Knocked Up by the Russian (Nikolai Bratva Brides #3)

Chapter 10 - Ivan

That fucking letter was haunting him. Ivan ground his teeth as he glared at it from across the room. Amy sat by the actual wedding gifts, a blank look on her face while he paced up and down, running his fingers through his hair. This whole fucking thing was going to leave him bald. She was going to leave him bald. He'd spent another night on the couch after swallowing a whole bottle of Rip Van Winkle bourbon to avoid going upstairs to apologize for something he still wasn't sure he was sorry about. And maybe it was the alcohol still running through his veins, or the frustration from trying to juggle the Bratva's business, Eclipse's business, and keeping an eye on Amy... But he was seconds away from pulling out his gun to shoot that damn letter.

Adrian was supposed to arrive in another five to ten minutes. Ivan checked his watch to make sure, and in the meantime, he was doing his best to avoid losing his mind. He'd already gone through all the usual questions, but nothing was adding up. He hoped his brother would have better luck because fuck, it was killing him to see that blank look on Amy's face.

"Mishka?" he muttered thickly, and Amy's tired green eyes glanced his way. "There has to be something we're missing here. What do you know about the club you were planning to work for?"

Frustration seeped into her blank expression. "I've already told you everything I know, Ivan."

He blew out a breath, walking toward where she was sitting. He crouched beside her, his back aching with the movement. Sleeping on the couch used to be easier in his twenties; now it left him feeling ten years older than his thirty-two years and twice as unfit.

"Just try and remember," he pleaded, reaching to tuck a blonde curl behind her ear. She batted his hand away, and he hid a smirk. His little bear, always so fierce.

"I didn't know it was Bratva-owned," she repeated, closing her eyes as if that would help her remember everything she needed to.

"Who offered you the job?" he asked again, and her nose wrinkled as she repeated the same thing she'd said before.

"I already told you this, Ivan. The manager is an old friend. That's why I assumed it wasn't Bratva-owned. Most of the clubs Christine works with are smaller enterprises. I thought this one was the same."

"So you don't know who she works for?" he pressed, and she blew out a frustrated breath.

"No, Ivan. I don't. That's the whole point of being interviewed."

The information she gave was the same each time, and he sat on his haunches, brow furrowed as he thought through it all. There was one question he hadn't asked yet. One question that kept repeating itself over and over in his head, and as Amy rubbed her temples, he finally gave in to the urge and asked it.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" she muttered, squaring her shoulders and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why did you want to leave so bad that you'd accept an offer almost twenty percent lower than what you have with us?" he asked, searching those green eyes of hers for answers. The longer he waited, the more frustrated he grew, and after a few minutes had passed, Ivan stood up and started pacing again.

"I can't remember anymore," she finally admitted, her voice so soft he almost missed what she'd said.

"But you had a reason," he replied, and she nodded, avoiding his eyes.

So what was it? He wanted to ask but stopped himself before he did. It wasn't the right time. They were both stressed after receiving another threat in the mail, and he didn't want another fight on top of everything. It didn't matter what she meant—not right then. He resumed pacing, checking his watch every few minutes until his brother finally swung open the door and stepped into the room.

"Where is it?" Adrian asked, his face creased similarly to Ivan's. They were all losing sleep over this damn thing.

"Over here," Ivan picked up the opened package, putting the fucking letter and bullet back inside before he threw it toward his brother. Adrian caught it, double-checking the contents before walking out.

"I'll let you know what I find," he called over his shoulder.

"What now?" Amy muttered as Ivan leaned against his desk.

"Now we pack up and go home, Mishka. There's no use for us to remain here. If anyone needs us, then they'll give us a call," he said as he went to pack their things.

"Okay," Amy said. The tone of her voice made him glance back, and he frowned at the blank expression on her face. This was taking a lot out of her.

Ivan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sent a quick message before helping Amy gather her things. They'd have to take the wedding gifts down too, but maybe there was something else they could do other than go to the apartment. His phone beeped, and he smiled, an idea forming.

***

Amy followed him to the car a few minutes later. Lacey and Brittany had helped carry all the wedding gifts while he put his plan into motion. After getting into the car, Ivan double-checked that she had her seatbelt on then pulled into midday traffic.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in her mother's driveway, and Amy stared blankly ahead, a frown on her face. Before he could say anything, she blinked, seeming to realize where they were. She turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. "Why are we at my Mom's?"

"To help her pack," Ivan shrugged, hiding a smile. "Come on."

They got out, car doors shutting as the front door burst open.

