Bought by the Bratva (Morozov Bratva #17)

Chapter 12 - Nadia

I had mixed feelings as I got ready for our dinner. First, I couldn’t decide what to wear, then I battled getting my hair to fall into place and for some odd reason, I felt nervous. In a short time, we had been through a lot.

I had a mission, a job to do. I knew who he was and his family. I couldn’t allow my feelings to cloud my judgment. Yet, I had never felt this way before and it was messing with my harmony. He was so kind and understanding as well.

But since the shooting, Abram appeared broody. At times even slightly angry and I had no idea why. I hoped he didn’t think it was my cousin’s. They would never put me in danger no matter what happened. I just couldn’t tell him that.

It was unlike the man I had gotten to know. He had never appeared moody. I felt sure something was bothering him. Standing up from the vanity, I turned and inspected my look. Yes, I was sure I was done.

Heading down, I found Abram waiting for me. “Sorry I took so long,” I said softly as he walked to the door.

“No problem,” he replied over his shoulder, not even stopping. I followed him out to the car, where one of the guards was waiting. He didn’t even bother to open my door, the guard did. Something was definitely wrong.

I got in and thanked the guard. The drive to the restaurant was quick and silent. I felt like an intruder suddenly and didn’t appreciate it. But I would get to the bottom of it. As we sat down, he ordered a bottle of semi-sweet red wine, my favorite.

“Abram,” I said softly as the waiter left. He sat staring at me but didn’t reply. The waiter returned. He opened the bottle, poured some into a glass, and held it out. Abram rolled the wine before tasting it. He nodded before the waiter poured a glass for me as well.

Taking a sip, I tried again. “Abram, talk to me. What is bothering you?”

He sipped some wine and placed the glass down. Looking deep into my eyes, he spoke calmly.

“Tell me more about your cousins. You said no one ever took a bullet for you, and you weren’t sure they ever would. What’s your relationship like with them then?”

Caught off guard by his question, I tried to play it off. “Well…,” I replied, trying to formulate my thoughts. “I only meant that it wasn’t something people generally do for others.”

The waiter returned, asking if we were ready to order. I was glad for the distraction. Abram ordered a meat platter for two and a sweet platter for dessert. The waiter nodded and left.

Abram leaned closer as I spoke. I could see he was listening intently to me. It felt more like he was hanging on every word. Shifting in my chair, I glanced down at my glass. No one has ever truly listened when I spoke. It felt good to be heard.

Looking up, I caught his gaze as he leaned closer, gently placing his fingers over mine. “Tell me more,” Abram whispered.

I smiled softly. My emotions were up and down as if on a rollercoaster ride. Nodding, I cleared my throat and decided to share what I could with him. “As I told you, my parents died when I was young. I had no other family that could take me. So, I ended up in their care.”

Sipping some wine, I hoped to dislodge the growing ball forming in my throat. “I have to admit, I didn’t want to be there. I was a nuisance to them. They were always out busy with their own lives. As I got older, I craved their approval.”

Taking another sip of wine, I lightly shook my head. Blinking, I tried to force my tears back. He was so easy to talk to, and he listened without judgment. I felt my emotions bubbling to the surface. I had never talked to anyone about this; I never had anyone but my cousins.

“I am sorry for everything you went through,” Abram whispered. Looking at him, he smiled warmly.

The first tears slowly rolled down my cheek as I continued. “I tried to please them. I have done everything they ever asked and more. I am constantly trying to prove my worth to them. But nothing I ever done was good enough. It is infuriating and frustrating, to say the least. Constantly having to prove how much I have to offer is tiring.”

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. I had to stop. He was so easy to talk to. But if I continued, I would reveal everything. My whole being felt shaken up. I pulled my hand back and stared at the table. I was relieved when the waiter returned with our food.

“Well, then,” Abram said, sitting back. “Let’s talk about something else while we enjoy our food.”

I was relieved he seemed to understand and was ready to shift the topic. The ball in my throat melted, instantly disappearing as he smiled at me across the table. “So, did you play any sport in school?” Abram asked out of the blue.

“Sports?” I questioned, grinning.

“Yeah, with curves like yours, I assumed you were good in sports, weren’t you?” he teased.

Feeling my cheeks light up as I blushed, I softly shook my head. “Yes, in some,” I responded.

“Well, please tell me more,” he pushed.

Considering my answer, I watched as he took some meat and cheese from the platter and placed it on the plate before him. He wrapped the slice of meat in the cheese and took a large bite. After giving it a couple of chews, he swallowed. Glancing at me, he rolled his remaining bite into a circle in the air as he continued. “Come on, share something, don’t just sit looking at me as if I’m insane.”

His action and the way he spoke, making his voice sound deep like a gangster, made me laugh. “Okay,” I replied. “I was good in some but not many. I was a good runner.”

