Bran holds up his phone, showing a pulsing dot on a map.I followed you.
You tracked our phones?Misha signs.What the fuck?
You two are crazy.He motions at us, and I’m sure we all look a bloody mess right about now, so he’s got a valid point.You can’t kill him.
I look over at Misha and Yuri and grin. “Told you.”
“Don’t fucking start,” Misha says, but his words are cut off when several vehicles come around the bend and start parking.
“Jesus,” Yuri says, watching the long line of trucks and SUVs. “Who the hell did Sitka call?”
“My very-soon-to-be fiancée called my cousin,” I say. We’re all signing everything we say, and I see Bran shake his head fromthe corner of my eye, probably wishing I’d shut the hell up and stop antagonizing his crazy cousins.
“What the fuck is going on?” Volodya asks, getting out of one of the trucks and making his way over to us. His brothers are right behind him, along with the rest of their cousins.
I knew they’d all show up, but when I see my brother’s face, the last thing I’m expecting is to see our dad right behind him. His mouth is in a hard line as he looks around at the Medvedev family, instantly sizing up the situation before his eyes meet mine. I see the quick nod he gives before he starts to walk over. Ev and Max step out along with the rest of my uncles and cousins, all of them making their way to stand behind me. A united Melnikov front while the Medvedevs stand across from us. Misha and Yuri eye Sasha, and it’s the first time I’ve seen even a hint of worry cross their faces.
My dad stands next to me. He takes a second to look my face over. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I wipe the blood from where it’s still dripping from my nose, but it’s not broken so I don’t care. “Why are you here?” I ask, looking at him and then at the rest of my family.
“We flew out as soon as Luka told me about your lunch,” my dad says.
I look over at Luka, but he just shrugs. “I knew you’d need backup, little brother. Plus, they need to be here when we sort out the wedding details.”
“Wedding?” Volodya asks, catching the word, even though Luka had kept his voice low. He’s standing with his sons and looking about as angry as they’d been when they caught us walking out of the woods. “What fucking wedding?”
“I’m going to marry Sitka,” I tell him. “I love her, and she loves me.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “This is the first I’m hearing about any of this. My wife calls me, scared to death because mysons have taken Damien and no one knows where they went or what they’re going to do to him. And by the way, he and Sitka have been secretly seeing each other.”
“Three fucking rules,” Vasya says, cutting in and giving me a hard stare that’s probably scared the hell out of every man who’s ever been on the receiving end of it. I might not be pissing my pants in fear, but even I can admit it’s unnerving. “All I asked is that you follow three fucking rules.”
“I followed two of them,” I say. “The third proved to be too difficult.”
“What was the third rule?” Misha asks. “Don’t fuck Sitka in the woods?”
“Jesus Christ,” Volodya groans before swiping a hand over his face. “I don’t want details.” He shakes his head to get whatever images have appeared out, but then he quirks his head and asks, “Did you say the woods?”
“Genetics,” Yuri says with a shrug, and I have no idea what the fuck they’re going on about.
Volodya’s back to being pissed when he looks at me and says, “We trusted you, and you came here and you fucked my daughter.”
The palpable anger in his words is strong enough to be felt, but that’s not what makes me wince. It’s the sound of my Uncle Vitaly saying, “I’m not so surefuckedis the most accurate word for this situation,” that does it.
I look at my dad, but he just gives a subtle shrug in ayou know I can’t stop himkind of way. We all look at my uncle who’s rubbing his chin like he’s deep in thought and trying to come up with the most eloquent way to express himself. He must give up because the next thing he says is, “Damien came here a virgin, and I know my nephew well enough to know he didn’t just fuck your daughter.” He has the nerve to shoot me a quickwink before adding, “Although, I have no doubt he upheld the Melnikov reputation in bed.”
“Are you trying to help?” Volodya asks him. “Because all you’re doing is pissing me off even more.”
My uncle holds up a placating hand. “I’m just saying that I thinkmade love tomight be a little more accurate. Damien came here and made love to your daughter.”
“Jesus Christ,” I groan and shake my head while Niki tries to stifle his laugh and Luka nudges my shoulder with a barely audible huff of a laugh.
“Uncle Vitaly, please don’t try and help,” I say, knowing it probably won’t do any good but unable to stop myself from at least trying to get him to shut up.
He walks over and squeezes my shoulder. “Damien, I will always try and help you. You don’t need to thank me. It’s what uncles are for.”
He turns away before he can see the wide-eyed look I give him. This time my dad doesn’t even try to hide his laugh. Looking at the three Medvedev brothers, my uncle asks, “So when’s the wedding?”
