down was traditional and good luck. She'd look more mysterious and there'd be that big dramatic moment when her veil was lifted. Up, she flipped the veil; she'd be able to see Nikky's expression when he first spotted her. She could properly pause for full effect. She could mouth sinful thoughts to her groom while Father Kaerta droned on and on about redemption.
"I'm leaving my veil up," she announced to the room. The aunties buzzed around her.
Nikky's mom, usually the calm in the storm, was missing. There'd been some sort of boutonniere emergency. Damn men. Didn't they know the bride needed her?
"A wise choice, granddaughter." Nikky's grandfather entered the room, dressed even more dapper than usual, rings on every finger. "You look beautiful."
"You think so?" Tatyana took his hands, kissed his cheeks, then twirled for him, her dress billowing out like a bell.
"I know so, but if you wish, we could ask for a second opinion. Igroek is waiting outside."
The crazy gnome. Tatyana's smile faded. "I doubt his opinion would be favorable."
"Granddaughter."
"No." She turned to stare at herself in the mirror. She was the bride. "This is my day. I want it to be happy."
"Leave us," Nikky's grandfather barked. Everyone left without a murmur of protest. She may be the bride, but Sergei Kaerta ruled the family.
Tatyana straightened her shoulders. He didn't rule her. She would not be bossed around. "I don't want him in here. He isn't happy for Nikky and me."
"He's concerned. I would be, also." Nikky's grandfather pulled a cigar out of his jacket pocket. "His enemy arranged a wedding between the heirs."
"You didn't." When Nikky gave her the stunning pendant, she fingered the tiny egg, he mumbled some nonsense about his grandfather not wanting the engagement.
"No, I didn't." Nikky's grandfather flicked his lighter. Was smoking in the church allowed?
"But Igroek wonders why I didn't stop Nikolay. I suspected who you were, Granddaughter.
Yet I allowed the engagement to go ahead."
"You couldn't stop it." They were meant to be together, like her parents were meant to be together. A destined love. To last for all time.
Nikky's grandfather puffed on his cigar. "I know that, you know that. Igroek does not. He sees his only granddaughter being tricked into a marriage."
"And he worries about my feelings?" Tatyana laughed without humor. Never had Igroek asked her what she wanted. Never. "He doesn't care about feelings. He disowned his own daughter."
Smoke filled the small room. "He wanted the best for his daughter. He made a mistake deciphering what that best was. I almost made a similar mistake with Nikolay's father, forcing him into a role he hadn't the heart for."
Taking over the family business. "That would have been a fuck up of biblical proportions."
Tatyana opened a window.
He winced. "My wife was less restrained with her opinions." Tatyana would have liked Nikky's grandmother. "And yes, it would have been. My mistake would have killed him. I was lucky. My wife prevented it. Your grandfather wasn't as lucky. His mistake killed your mother, his only child."
Leaving him alone. As she'd been left alone. Both feeling guilt because both of them had thought themselves responsible.
"You're saying I should forgive him?" Her palm closed around the egg. She couldn't do it.
"Forgive him so he can disown me later? What's the point?"
An eyebrow lifted. Damn arrogant Kaerta men. "You're afraid he'll disown you?"
"I'm not afraid," she bit out. "I'm examining the different outcomes." She threw his own words back at him. "That is the most likely outcome. My mom was sweet and kind. He disowned her. I'm neither sweet nor kind." She was well aware of the gaps in her personality. "Him disowning me is a foregone conclusion. We might as well reach it immediately."
"He'll never disown you."
She turned to stare at him. He sounded so certain. "Why not?"
Nikky's grandfather laughed. "Because you won't allow him to. You're like my Nikolay that way. What you want, you get. If you want Igroek, that stubborn ass, as your grandfather, he'll be your grandfather, his opinions be damned."
"And if I don't?"
"If you didn't, you would have shot him today." Nikky's grandfather placed his hand on the doorknob. "Should we let him in now or let him stew some more?"
Tatyana rolled her eyes. Bossy, bossy men. "Let him in but..." Oh, damn. Nikky's grandfather had already let himself out.
Igroek entered, his eyes widening.
Tatyana pivoted away, ignoring him. It didn't mean anything that he was here. He was a stranger. Nothing more.
"You look beautiful, Granddaughter." His voice sounded strangely small. "Like your mother."
Her mother. She picked up her bouquet, sticking her face in the flowers, sniffing the roses.
She would not cry. Not in front of the crazy gnome.
"That must be whyȄ"
"Why what?" She brushed her nose against a petal.
"Why the Kaerta boy stares at you the same way your father stared at her."
"He does?" Her head rose.
"Unfortunately, yes." Igroek chuckled. "It
was a living hell." He rubbed his temples. "I wanted to rip the eyeballs out of your father's head." He shook his head. "It is damn hard to watch a man lust after your little girl. God willing, your Nikolay will find that out. And Sergei will be there to ensure he doesn't make the same stupid mistakes I did."
Because he had made a mistake, disowning his daughter, her mom. "You might be there, also." Tatyana peeked out from under her lashes.
His face lit up. "I'd like that."
She'd like that, too. To have a grandfather. Not a perfect grandfather. She examined the old geezer. He was far from that. But then, she wasn't the perfect granddaughter, either.
She took a deep breath. "If we're going to do this, Igroek, we're doing this on my terms."
She lifted her chin, staring him straight in the eyes. "You will support this marriage. You may argue with Nikky, but you will not try to kill him." The two asses would argue, she knew that. "You may also disagree with me however much you want but you will not disown me. Not ever. I won't tolerate that nonsense, understand?"
Igroek swallowed. "Understood."
"Good." That was settled. She played with her pendant. Igroek, her grandfather, gawked at her. Now what? She raised her eyebrow, having mastered the art. She had to. She was about to become a Kaerta. The eyebrow raising was expected.
"That's a nice necklace, Granddaughter."
She suspected her grandfather, like Nikky's, never made casual conversation. She looked down. The pendant was very old, very valuable, and Nikky wouldn't tell her where it came from. "Was it Mom's?" A lump formed in her throat.
Igroek's eyes widened. "Her mother's. Did he...?"
"No, I figured it out." Did Grandfather think her an idiot? "Women have brains, too." Male chauvinist pig.
Igroek opened his mouth, paused, closed it. Finally, he said, "She wore it on her wedding day. She would have wanted you to..."
She was dead. He wanted her to wear it. "I will." Another awkward pause. What did he want? A hug? Like hell that was going to happen. "We should start this wedding." Before someone died. She thought she heard Chan's voice earlier. "Will you help me find Nikky's grandfather?" She took his arm.
"I'd be honored." Igroek clasped his hand over top hers, strength in the deceptively frail frame.
