Painted Scars (Perfectly Imperfect, #1)(25)

“Here?” I blink at him. “I can’t call them here. When my mom sees all the guys with guns, she’ll think I married into mafia!”

Roman’s eyebrows almost reach his hairline. “And your mother would be right.”

“Yeah, but can we leave out that small detail? She freaked out when she saw my nose piercing. My mother is extremely conservative; she even irons her towels. I’m not sure how she’ll take the fact that I married a crime lord.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “We’ll take them to a restaurant.”





I am not a fan of Nina’s mother.

As expected, she is shocked when Nina tells her we got married so suddenly, and to a man they have never met. However, based on the looks she’s been tossing in my direction throughout lunch, she is more concerned that I’m using a wheelchair than the fact her daughter married a stranger.

“Are you pregnant, Nina?” she asks casually between two bites of cake.

Next to me, Nina chokes on her wine.

“Jesus, Mom,” she says when she manages to recover. “Of course, not. We met a week ago.”

“But we are working on it,” I throw in and take Nina’s hand. “Aren’t we, love?”

Nina blinks at me, then smiles and leans in to kiss me. “We sure are.”

Nina’s father is sitting on the other side of the table, barely speaking. He’s been avoiding my gaze the whole evening. When he does look at me, he quickly looks away and hides his trembling hands under the table. I don’t like Samuel Grey, either, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he stole my money. He knows very well who I am, and he still let his daughter marry me to save his own ass.

What a pitiful excuse for a human being.

On the table, my phone rings, showing Pavel’s name. It’s six in the evening, the clubs are still not open, so it can’t be club business. I take the call.

“Pakhan. We have a problem.”

Of course, we do. “I’m listening.”

“Ukrainians are here. Shevchenko wants to renegotiate the terms.”

“Tell him to contact Sergei. He’s in charge of that.”

“They already met earlier today, and Shevchenko says he has no intention of negotiating with him ever again.” There is a silent pause on the other side of the line, then, “Sergei tried to cut off his hand.”

“Wonderful.” I squeeze the bridge of my nose and sigh. “Where are you? At Ural?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

I put the phone in my pocket and turn to Nina. “I have to go. Dimitri will stay and take you back when you’re done.”

“Is everything okay?” she asks.

“Yes.” I nod and kiss her, then seeing the way her mother watches us, I add, “Put on something sexy and wait for me. I won’t be long.”




I follow Roman with my eyes as he wheels himself to the exit where Dimitri is standing by the wall. They speak quietly and Roman leaves. Did something happen? It sounded serious.

“Are you sure you did the right thing, Nina?” my mother asks.

I turn to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Marrying this man, after just two days.” She looks at me with a mix of exasperation and

annoyance. “I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised, you always did things your way, but still.”

I roll my eyes. “This man has a name. And we are crazy about each other. Why wait?”

“I understand why you fell for him. He’s older, rich, sophisticated. Extremely handsome.”

“There you go.” I smile and lean back in my chair. “Your dream finally came true. I thought you would be thrilled.”

“He is in a wheelchair, Nina.”

“Zara!” my father whisper-yells from the other side of the table, and glances at Dimitri standing by the door. “Shut up.”

“Don’t silence me, Samuel. I want the best for my child, and I have the right to be concerned.”

“Keep your concerns to yourself, Mom,” I snap.

She leans forward over the table. “What happened to him? A car accident?”

“Yes.” I toss my napkin on the plate. “He got a serious injury to his leg a few months ago. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

She grinds her teeth and watches me through narrowed eyes. “Can he walk?”

I stare at my mother. “I just told you. I married him because I’m in love with him. Why would that matter?” I find it concerning how fast and easily that came out of my mouth.

“Why?” She widens her eyes at me and turns to my father. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you know about this, Samuel?”

“Zara, for God’s sake, just shut up.”

She ignores my father completely. “Is this some kind of rebellion, Nina? Another one of your phases?”

That’s it. I’ve had enough. I grab my phone from the table, stand up, and head toward the exit, leaving my parents sitting at the table.





Chapter 9


I cock my head to the side and regard the big canvas in front of me. Too bright. Grabbing the palette, I use the brush to mix more black with the pale gray, and then start adding sharper shadows.