Page 82 of The Bratva Betrayal

He's a fucking idiot.

"Based on a pattern." I strip another plate and reset the bar. "Colin Gallagher has been building toward something for months. The Manifold connection, the task force. He wants people inside the oversight structure in this city. You think he handed over his daughter because he suddenly trusts us?"

"People make alliances⁠—"

"Colin doesn't make alliances. He makes investments." I pull the bar. "And right now, you're the investment. Which means she is, too. And when he comes to collect, it won't look the way you're expecting."

Misha goes quiet long enough that I think he might actually be understanding what this all means. Then he says, "Five million."

I look at him.

"He's giving me five million for the dowry."

I set the bar down. "Five million dollars."

"It's traditional."

"No power. No territory. No leverage. Just money."

"Five million is a lot of money."

"We have money, Misha."

"It's a dowry." He says it like the word is supposed to mean something. "Benedikt agreed. It's done."

"Benedikt sees the upside and has decided the risk is manageable. He's not the one living here when it goes wrong."

"It's not going to go wrong."

"You're trying to marry a woman who doesn't want to marry you."

"She'll come around."

"She won't."

"You don't know her like I do."

I look at my brother and think about everything packed into that sentence and everything that's missing from it.

"I know you," I retort. "So, where were you last night?"

He doesn't answer right away, but when he does, I get one word. "Out."

"With?"

“A blonde. She’s a nobody. One night.”

"You're trying to marry the only daughter of Colin Gallagher, and you were out last night with someone else."

"I'm not married yet."

"You're with her. And she's not a nobody."

"I'm always with someone, Artem. That's not new. That won’t change."

"Does she know that?"

"She doesn't need to."