Chapter 25
Cara
For the next two weeks, we keep our heads down. With the wedding only two days away, we don’t want any last-minute disasters. Not if we can help it.
“I’m meeting with some of my men for a few hours,” Dmitri tells me as we ride in the back of a black car, the interior concealed by heavily tinted windows. “But I’ll pick you up after you’re done with your father.”
I nod as he takes my hand and rests both of them on my thigh. “What’s the meeting about?”
“I have someone watching the Council members,” Dmitri explains. “They’re all in town so I’m trying to stay ahead of them in case they make a move. That way, we’ll be ready.”
“Hopefully they wait until after the wedding,” I say with a wry smile.
Dmitri chuckles. “I’m talking to my spy today. We’ll see what they’re planning. I doubt they’re just going to sit back and do nothing as we get married.”
The Bratva Council is stuck in the past. Loyalty isn’t as simple as bloodlines and family names, no matter how badly they want it to be. Even those who share similar allies and family names aren’t guaranteed to be trustworthy. It all comes down to their character and their actions.
It’s hard to trust anyone unless you know who they really are underneath it all.
“Whatever you find out, tell me. I don’t want to be kept in the dark,” I warn him.
Dmitri kisses the top of my hand. “Always, milaya. You’re by my side in all of this. Keeping things from you would only put you in more danger.”
I give him a grateful look. I’m glad he thinks so because it’s true. How can I prepare myself for the bad things if I don’t even know that they exist?
We’re a team now. A family.
If we don’t work together, it’ll all fall apart.
“What do you think your father wants to discuss? He was pretty adamant about seeing you before the wedding,” Dmitri asks, concern flashing in his eyes.
I can’t help but laugh a little. “What? Do you think he’s trying to pull his support for our marriage?”
Dmitri shrugs. “I doubt it, but I can’t help but be curious.”
“You can tell me your news later, and I’ll tell you mine,” I promise, playfully hooking my pinky around his.
Dmitri flashes me an amused grin and nods. “Alright then. Hopefully, your father knows better than to go back on a deal.”
“I’ll make sure he knows that when it comes to you, he needs to stick to his word,” I assure him.
The Bratva and the Irish are stronger together than apart. The Council has failed to see that, but maybe other Bratva families will realize that unconventional allies could protect them against dangerous enemies. A lot of us want the same things.
Why does everything always have to come down to family names and old grudges?
The car slows to a stop, and Mark looks over his shoulder at me. “We’re here, Cara.”
I arch an eyebrow at Dmitri. “No escort?”
“Your father told me he has it covered,” Dmitri replies, pointing out the window beside me.
I follow his finger and see two Irish guards standing outside on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant that we’re parked in front of. “I guess I should go inside.”
Dmitri leans forward and kisses me. “If there’s any trouble, call me.”
“You too,” I say with a pointed look before opening the car door and slipping out.
The Irish guards nod respectfully before leading me into the restaurant and past the hostess.
They take me toward the back of the steakhouse where my father is seated by himself at a white-clothed table.
“You’re looking a lot better,” I remark, relieved he’s healing after the shooting.
“Fit as a fiddle,” he replies.
I notice the two flutes already waiting on the table, both filled with what looks like champagne.
“You’ll have to drink mine for me,” I tell him as he stands and gives me a brief, careful hug.
“Sparkling cider,” Sean replies before sitting down across from me.
I smile and take a sip, enjoying the small bite of the bubbles. “What’s the occasion?”
“You’re getting married,” he says, his face softening a degree. “My only daughter.”
I set my glass down, my eyes meeting his. “That’s why you wanted to see me?”
“I have something for you too,” he says, reaching into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulling out a small jewelry box covered in dark green velvet. “I meant to give this to you a while ago, but…I lost my way as a father. I treated you like one of my men instead of my daughter.”
“You wanted a son,” I say quietly.
“That doesn’t matter to me anymore,” Dad replies firmly. “Look at all you’ve done, Cara. All you’ve endured and overcome. You’re stronger than I thought, and I’m ashamed that I saw you as someone weaker than that.”
“I didn’t have a chance to prove myself to you,” I point out. “Not until you sent me to spy on Dmitri.”
“I’m sorry I was so harsh, yeah?” Sean admits with a frown. “But you excelled. You did everything that you were tasked to do and more.”
“Well, it helped that Dmitri and I started falling for each other while I was spying on him,” I tell him.
Sean smirks and shakes his head a little. “I wasn’t happy about that, but the Ivanovs are no longer my enemies. Dmitri’s aided us more than even some other Irish families in the country.”
“He’s a good man. He fights for what’s right,” I say, my heart warming at the thought.
“It was hard seeing him as an enemy when he was also fighting for you,” my father replies as he turns the jewelry box over in his hand a few times.
“The thought of losing you to the hands of some unknown enemy disturbed me. I couldn’t stop thinking about our last conversation and how we left things. ”
“It wasn’t pretty,” I murmur as I lower my eyes.
He told me terrible things. He chipped away at my confidence and my strength. He wasn’t a father then.
He was a harsh mob boss.
But he’s different now. I can see the tenderness in his eyes. Hear the guilt in his voice.
All it took was almost losing me to snap him out of the cruel attitude that he had harbored for years.
“No, it wasn’t pretty. I regret what I said,” Sean replies as he brushes his thumb over the soft velvet. “And I’ve been trying to make things right.”
I take a deep breath before nodding. “I’ve noticed.
You risked your life and your men’s lives to save me from the farmhouse.
You agreed to let Dmitri marry me. You’ve worked with Dmitri to keep taking down his enemies who want to see me dead.