Abram smiled widely. “I can see that,” he said.

Feeling lighter, I helped myself with some of the food. “Why do you say that?” I asked before taking a bite.

“You’re still running,” he whispered, looking around as if searching for someone.

This made me laugh more, almost choking on my food. “What sports did you play?” I questioned lightly after swallowing.

“Me,” he replied, looking all innocently as he sat up. “Well, I played basketball and baseball, can’t you see?” Abram lifted his arm to his side, making a fist, and looked at his muscles as he spoke. His jacket pulled tight around his upper arm.

“Okay, show-off,” I huffed. “You can relax; not everyone is interested.”

“Are you?” he questioned, lifting his brows.

“Tell me,” I replied, not wanting to answer him about that. “What did you enjoy doing as a child?”

Abram sat back, rubbing his chin. He looked like he was deep in thought.

“I was never one for loads of mischief if that was what you were looking for,” he said, looking at me questioningly. “Anton was the one who always got us in trouble. I enjoyed climbing trees, being out in the woods, and spending time in the pool. I think that’s why I joined the army. It was in my blood.”

He breathed slowly, took a sip of wine, and then continued. “My father didn’t approve, with our family line and all that. I was the odd one out. But I didn’t care.”

“Yet, here you are today in the family business, or aren’t you?” I asked, wondering if our plans were going to work. Even though I knew he was part of their operations, I questioned how much he actually knew.

“Oh, yes, don’t get me wrong. I am part of the business now. But it wasn’t something I wanted. But how about you? What did you do for fun?”

I sat thinking about his question while I ate some more. I enjoyed getting to know more about him. The more I learned, the less scary he seemed.

“My parents used to travel quite a bit. I enjoyed that and missed it after they passed away. My cousins didn’t go out much; they were too busy. I kept my head down, studied, and did what was asked of me.” I replied.

Abram leaned closer as he spoke. “So, you’re telling me you've never done anything interesting?”

Grinning, I looked down for a moment as I thought back. “Well, there was this one time,” I whispered.

Abram shifted to the edge of his seat as he leaned in more. He appeared eager to hear my story. “I was a bit of a tomboy at a certain age. Pavel and I went through the neighborhood where we stayed. On the outskirts, we saw this old cement dam. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. No house close by, nothing. So, we decided to go see what was in it.”

“Yes, and what did you find?” Abram asked. He spoke softly as if we were sharing state secrets.

Taking a breath, I continued. “Nothing really. It was about halfway filled with dirty green slimy water.”

“Okay, and then what did you do?” he inquired before I could even finish.

Smiling at him, I lowered my voice as I tried to finish my story. “We jumped in to play in the water. But I think Pavel was hoping to find some toads or something. Yet, he didn’t. Instead, we found trouble.”

“Oh, no, what kind of trouble? Did you get sick?” Abram interrupted again.

“Let me finish,” I replied lightly, grinning at him.

He nodded and pretended to lock his mouth. “So, we were playing for about half an hour when out of nowhere, this old man appeared. He was shuffling towards us from the tree line screaming and shaking his cane in the air,” I laughed, thinking back to it.

Abram looked at me with his brows raised so I continued quickly before he asked again. “We jumped out and started running back home as he screamed at us for trespassing. Glancing back, I saw him standing next to the dam with one arm inside. It looked like he was talking to the water. It was the strangest thing.”

“You ever went back?” Abram inquired as I sat back.

“No, we didn’t have much time to do things like that,” I stated plainly.

We talked a bit more about him, his brothers, me, and my cousins through dinner. Sharing basic details such as favorite foods, entertainment, and such. Once supper was done, we headed back to the mansion.

The drive was quiet, and I could allow my mind to absorb all we had shared. It was nice having someone to talk with about everyday things and not get caught up in what had to be done. I felt relaxed and at home even though I knew it couldn’t work between us.

Abram walked with me up to my room. Opening the door, he smiled at me. “Thank you for dinner,” I whispered as I leaned closer to kiss him on the cheek. For a second, I closed my eyes. Deep down inside, I wanted this life, I wanted this to be real.

I felt his hot skin touching my cheek, pulling back, I opened my eyes. Abram had turned and was standing before me. His hand moved like lightning as I felt them tightening in my sides.

He moved in closer. I felt his breath playing over my lips just before he kissed me. I had no fight left. I wanted him. My body screamed to feel him, and I kissed him back. Abram pulled me into his strong arms. Lifting me off the ground he walked into the room and to the bed. I was mesmerized by him as my hands moved to his cheeks.

I felt the edge of the bed touching my calves as he lowered me to my feet. Staring into his eyes, I felt everything around us disappear. It was just the two of us. No boundaries, no people, just us in the moment.

Placing my arms lightly on his shoulders, I allowed him to kiss me again.