Page 47 of Bratva Menace

Mr. Average was there, too, for what reason, I had no idea. He was sitting to Sergei’s left, not touching any of the food. Neither was Grandfather.

Me, on the other hand? Yeah, I was eating that shit up. I wasn’t lying when I said I was hungry.

There was a plate in front of me, but I ignored it, opting to just grab things left and right and shove them into my mouth with no decorum. My phone sat on the table next to me, and I couldn’t help but glance at it every few minutes, eagerly waiting to get some sort of message from my stalker.

She’d been strangely quiet since my departure. I’d expected her to stop me, in all honesty, and I was a little disappointed she hadn’t. If not that, I at least wanted her to make some sort of communication expressing her unhappiness about the upcoming nuptials.

But…nothing.

Just radio silence.

It made me suspicious. What the hell is she planning?

“Your father has explained what is expected of you tomorrow?” Sergei asked.

I looked up, biting into a chicken drumstick. Delicious. “Mmhmm.” I spotted roasted potatoes, and my other arm shot out, fork in hand, and pierced one, bringing it to my lips. “Wait at the altar, say I do, and viola, you have your trade routes.”

Sergei’s lips thinned. “You seem unusually calm about the entire thing. You do not protest to the union?”

“Not really.” I dumped the chicken drumstick into a bowl of gravy and took another bite. “Why would I? Does she have a shitty personality or something?”

“I have not spoken with her, so I do not know.”

“Hmm. That’s disappointing. What’s he doing here?” I asked, pointing at Mr. Average with the fork in my other hand.

“I told you. He is⁠—”

“A colleague. Right.”

“I see your manners have not improved over the years.” Sergei’s voice held a bitter tone, displaying his displeasure. “Do you need me to give you a lesson in respecting your elders?”

“No, thanks, I’m not twelve.”

My head was yanked back painfully, and suddenly, there was a knife right at my throat. I stared up into the face of one of Grandfather’s soldiers. His face was hard, eyes dead, devoid of any humanity.

“This disrespect will cease, or I will have you punished. Is that clear?” Grandfather said. I knew he was being serious. That I should probably be scared, and tread lightly from then on.

That just wasn’t me.

If I’d had any sense, I’d have rolled over and apologized. But let’s be honest, I had none.

My head still tilted back, knife at my throat, I reached up and bit into the chicken drumstick, holding it there. Then, I grabbed the soldier’s wrist and twisted. A crack hit the air, and he cried out in pain. I was up in a flash, spinning around him while keeping his wrist locked in my grip, and then slammed him face down onto the table, his arm bent back behind him. The knife was still in his hand. I plucked it out of his grasp and rammed it into the table right beside his head.

I flicked my hair out of my face and pulled the drumstick from my teeth, chewing softly. “Clear, Grandpappy.”

There was anger in my grandfather’s eyes for sure, but there was also a sliver of pride. Sergei loved strength. “Do not call me that. Release him and sit.”

“Okay.” The devil on my shoulder whispered something in my ear. I listened. I shoved the soldier’s arm up harshly, and another loud crack followed. He screamed. I let him go, and he crumbled to the floor, trying and failing to hold his broken shoulder.

I cleared my throat. “Excuse me. Let me just squeeze in here,” I said to the man crying on the floor as I tried to wedge myself between him and the chair. “Yep, that’s it, a little more to the side. Ah, thank you,” I blew out, sitting back down.

He continued to moan in pain, writhing on the floor. We all ignored him.

“So, what line of work are you in, Mr. Average?” I asked, reaching for more food.

Vernon frowned. He opened his mouth⁠—

“It is of no concern to you, boy. Now, enough with the antics. Tomorrow is very important, and I will not have you ruin it all with this behavior. I am assuming your father told you what is at risk if this wedding does not go through?”