And you took a bullet for me. I never would’ve expected you to do any of those things in the past.”
“You deserve a long, happy life,” he tells me. “You were born into my dangerous world. That’s why your mother kept you away from me for so long. But I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe in it.”
“Dmitri wants the same thing. To keep me and the baby safe,” I say as I press my hand against my stomach. “But neither of you are invincible. You need to watch out for yourselves too. I don’t want to lose you. Either of you.”
Sean’s face softens, and I can see the happiness in his eyes. “Here. This is for you. If you want, you can wear it on your wedding day.”
I take the jewelry box from him and open it up, revealing a gold necklace inside with a small emerald pendant. “It’s beautiful. And it kind of looks…familiar…”
“It was your grandmother’s,” Dad tells me, making my eyes widen in realization. “A gift from my father. Maybe you can pass it down to your children or your grandchildren someday.”
I smile as I admire the elegant pendant. For so long, I’ve felt distant from my own family, but seeing the Irish and the Bratva work together has shown me how powerful they are together. Maybe I shouldn’t turn my back on my own family completely.
Maybe I should embrace the good without letting the bad define everything.
“I love it,” I say as I lift my eyes to his. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Sean replies with a gentle shake of his head. “Thank you for allowing me to be in your life. I couldn’t have blamed you if you stayed away after everything...”
“Part of me wanted to,” I admit. “But there was another part of me that wanted the chance to make things right. I don’t want to be in this world alone. I want to be surrounded by people I love and trust.”
A small smile appears on his face. “Well, you certainly are, Cara. You have the support of a lot of people now, yeah?”
Two different families. One crazy world.
But he’s right. I’m not alone. I managed to earn the respect of people who used to see me as an enemy or someone who was weak and not even worthy of their time.
I’ve come further than I ever thought possible.
“I don’t know what that means for my child,” I admit.
“They’ll be an heir to both families,” Sean replies without hesitation. “Maybe one day they’ll lead one. Or maybe they’ll build something new. A mix of Irish and Bratva.”
Surprised, I ask him, “You really think any of the Irish or Bratva would go for that?”
“Stranger things have happened in the last few months,” my father tells me with a faint smirk. “They’ll have enough support to accomplish more than most.”
He’s not wrong.
“Did Dmitri tell you what’s going on with the Bratva Council?” I ask, my brows knitting with concern.
“He told me there’s a chance they could try something,” Sean replies with a nod. “But he told me that he could handle it. I’m in charge of security at the wedding, so there’ll be plenty of guards in the area if anyone gets stupid.”
“As long as they’re not photobombing all the pictures,” I say with a sigh before sipping my drink.
Sean chuckles and waves over the waiter. “Speaking of the wedding, this is a small celebration of that. Eat whatever you want. You must be hungry.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve eaten way too much takeout lately, but I’m eating for two now.
Hopefully, I’ll still fit in my dress in two days.
My father and I have a nice meal together, but it doesn’t feel like old times. It feels better than that. It actually feels like I’m with family.
I don’t feel like a nervous little girl trying to impress her father anymore. I’ve already proven myself to him and everyone else. Honestly, I’ve proven it most of all to myself.
I’m stronger than I ever imagined. And I’m proud of the confident woman I’ve become, a protective mother who wants what’s best for her baby.
After finishing dessert and another glass of sparkling cider, Sean pays the bill and leads me out of the restaurant where Dmitri is standing, waiting by the car.
Dmitri smiles at the sight of me and kisses me on the cheek once I reach him. “How was dinner?”
“Great,” I tell him, smiling before turning serious. “Did you talk to your spy?”
Dmitri nods, his smile fading into something sharper. A smirk. “The Council is planning to kill me on our wedding day.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
“They’re trying to make a statement, yeah?” Sean replies with a shake of his head.
“My death is supposed to be a warning to any other Bratva families thinking about defying the Council,” Dmitri says. “They want to kill me at the ceremony in front of everyone.”
“How do they plan on doing that? There are going to be dozens of guards posted,” Sean scoffs.
“Doesn’t matter. They won’t get the chance because I’m going to kill them first. Them and any hired hitmen they bring in,” Dmitri replies, that sharp smile still in place. He places his hand on the small of my back. “Don’t worry. That won’t interfere with our wedding plans.”
I’m so shocked that I start to sputter. “What? But…how? What are you going to do?”
“Well, my bachelor party is tomorrow night,” Dmitri says. “I’m going to gather my friends, my best man, and have one hell of a night.”
I release a distressed sound that’s a mixture between a sigh and a groan. “Dmitri…”
He pulls me closer to his side, his eyes locking with mine. “I’m going to be just fine, milaya. The Council members are old and weak. I’ll have plenty of support backing me up.”
“He’ll be fine, Cara,” Sean assures me. “Better he gets this out of his system before the ceremony than after.”
“Their demise has been a long time coming,” Dmitri tells me. “I know now they were aware of Mikhail’s death. He was a good Pakhan, fair, but they didn’t agree with some of his decisions. They could’ve worked with Ferro to get rid of him.”
Given all that Dmitri has told me about the Council, that certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Corruption runs through their veins, and for the benefit of all Bratva families, they need to be removed.
Permanently.
“Just be careful,” I warn him. “I expect you to show up on time for our wedding.”
Dmitri smiles and cups my face, love filling his eyes that were just full of fire. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, milaya.”
I fail to fight off a smile as he presses a soft kiss against my lips. As nervous as I am about him killing every single member of the Council the night before our wedding, I can’t ask him not to go. Dmitri has to do this.
No, he needs to. Not only for our safety, but also for the safety of our child.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I tell him.