Lucky holds up his hands like he’s surrendering to the cops. “I didn’t mean any offense.”
“Katya is my wife,” I grind out. “Speak about her with respect, or not at all.”
“Christ, she must have a magical pussy,” the fucker says, reigniting my fury. “You barely know her.”
Worse, he’s not wrong. But I don’t give a fuck about that now. I charge at him, landing a punch in his shoulder as Saint pulls me away.
“Cazzo,” he snaps. “Stop this shit right now. We’re on the same fucking team.”
“Saint is right,” Priest says. “Sit the fuck down, everyone. If we’re going to get one over on the Bratva, we have to keep our heads out of our own asses.”
He levels a pointed glare at me and then one at Lucky.
I take a deep breath and try to shake it off, knowing my youngest brother likes to stir shit. He’s also pissed at me for cutting out our mother and not allowing her to come to the wedding. But I can’t cross the bridge Antonella burned down twenty years ago.
Besides, I’ve got to keep my head in the game. I learned a lot from Katya last night, even if the revelations were reluctant on her part.
I shake off Saint and sit back down before turning to Priest. “Sidorov is saying that we double-crossed him on the shipment from the cartel.”
“That’s what Ekaterina told you?” Priest says. “That Sidorov claims we were the ones behind the Cantarelli deal?”
I nod. “He says we took the money and the product. And I don’t think she’d have reason to lie about that.”
“But Sidorov is full of shit,” Saint bites out. “He’s the one who double-crossed us, not the other way around. He used Cantarelli to do it, and then before we could get anything out of the bastard, they clipped him.”
“Katya doesn’t know anything about what went down that night, other than that I was grazed by a bullet. I kept her in the dark intentionally. So all she has to go on is what Sidorov said to her about it.”
“Are you sure that’s all she knows?”
“Absolutely.” I don’t hesitate in my response. “She’s not prying into our business.”
Actually, that’s not entirely true. But for reasons I can’t explain, I believed her when she claimed that her motives were pure. And I don’t want my brothers to cling to any reason to doubt her. I want them to trust her. To think of her as family.
Because she’s mine now, and right here, right now, surrounded by my brothers, a bolt of clarity hits me like an electric shock. What’s between Katya and me isn’t temporary. It’s too big, too bold, too all-consuming to be short-lived.
No, I’ve made up my mind.
I’m keeping her. I don’t give a shit about the contract or herstronzobrother. I don’t even care about what Priest, Saint, and Lucky think. Katya Andriani belongs to me.
“Are you sure about that?” Priest asks sternly, and for a second, I think he read my mind before I realize he’s referringback to what I just said, that Katya isn’t snooping to provide intel back to the Bratva.
I nod. “We can trust her.”
Which is why I also have to come clean about the burner phone. I’ve been carrying it with me ever since I pulled it out of Katya’s purse last night when I got home and she was in the shower. I take it out of my suit jacket now and set it on Priest’s desk.
“This is a burner phone Sidorov gave her so they can communicate,” I explain. “She gave it to me.”
Against her will, but I keep that part to myself.
“Has the bastard sent through any messages?” Saint asks.
“Not yet. But when he does, we’ll get them. It’s possible that he’ll try to rope her into whatever he’s planning.”
“I like the sound of that,” Priest says. “Sidorov has to know that we’re onto him by now. He’s going to make his move quickly, before it’s too late.”
“Which means we have to make ours first,” I add.
Priest smiles. “Exactly. Lucky, tell your guys we’re a go on detonation. Start the clock.”