Page 22 of Untamed Beast
God might be on your side after how filthy my mind went during that wedding ceremony…but even he can’t stop your husband being a crook.
“Mama, it’s okay. It will be okay.” Natalia kisses her mother on both cheeks.
She shoots me an uncertain look.
“He will not hurt me.”
I nod my head in agreement.
“You will be safe here,” Natalia continues.
I give a half-nod. I have no plans to harm Maksim’s wife, but if she gets in our way…
“And I’ll still be able to visit you.”
She’s pushing it. I give a shrug at that one. I have no desire to come back here, not until I find a way to get rid of Maksim without risking my newfound seat on the Bratva Council.
Natalia’s mouth tightens at that, but she continues reassuring her mother. “We’ll still be able to talk, Mama. It’s not as if I’m leaving the country.”
I don’t acknowledge that one. I have no immediate plans to leave the country, but I will need to in future. If I choose to take my wife with me, that’s none of their concern.
The woman continues to sob against her daughter’s shoulder. I’ve had enough.
I’m bored of this.
How is it that Natalia is the one beingmarried off to a lowlife criminal and her mother is the one whoneeds comfort?
I am over this fucking melodrama. I pull Natalia away from her mother. She straightens her shoulders and picks up the cat crate without looking at me.
Maksim stands silently by, not even giving his wife false reassurance. I’ve made clear exactly what’s in store for him. He knows this is not over.
As we leave, her mother’s shriek echoes in my ears.
“Don’t let him touch you,malyshka. Promise me, on your dear babushka’s grave.”
Natalia did so, clutching her mother’s hands as the old lady prayed to some fucking saint to protect her virtue. The prayer didn’t calm her down at all.
I think it was only the look on my face that made her mother let her go. She called after us down the hallway.
“We will find a way out of this madness that your father has agreed to. We will. Wemust.”
It’s cute, almost.
That they think they can stop me.
That they think taking their daughter’s virginity is the worst of my plans for them.
This pretty little princess beside me is one piece of the puzzle, that’s all.
Irrelevant, even if she is nice to look at.
6
NATALIA
The air is thick with smoke and loud with the calls of men. Thick, muscled men. Men like Aleksandr.
The dock swarms with them, calling, waving, grunting.