"Amy!" Ava squealed, running toward her older sister. At only seventeen, they looked far more alike than he'd ever thought before. She had the same build, nose, and fair-haired appearance, but her eyes were different. They reminded Ivan of a puppy—big and brown. It had to be something she got from her father because Ash's were the same.

"Hi, hon." Amy smiled, gripping her sister in a hug, and Ava gave him a shy smile over her shoulder. "Why aren't you at school?"

"Mom said we could take a few days off while we're moving," Ava said with a shrug. "I'm so excited. Have you seen the place? It's huge!"

A warmth entered Amy's eyes as she followed her sister inside, and Ivan grinned. That was easier than he thought, and she wasn't even arguing about the house he'd bought.

Following the two girls inside, Ivan entered the chaos with a lightness in his steps. Paisley was in the kitchen, placing glasses in bubble wrap before putting them into boxes, her voice raised as she told the boys to leave their gaming console and finish with their rooms. She turned to face them as they entered the kitchen, a huge smile on her face.

"Look who's here," she said, her bright eyes settling on her daughter. Leaving what she was doing, Paisley pulled Amy in for a hug.

"We're here to help," Amy said wryly as her mother squeezed her and then let go to hug Ivan.

"Mrs. Spencer," he greeted with a warm smile.

"Ivan," she mimicked, trilling out a laugh as she went back to what she was doing. "That's perfect. I'm nearly finished here. If you both want to help out, then I'd love that. We going to order some pizzas for dinner if you're both staying."

They were, Ivan smirked. He'd already put the order in after speaking to Paisley earlier.

"You don't have to bribe me to help," Amy rolled her eyes teasingly. "But that sounds good, Mom. Where can we start?"

Ivan watched Paisley look around herself with a hand on her hips and grinned at the familiar expression on her face. So that's where Amy gets it from. There was a pile of flattened boxes standing against the door, just waiting to be used, and Paisley was quick to put them both to work.

He took off his suit jacket, leaving for a minute to hang it up on the coatstand near the front door, then returned to see Paisley directing Ava and Amy around the kitchen. "This is the biggest part of the house to go through. My room's basically done, but there are so many breakable things here that I wanted to spend most of my time going through it all before the movers get here."

"When are they coming?" he asked as Amy started to go through the pots and pans. She looked them over, a thoughtful expression on her face before packing them away. One or two looked a little rusted, and he made a note to see if Mira would be able to help him get them some new ones—without Amy knowing, of course. That would just lead to another argument.

"They'll be here tomorrow morning," Paisley informed him as she wiped her forehead, tucking a few strands of silver and gold hair behind her ear. "That's why we're rushing."

"Well, put me to work then. I've had enough experience packing houses after my brothers got married. Don't tell them that, though, or they'll have me out organizing the warehouses." He smiled playfully, and she let out a laugh before directing him to a cabinet of fine china.

As he gently removed the cups and saucers, wrapping them in bubble wrap and placing them onto the counter, Ava worked to put them into boxes. Amy's younger sister was a lot quieter than she was, more shy he realized after a few attempts to get her to talk. It was only a few hours later when Amy and he were busy taking board games and puzzles out of a hallway closet that he found a way to win her sister over.

"Oh my gosh, is that Scrabble?" Ava squealed, spotting the box in his hands.

"Sure is," he responded, fingers running across the scuffed box. "I haven't played this before; what's it like?"

Amy shot him a suspicious look, but Ava's eyes brightened as she went into detail about the rules of the game. It was clear his wife loved his family, and if Ivan wanted a way into her guarded heart, then he was going to have to get into theirs first.

"I can't remember the last time we did a family game night," Ava muttered a little while later, and an idea struck that made Ivan smirk at his lovely little wife. She wasn't looking at him, too busy arguing with Ash about the best place to put shoes.

"Why don't we take a break and play for a bit?" he suggested, getting Adam and Aaron's attention as they walked past with a few boxes. Paisley had tasked them with putting all of it in the living room, her organizational skills another thing he saw in his own wife.

"I don't know," Ava replied, scuffing her shoe on the wooden floor.

"Come on, let's go ask your Mom. You guys have been working hard all morning; I'm sure she'll say yes."

Paisley did, seeming charmed by the idea of playing a few games for the evening. The pizzas arrived on time as they were setting up, and the rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of laughter.

By the time they left, tension had eased from his shoulders. Amy wasn't smiling when they got back to the apartment, but there was a lightness to her that he hadn't seen in a while.