“I don’t blame you for being scared at first. I know it was a scary situation you were in. Your father made it hard for you to trust anyone.”
“I’m glad you got through to me,” I say, tracing my fingers absentmindedly along his chest. “I’m glad we’re here now.”
He tightens his hold on me, keeping me safe. “Me too. I may not know what will happen. If Alexei’s friends will come for us or not. But I do know that I’ll fight to keep you safe. Every day that I’m alive.”
I’ve never felt happier in my entire life.
Chapter Twenty
Nikolai
Just like I expected, Alexei’s friends are not happy when they realize he’s missing. When I get a package sent to my club, I know a war has started.
I stare down at the severed hand in the box, sitting on my desk. Maksim, and his father, Gregor, are seated across from me. My club was the best place to have this meeting. I promised Irina I’d keep her safe and I won’t bring this home to her.
“Who’s hand is it?” Maksim asks.
“I’m not sure. We’ll have to test the prints. But it’s an obvious message. The men who work with Alexei are not happy he’s missing.”
“They won’t find his body. I made sure it was taken care of.”
Gregor nods at his son. At sixty, he still looks good with silver hair and a nice suit on. Gregor was one of my first allies – a man who used to work for my dad before I killed him. But it’s his son, Maksim, that I have become friends with. “This is a problem though. Clearly they know Alexei is dead. They’ll be coming for us. For your wife, Nikolai.”
I clench my hands under the desk. “I know. And I will not let anyone hurt my wife. I will not. If we have to go to war, then we go to war. But…”
“But?” Gregor has a powerful, commanding voice that makes everyone listen to him. “But what, Nikolai? If we don’t stop Alexei’s men before they become a problem, then we could all die. I will not risk my own wife’s life for this.”
“But a war puts our wives in danger. Maybe there’s another way.”
“What way?” Maksim asks.
I stare at him for a long moment. “You’re single.”
He blinks. “So? What of it? I’ve never tied myself down to one woman. I’ve never cared to.”
“I know a lot about Alexei’s men. There’s four of them that hold a lot of power around the country. And I know at least one of them has a daughter. Young.”
Maksim sucks in a breath. “Are you… are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting instead of going to war, we try to make peace with these men.”
“By marrying me off?” Maksim surges to his feet. “What the fuck? I didn’t sign up for that. I’ve worked with you for years now, Nik. We’re best friends. I’m not going let you use me.”
“Sit down,” Gregor commands. “Don’t be impulsive son. We should talk about this.”
“I will not get married to anybody,” he hisses.
“It’s a good idea and you know it,” I say.
“How do you even know Alexei’s men would agree to this… arrangement? Who even is the girl?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Her name,” Maksim says flatly.
“Natasha Sokolov. She’s the daughter of Lev Sokolov. They have a lot of power in Chicago. Lev was a huge reason why Alexei had so much money and confidence to try and go against me. Because he knew he had the backing of a powerful man. Alexei was obviously stupid though. Coming after me when he shouldn’t have. He let his greed get the best of him and it killed him. But I know Natasha is unmarried. She’s the perfect age for an arranged marriage. Young but not too young. If we can get Lev to agree to this before a war starts, it could save a lot of lives.”
“How do we know it wasn’t Lev who sent the hand?” Maksim asks.