Chapter Thirty-Three

Ilya

M y mind had been focused on the afternoon quickie, but the fantasies—and the hard-on—did not last long when the rest of her message resonated. My mother was not only here in the United States, but in New York, and specifically she was with Brooke, a woman she'd never met. "Shit."

"Everything okay?" Dmitri's brows raised at my muttered curse, and he got to his feet, ready for battle.

"Yes. No." I turned my phone screen towards him and groaned. "Mama is here and she's with Brooke."

"Elena is here? I was unaware she planned a visit."

"So was I," I answered, and shot him a look that said I was not pleased with these developments. First Oleg came to the US without my knowledge, and now my mother. I know most men would be overjoyed at having their mother plan a spur of the moment visit, but nothing was ever simple with my mother. She was the mistress of ulterior motives, and I had my suspicions as to why she was here. "They are having lunch together," I informed him while I texted the man I'd put on Brooke's personal security detail. She hadn't balked—too much—about it, only requesting that the man not intrude on her movements unless she or Karina were in real danger.

"What is the big deal?" Dmitri asked, his confusion clear. "Elena and Brooke will have to meet at some time."

"Yes, but I haven't explained everything to Brooke yet, and Mama will, if I don't get to her first." I snatched my keys from the desk that stood between us along with my suit jacket. "You can keep an eye on things while I'm gone."

"If you're sure you don't need me."

I stopped at the door and turned to my oldest friend. "I need you here more. Make sure no one is plotting behind my back—and check there are no more surprise visits by relatives planned."

"I will be here," he assured me.

***

I arrived at Nero's, an upscale Mediterranean restaurant, where I found my mother and my woman having a very serious conversation over martinis. I hurried to their table as quickly as I could without drawing attention to myself, unsure whether my mother had already told her. Given the fact that Brooke looked surprised to see me, rather than angry, I suspected I had arrived just in time. Mama means well, but subtlety was not her forte.

" Privet , Mama."

My mother turned and smiled. "Hello, Ilyusha, darling. Missed me?"

"What's wrong?" Brooke posed the question to my mother, but her gaze flicked up to mine in search of answers.

I kept my attention on my mother, greeting her appropriately, with a smile and a kiss. "You are beautiful, Mama. As always. I am, however, surprised to see you."

Her lips tugged into a wide, satisfied smile. "Yes, well, it seems as if I am not the only one full of surprises, as you so clearly haven't told Brooke your news yet." Her pale blue eyes assessed me carefully. "You are looking well, Ilyusha. Very well. America suits you."

"Ilya." Brooke's voice was low and shaky. "You haven't told me what?"

I glared at my mother before turning back to Brooke. She deserved the truth and she deserved to hear it from me. I sat down beside her and gathered her hands in mine, kissing her knuckles, her wrists, and then her soft lips. "I planned on telling you this over the weekend when we had plenty of time to talk it out, but fate has other plans. Apparently."

"She has a right to know what she's getting herself into, Ilyusha."

"I know that, Mama." She was right, but her timing was terrible. I tried for a smile I didn't feel. I wasn't often nervous, but right now that's what I felt, nervous that Brooke would think this was too much. That she would bow out and I would lose her and become a part-time father to my daughter.

"What is it, Ilya? You can tell me anything. Anything," she emphasized.

"Yes. Okay." This was harder than I thought it would be, but I brushed another kiss to her lips to summon my courage and then I smiled. "Since I killed Oleg."

"Which he fucking deserved," she muttered.

"Yes, he did. But Oleg interrupted the line of succession when he killed my father."

"He what ?" My mother's shocked question reminded me we had an audience.

I nodded before I continued. "I am next in line to head the Kuznetsov bratva. It is my legacy to be pakhan . My father spent his life preparing me for this role and now it is mine. Not officially yet, but it will be. Soon." My heart rattled in my throat as I waited for Brooke to say something.

"Wait, so you're going to be the head of the Russian mafia? Is that what you're saying to me right now?"

"Not the whole thing, but our organization, yes."

She looked thoughtful, which I took as a good sign. I was half expecting her to run off. "Does this mean Karina and I will always be in danger? Is there something special I have to do now that we're together? Will people come after you for handling Oleg?" She paused and fixed me with a loaded look, "Are you to return to Russia?"

"I am staying here. You and Karina are my top priority. Always. No harm will come to you, not on my watch, I promise you that." I cupped her face in my hands, so our eyes were locked on each other. "There will always be a certain level of danger, but nothing you have to worry about. I promise that every night I will come home to you. I will go to sleep with you in my arms. Every fucking night."

She laid one hand on the side of my face and her smile came slowly but it was full of love and heat. "I believe you, Ilya. I trust you." And then she kissed me, and it was the sweetest fucking kiss of my life.

Brooke trusted me, which meant that every day until I took my last breath, I would have to work hard to never ever betray that hard-earned trust.

I'd almost forgotten my mother was sitting there with us until her dulcet tones interrupted our moment, "How lovely. I believe that deserves a toast," she snapped her fingers imperially summoning a waiter who rushed off to get the bottle of Dom Pérignon she requested.

My eyes went to Brooke and then to my mother, both women were smiling at one another. Brooke still looked a little like a rabbit caught in the headlights, but as far as bombshells went, I think that all in all, I handled it reasonably well.

As the next pakhan of the Kuznetsov bratva should.