And last but not least, the reason behind this call and who’s holding the phone, Astrid. She’s Daniel’s best friend and always includes him in everything that happens back home with live video calls.
Her husband, Levi, another one with the destructive Kings, keeps watching her while simultaneously holding their twin boys. It’s their birthday, I realize, because of the huge cake with “Landon” and “Brandon” written on it.
“Say hi to my bug, Knox!” Daniel says in his cheerful tone.
“You’re my bug, Dan!” Astrid protests.
“I agree to that. If anyone is a bug, then it’s this one.” I smile, waving at T and Ron and they wave back. My brother-in-law is making a show of it like the cheeky bastard he is and even making his son join in.
“That’s your uncle, Remi. And while you can love him, you’re not allowed to become as desperate as he is, mkay?”
“Says the one who sent a thousand clingy texts to his wife back in secondary school,” Xan teases.
Ron glares at him. “Hey! You shut the fuck up before I expose you.”
“I still have the screenshots,” Xan continues taunting.
“Me, too.” Aiden smirks, one hand playing with his son’s hair and the other stroking Elsa’s hand on the table. He always has to be touching her in some way.
“Me three,” Cole says with a perfectly straight face, wrapping a hand around Silver’s shoulder. “And I might have taken a picture of a recent clingy conversation as well.”
“You fucking—”
“Language at my table, Astor,” Jonathan says in his usual stern tone.
“Just let them be.” Aurora laughs, entwining her fingers with his. “It’s fun.”
“Dear Aurora,” Ron starts in his fake dramatic tone. “I’ll show you what fun is when I burn Cole’s next special edition book.”
“Not if you still need your life,” Cole says coolly.
“Hey.” Teal stares at Cole. “Stop ganging up on him or you’ll have me to answer to.”
“What she said. I’ll also sue you for emotional distress, and my beloved brother-in-law will win the case.”
I raise a brow. “The same brother-in-law you’re telling your son not to grow up to be?”
He laughs, but it’s a bit forced. “I was just kidding… Listen, Remi, your uncle Knox is the best there is. You can definitely become like him.” Then he whispers, “Not.”
“I heard that.” I glare. “And I might be thinking about representing Cole in this case.”
“Nooo,” Ron says dramatically. “Not you, too, Knox.”
Laughter breaks out around the table, and Dan and I laugh as well before he shouts, “Happy birthday, Lan and Bran. Your favorite uncle sends you the best wishes.”
Astrid brings the phone down so that she’s occupying most of the picture. “You could’ve been here instead.”
“I have work.”
“More like, he doesn’t want to run into a certain blondie.”
“Shut the fuck up.” He snatches the phone and continues talking to Astrid on his way out, subtly changing the subject.
But I follow after him. What? The best way to kill time is to get on Dan’s nerves.
I wrap an arm around his shoulder and join in on the conversation. “He’s so traumatized that he’s been having PTSD episodes whenever I send a blonde hooker to his place.”
There’s laughter from the other end, and Levi slides to his wife’s side, still holding his boys. “I told you there was more to it, Princess, but you refused to believe me.”
A frown appears on her forehead. “Is it true, bug?”
“They’re all little fuckers who love instigating chaos. Don’t listen to them.” He tries to push me off him, but I tighten my hold as Levi and I egg him on while Astrid tries and fails to take his side.
He hangs up as soon as we’re by the door and gives me the stink eye. “Can’t you stop?”
“What?” I grin. “Talking about your trauma from a certain blonde?”
“If you don’t quit the wanker behavior, I’m going to fuck with you as well.”
“Pray tell, how will you do that?”
“I don’t know for sure, but Anastasia and I are close. I’ll figure something out.”
“Like fuck you will.”
“Then stop being a motherfucking dick.” He pushes me away. “And don’t send anymore hookers to my place.”
“I’ll decide that according to how you behave.” I open the door to my office. “Now, let’s go annoy Sebastian or Nate, because I’m bored.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about…” he trails off, and all his words and movements come to a halt.
I follow his line of vision and smile when I find the reason behind his state, then squeeze his shoulder. “My, my, Dan. Isn’t that the blonde who made you hate all blondes?”
Instead of the anger I expected, his lips pull in a dark smirk. “The one and only.”
*
By the time I get to W&S’s parking garage, I’m ready to go to the Pakhan’s house and kidnap Anastasia if I have to.
Yes, there are still a few hours until the deadline, but there hasn’t been any news from her. Not even a peep.
And I don’t have the patience to wait any longer.
My feet come to a halt when I approach my car. Two tall, muscular men in black suits are standing in front of me.
One of them lifts his jacket, subtly showing me his gun as he motions to a black car with tinted windows that’s parked near mine.
I don’t have to wonder who it is. It must be Anastasia’s father or someone close to him.
One of the guards frisks me, confiscates my briefcase, then pushes me not-so-gently in the direction of the car and opens the door. Sure enough, Anastasia’s father is sitting in the back seat with an erect posture and his vision focused ahead.
“If you’d told me you were coming, I would’ve made reservations at a nice restaurant,” I speak calmly.
“Drop the sarcasm. I already have an English bastard who’s excellent at that. I don’t need another one.”
I straighten, staring at him. Does that mean he’s going to accept me as a member of his family? For some reason, I thought I’d have to prove myself to him some more.
“Why do you want to be with my daughter? Think carefully before you reply.”
“I don’t need to. Your daughter is the woman who added purpose to my life and I can’t imagine it without her anymore—”
“That’s a very selfish reason.”
“That’s because you didn’t let me finish. Your daughter is the woman who makes me a complete man, with flaws and all, and I will protect her with my life if I have to.”
“What if you can’t?”
“I can.” There’s zero doubt in my mind and my tone.
“I’m the Pakhan of the Russian Bratva. Do you know what that means?”
“That you’re trying to intimidate me.”
“That she’s under constant threat due to being my daughter. That’s why I want her to marry someone from the brotherhood, someone who wouldn’t hesitate to pull a trigger to keep her safe.”
“And you think I would if her life was in jeopardy?”
He raises a brow. “You’re on the side of the law, not against it.”
“Don’t let stereotypes fool you. Most of us couldn’t care less about the law. We just use it.”
“What if I tell you the only way to be with her is if you completely become an outlaw.”
“I would love to, but that would just keep Anastasia in the life she hates, so I can’t do that.”
He pauses, raising a brow. “Are you sure you want to be telling me that?”
“Yes, and you feel it, too. Deep down, you know that she needs to get away from your world, even if only partially.”
“And if I refuse?”
I lift a shoulder. “Then I’ll just keep on convincing you until you either agree or…agree.”
His lips twitch in a smile. It’s small and almost unnoticeable, but I know I’m getting somewhere with him.
And I mean it.
Either he lets me be with her, or I’m kidnapping her the fuck out of this country.
41
ANASTASIA
Papa isn’t budging.
He still has me under house arrest and refuses to let me go out, except when I’m surrounded by a thousand and one guards. Vlad is on his side, too, so he’s ratcheting the security up a notch.