Page 17 of The Bratva's Bounty

Actually, it was more or less the location of our old home, not the house itself. My brothers and I burned down the original house after we painted the walls red with our bastard father's blood. We wanted nothing to remain of our bastard father's that would remind us of the suffering we all endured, along with my mother, by our sperm donor.

I used to live in the mansion with Nikolai until I decided to build a house at the location as a way to spite my father in death—and to dance on his grave. Also, I wanted to build a good life on the earth that my mother used to walk and touch. The house and everything was just a way to show my mother that something good could come from the rotten place she tried to love.

Besides, I couldn't let her garden die; she loved that area so much. It was also one of the few places I ever really got to spend time with her, away from everyone and everything. It was as much her happy place as it was mine. I mean, I couldn't even begin to count how many nights I spent hiding out in the rosebushes or up in the apple trees from my father before inevitably falling asleep in the comfort of nature.

When we got rid of the house, the garden was the one place I refused to let anything bad happen to. I continued to tend to it to this very day and use it as my escape still.

Hopefully, I can share it with Nicole.

The thought of us sitting out at the patio set or in the swing or, hell, even on a little picnic blanket on the grass, was such a divine fantasy. To spend our nights laying around to look at the stars or if that wasn't her thing then she could do whatever she wanted while I had my head in her lap, and we basked under the moonlight.

Then, hopefully, one day, I could share it with my own children. Okay, maybe child, as inonekid, because I doubt I could handle more than one duplicate of me running around.

Chuckling and shaking my head at myself, I ran a tired hand through my hair as I entered my garden, letting the fresh scent of lilies and roses fill my system until I felt drunk.

God, if any of my brothers knew what went on in my head right now or saw how dopey I was getting over some girl, then they'd probably wonder if I had a stroke or send me for a psych evaluation.

Yeah, I've always wanted to settle down and have a family of my own, but I never really made any serious steps toward that kind of lifestyle. Nor did I put much effort or thought into it besides knowing I wanted it further down the road.

Honestly, the need to put a leash on myself and open my heart up to someone never surfaced until I saw those pictures of Nicole and dug into her life.

I wanted my ambitions to come true, but only with Nicole.

Chapter 10

Nicole

"Did you poison that?"

My wary eyes narrowed at Lev when he took a seat across from me and placed the coffee cup in front of me.

"Come on, if I were to kill you, it'd be bloody. Do I look like a loser who'd poison a hot girl's cup to watch her choke on her own spit?" He faked his offense with a scoffing chuckle before taking the cup back, sipping it, and then returning it to me. "There, not dead yet, so it's safe."

Rolling my eyes, I quickly flipped him off before picking the cup up and drinking from it. The moment the taste hit my lips, I couldn't help but look at him with wide eyes. "Caramel latte with vanilla and salted caramel whipped cream." I knew he stalked me, but he got my order down to a tee, and I never said my order out loud at this point in time because the baristas knew what I wanted with simple words. At most, all I ever said whenever they asked me what I wanted was 'caramel,' and they automatically knew my add-ins.

So, how in the fuck did this bozo know?

"I believe the words you're looking for are 'thank you'," Lev smugly replied with a smirking chuckle.

Now that was another surprise, him responding and not in a grouchy way. "Are you sick? Oh my God, are you high right now?" This did not feel too much like the Lev I'd been bugging the past few week.

Actually, now that I think about it, he hasn't been himself—or at least my version of him—ever since our confrontation that day when I tried to bribe him. What changed? What was he getting at now?

"Listen, we got off on the wrong foot," he started with a long sigh, running a hand down his face as he looked at me somewhat cautiously.

"You stalked me, pretty sure we started out in the wrong universe," I quipped back with a roll of my eyes, taking a few sips of the drink as I eyed him warily. "If you think being nice to me will make me go easily with you, then you're dead wrong. I will not hesitate to blow up your car again, this time I might even aim for you." Which would be a shame because I didn't want to make him look more rugged and handsome.

Or maybe I might mark him up a little more and keep the other girls away from him.

Shit, the hell am I thinking?

Why should I give a single damn about other women going near him? Not like he was mine or anything. Nor did I want him to be. A fat wall of muscles with little brains and creepy stalker tendencies too. Besides, he was working for my parents, so that put him in the trash for me.

Sighing heavily, Lev leaned over onto the table on his elbows and looked at me a soft frown and apologetic eyes. "I'm going to terminate the contract I have with your parents. I really am sorry for being a little pain in the ass to you for the past few weeks, and it's partially my fault for not doing my due diligence with digging further into your parents and their request."

He seemed sincere enough, or at least he could lie sweetly enough to keep me interested. "Go on," I urged, narrowing my eyes softly while pursing my lips to express my wariness with my cocked eyebrow.

"They told me you ran away and hit some weird rebellious stage in your adult life. I shouldn't have let them play me and all, but when they showed me some pictures of you, I had to take the assignment," he strained that last bit out with a long sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.