Page 17 of The Pakhan’s Accidental Bride

That gives them pause.

Then the fourth brother steps forward, and I know immediately that he's going to be a problem. He's younger than the others, maybe twenty-nine, with a cop's eyes that see too much. His build is solid, muscular in a functional way that speaks of training rather than vanity. And the way he looks at me, recognition flickering in those blue eyes, tells me everything I need to know.

"Jack Walker," he says, his voice hard. "I'm a police officer with the metro department." He pauses, letting that sink in. "And I know exactly who you are, Mr. Nikitin."

The other three brothers go still.

"Emil Nikitin," Jack continues, his voice getting harder with each word. "Pakhan of the Nikitin Bratva. The most powerful Russian Mafia boss in America." He moves closer, and I have to respect his balls even if I want to break his fucking jaw. "And you're not going anywhere near my baby sister."

Kevin's face drains of color. Devin's jaw drops. Kaleb takes an actual step back.

"Jack," Kevin starts, his voice strangled. "Mafia? Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." Jack doesn't take his eyes off me. "He runs everything from drugs to weapons to human trafficking in this city and half the eastern seaboard."

"I don't deal in human trafficking," I correct quietly. "I have standards."

"Oh, well, that makes it so much better," Jack snaps. "You're still a criminal. A murderer. And I'll be damned if I let Kiera get tangled up with someone like you."

Devin looks like he might throw up. "Holy shit. Kiera's engaged to a mobster?"

"She's not engaged to anyone," Jack says firmly. "Because this ends now." He turns back to me, and I can see his hand twitching toward where his service weapon would be if he were on duty. "Stay away from my sister. I don't care what she said at some club. I don't care what you put in the newspaper. You're not seeing her. You're not talking to her. You're not even thinking about her. Do I make myself clear?"

I study him for a long moment, weighing my options. I could have him killed. It would be easy. An accident, a random mugging gone wrong, a thousand different ways to make a cop disappear. But that would hurt Kiera, and for some reason I can't quite explain, I don't want to hurt her.

Not yet, anyway. Not unless she pushes me too far.

"Your sister is a grown woman," I finally say. "She makes her own choices."

"Not this choice," Jack growls. "Not with you."

Kevin finds his voice again. "Jesus Christ, Kiera. What were you thinking?" He's talking to himself more than anyone else. "A mobster. Our baby sister is involved with a mobster."

"She's not involved with him," Jack insists. "Because he's going to walk away right now and never come back. Aren't you, Mr. Nikitin?"

I smile, and I know it doesn't reach my eyes. "No."

The single word hangs in the air like a threat. Because that's what it is. A promise and a threat all wrapped up together.

"I could arrest you right now," Jack says.

"For what? Putting an announcement in the newspaper? Your sister grabbed me, Officer Walker. She claimed me in front of witnesses. I'm simply following through on her very public declaration." I straighten my cuffs, a deliberate show of how little his threats concern me. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be."

"This isn't over," Jack calls after me as I turn toward the limo.

I glance back over my shoulder. "No. It's not."

Luca opens the door as I approach, his dark green eyes assessing the situation with the practiced ease of a man who's been by my side for decades. I slide into the back seat, and he closes the door behind me before rounding to the driver's side.

"That looked intense," he says as he starts the engine. "The cop brother?"

I loosen my tie, feeling the familiar weight of a complication settling over me. "He knows who I am."

Luca whistles low. "Shit. That's not good, Brother."

"No. It's not."

We pull out of the parking lot. I should tell Luca to take me home. I should walk away from this mess and find another woman to satisfy the council's demands for a wife. There are plenty of options, plenty of women who would jump at the chance to be the Pakhan’s bride, who wouldn't come with the baggage of four overprotective brothers and a stalker ex-boyfriend.