Page 9 of The Bratva's Bounty
Feigning hurt, I scoffed softly in response while averting my eyes. "Why do you always assume I did something?" Well, to be fair, my track record wasn't the best, so I didn't blame him.
"Because you're here in Alexei's office, talking to him in a civil manner," Nikolai noted with a pointed look.
"Well, what are you doing here?" I turned the tables back on him with a quick smirk as I took in his ruffled form.
"To get medical care, why else would I be in a doctor's office," Nikolai snapped back with a soft, playful glare as he went over to the couch in Alexei's office and plopped down on it with a wince.
"No, no, let me rephrase that for you.YouarehereinAlexei'soffice, not just any doctor's office, nor are you at your little med ward at the estate. So, something is up." Now it was my turn to be the little shithead younger brother just to give Nikolai some grief.
"Tell me who you're done playing around with, and I'll answer you properly." Nikolai bargained with a cocky smirk.
"A woman, now your turn." Okay, now I was being an annoying smartass, and I knew it.
"Don't make me break that nose again, Lev," Nikolai playfully—not really—threatened with a slight tick of his upper lip.
"Ey! Just because I'm a doctor doesn't give you idiots permission to bang each other up every chance you get." Alexei chimed in with a glare at both of us. "I like cutting people up, not fixing them."
"Yeah, yeah,yeah, ya like to hold the power of life in your hand blah blah blah," I said dismissively with a wave of my hand, earning a chuck of a pen at me by Alexei.
Yeah, the little psychopath—yes, he is a psychopath, clinically diagnosed, too—became a doctor because he enjoyed having the power of having someone's life in his hands, literally. As a surgeon, he literally controlled everyone's life the moment they were on his operating table. At least, that was the main reason for his career choice. The other was to patch together broken people because it made him feel like God. By patching people up, I mean rearranging their insides, replacing their insides, basically making them a functioning human being again.
"Kolya, don't bleed all over my couch. Get on the exam table." Alexei sneered, pointing over to where I was currently sitting.
Rolling his eyes, Nikolai grumbled something under his breath before slowly getting up and going over to me with a strained face. "Scoot," he demanded with a shove to my shoulder.
"You know, the word 'please' exists," I smugly replied with a shit-eating grin.
Nikolai's chest rose and fell with his deep breath while his jaw tightened momentarily. "Please move your fat ass over before I lay it on the ground," he said through gritted teeth.
"Say it nicely without threatening me, and I might consider," I remarked with a widening smirk while resisting the urge to flip my older brother off to push his buttons some more.
"Lev, I swear I will stick Angel on you if you don't fucking move over this instant." Well, someone's clearly having a bad day from the snappy tone.
On the other hand, he brought something up to me. "Wait a minute. Why aren't you having your nurse or a wife patch you up if you need medical attention? I mean, you're always running your mouth about how soft her hands are and how gentle and caring she is. So, why aren't you with her instead? Hm?" I had a pretty good guess as to why he was here seeking help from our brother instead of his spunky bride, but I wanted to poke at the angry wolf some more.
"Same reason why you're here," Alexei groaned with a roll of his eyes. "What did you do this time, Kolya?" His eyes drifted over to Nikolai, who shoved me aside and took my spot on the exam table before taking his jacket off to reveal a bloody undershirt.
"Wow, what did you do this time to piss Angel off that much?" I teased with a snicker. It was a joke, of course, and everyone knew that. Angel might be a little devil underneath her caring exterior, but she'd never hurt any of us intentionally, especially her own husband.
"She won't be pissed as long as she doesn't find out about this," Nikolai grumbled, removing his button-up shirt that was nearly torn in half with whatever made the nice gash across his chest.
At least Alexei beat me to the punch this time. Otherwise, my ass probably would be laid out. "Let me guess, she told you to not go do something, then you went and did that said something, and you got injured. Now, if you go to her, not only will you get an earful of 'I fucking told you so' and shit, but you'll also be in the dog house? How close am I?" Alexei gave him a knowing smirk as he sat there, leaning back smugly in his chair.
"If any of you breathe a word about this to Angel, I swear I will make your lives a living hell for the next month. Nothing leaves this office, am I clear?" Yeah, as if going boss mode would scare us. We were too used to him after growing up with him.
That's not to say I didn't respect him and his role as the head honcho because I did during the right times. Obviously, this wasn't one of those times because we were screwing around with each other and being playful. We wouldn't snitch on each other to our prospective partners. Well, in this case, we wouldn't rat Nikolai out to his terrifying mafia wife. Alexei and I didn't have any significant other to be ousted to, so we were safe.
"What happened?" I questioned with genuine interest and worry as I moved myself to a chair.
Leaning back with a wince, Nikolai let out a deep breath before responding, "Just another unhappy customer, that's all. One who was not too happy with, and I quote, 'a damn Russian taking over business that ain't his' and whatnot."
"Oooh! Now, it's my turnto take a guess. So, let me guess, this was a merge customer. Angel said to wait for her or let her take care of it, and of course, you decide not to listen, and it blew up in your face. Right?" My brain worked sometimes, usually when it came to being an asshole.
Nikolai grumbled in response and glared at us before grumbling to Alexei to patch him up before letting his lips go tightly shut. "Although, I'm curious, how the fuck do you expect to hide this from her until you're healed?" I questioned with a snicker, earning a harsh glare from Nikolai. "I mean, with how you two go at it, pregnant or not, she's still gonna jump your bones, touch you, shower with you, other wifely duties and whatnot. And, even when you are healed up, she's still gonna notice the new scar going across your chest. You're not gonna get out of this one,bratok."
Angel wasn't stupid and blind, so I really don't see how Nikolai would weasel his way out of this one. "Hate to admit it, but Lev is right." Alexei chuckled as he gathered his equipment to stitch our brother up.
"Better prepare yourself to get hung out to dry by your wife." I laughed heartily, wincing with regret when I felt the painful throb from the pressure in my face from the laughing.