Page 19 of Bratva Holiday

It broke. It fucking broke.

“Yeahhhhhh!” Aleksandr roared. Lukyan was still on the ground from the punch, his head tilted back as he held the bridge of his nose, blood running down his face. Aleksandr pegged the egg at his younger brother, and it went splat, right in the center of Lukyan’s chest.

“Ow! Fuck! Aleksandr!” Lukyan cursed.

“Take that, motherfuckers!” Aleksandr declared, and then he was off, running down the field to me.

I could do nothing but squeal as he picked me up by the hips and spun me around. His lips smashed against mine, and I soaked up every inch of him, wrapping my arms around his big, hard body.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, baby,” he whispered over my mouth.

I laughed, shaking my head. “Did you really need to throw that egg at Lukyan?”

“Yes,” he said with complete seriousness. “He was trying to distract me so I would lose. He’s lucky all I did was throw that fucking egg.”

“And punch him in the face,” I reminded him, holding one finger up.

He smirked. “Oh, yeah. Forgot about that.”

CHAPTER NINE

Dimitri Volkov

Iglared at the board, hands on my hips, trying to keep myself in check and not show how much my competitive nature was really suffering from being tied for last place.

Last. Fucking. Place.

Granted, we were only up to game three. There were still another seven games to go. It was far too early for anyone to get comfortable.

That didn’t help anything. I hated being in last place.

Nikolai and Tatiana were in the lead on four points. My gaze swung in their direction, and I went from glaring at the board to glaring at them. They were completely lost in each other’s eyes, laughing and smiling at one another.

My glare intensified. “Look at them, soaking up their victory,” I said to Autumn at my side. “I bet they’re over there laughing at us right now.”

CHAPTER TEN

Tatiana Volkova

“Ican’t believe it. I actually can’t believe it!” I squealed, jumping up and down on the spot, my hands grasped tightly in Nikolai’s.

His smile was bright and beaming. “I can,” he said with complete conviction, as if there had never been any doubt in his mind. “I knew the moment you brought up the idea that it would be a hit.”

“Well, you had more faith in me than I did.” The tight little ball of pressure in my chest that had made itself home for the past few months finally disappeared, and all I wanted to do was shout my news from the fucking rooftop.

But it wasn’t the time. There was no room for anything else during the Volkovs’ annual Family Games, and that was okay. I wanted time to process everything myself first anyway.

Halfway through my pregnancy with the twins, Nikolai had brought forth an idea. When he went undercover to Talon’s island for the ’Til Death Games, I’d designed him something—an outfit made entirely of Kevlar. It had helped protect him while he was stuck in the lions’ den.

He’d suggested designing and creating a line of clothing made of Kevlar for the criminal underworld.

It was something I’d never thought of before, and I bloody well should have. It was an entirely untouched market with completely unmatched potential. Anyone in the criminal underworld wanted clothing that would help better protect them. Danger lurked around every corner for us. If we could get something super stylish that was also bulletproof, why wouldn’t we?

For months, I’d sketched designs, pants, shirts, jackets, suits, and dresses before creating them, and then, thanks to Nikolai’s contacts, reached out to several different syndicates with my work.

The interest had been more than I could have ever hoped for. People wanted them. People actually wanted something I’d created. I couldn’t believe it. My dream had always been to have my own clothing line. To see other people wearing my clothes. To see my designs out in the world. And now, my dream was coming true.

Tatiana’s Atelier.