by Rose, Bella
Natalia closed her eyes in dread. “Dad, what have you done now?”
“You didn’t ask him where he got the money from?” Boris asked cheerfully. “He paid off Alek to have you returned home, and you didn’t wonder where that money came from?”
She hadn’t. Not once had it crossed her mind. How could she have been so stupid?
“It’s not going to go down that way again, Natalia,” Petr said softly. “Don’t you worry for a single second.”
“Dad.”
“I wasn’t here when you make the deal with Evanoff,” Boris said with a shrug. “But I have a feeling it went down like this. Your father borrowed money from me, and I want it back. And unless you want me to kill your father right now, you’ll come with me, and you’ll be my collateral. You’ll stay with me until your father pays back every red cent.”
“No,” Natalia said through clenched teeth. “That wasn’t the deal I made with Alek. One year with him and the debts were wiped clean. It would take years for my father to pay that money off. Years.”
“Alek is soft,” Boris said sharply. “And I am not. This is the deal that I give you. You’ll spend your nights with me doing everything I want until you father pays me back, or you’ll be burying him. It’s your choice, Natalia.”
All her breath left her lungs, and she felt the world crashing down on her. She was going to have an anxiety attack right here and right now. She would never survive. She wouldn’t survive a month with Boris, but she knew that Petr wouldn’t last the day if she said no. The worst part was that it had nothing to do with her or her father. It had everything to do with Alek. “He doesn’t love me,” she whispered. “He doesn’t care for me. He’s not even going to blink an eye if you take me, you have to know that.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Natalia.” Her father sounded cold and hardened. She turned her head and stared when her father removed an envelope from the inside lining of his coat. “I appreciate you giving me a loan to help me release my daughter. Here is the money that I owe you plus the interest that we agreed on.”
“What?” Boris growled.
“It’s all there. You can count it.”
Natalia stared in amazement as Boris reached out and took the envelope. He pulled the money out and tucked the package under his arm as he counted it. “Where did you get this?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Petr said as he shook his head. “All you have to worry about is that I have the money. So there will be no threats. There will be no more talk about of buying Natalia. There will be no more talk of murdering me. We’re done, Boris. So you can take your money and leave. Your business here is done.”
Boris turned bright red as he glared at them. Shoving the money back in the envelope, he signaled to his men and they left. Natalia breathed a sigh of relief and stared at Petr. “Dad? Where did you get the money? I swear if another man comes in here…”
“Alek gave it to me,” Petr interrupted. “This morning. He realized that I had borrowed the money from Boris and was afraid the man would pull something like this. It’s not a loan, Natalia. I don’t owe him anything. He gave it to me to ensure your safety.”
“He did?”
“He did. Natalia, I said that Alek had a cold heart. And that he grew up under a monster. But I have a feeling that his heart isn’t cold anymore. And I don’t he’s ever been a monster.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Think about it, Natalia. Just think about it.”
She watched him leave and turned down to see Bones winding around her ankles. This was the life she lived now. Looking over her shoulder, she stared at Nico’s picture. For all she knew, he was madly in love with someone. Maybe he was even married. He probably had a brilliant job and a beautiful home and a dog. That normal life she once wanted no doubt belonged to someone else by now.
But she wasn’t that person anymore, and she needed to let it go. She wasn’t the same woman because that woman had a loving mother, and her mother was dead. She wasn’t the same woman because that woman didn’t have a father, and she had a father. And her father was a man who had recruited kids in the mob to protect her and her mother. That was the kind of woman she was.
And that woman squared her shoulders and faced the life before her. She was going to embrace that woman. Natalia was going to quit letting things happen to her and finally take more control.
Chapter Nineteen
For the past few months, she’d gone in and out of those doors because she had a contract that demanded it. Now she was about to walk through them again of her own free will to do some demanding on her own. The doors were locked. Disturbed, she stared at the double entry . Of course it was locked. People locked their doors. Even mob bosses locked their doors. With a sigh of frustration, she rang the bell. “I used to live here, and now I have to ring the damn doorbell. Correction, I used to be a prisoner here.”
The door opened, and Misha frowned at her. “What are you doing here?”
“Where is he,” she said as she pushed past him. “Where the hell is he?”
“Wait. Wait!” Misha ran after her, but she stormed into the office. Pulling up short, she saw Alek sitting at his desk with three police officers around him.
“What is going on?” she whispered. “Are they arresting you?”
“Who is she? What is she doing here?” one officer asked with a hand to his gun.
Alek moved quickly to vault from the desk and stand in his way. “She’s fine. She’s fine. Don’t shoot.” Whirling, he glared at her. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What do you think I’m doing here? Never mind. You can answer those questions later so long as you’re not answering from a jail cell.” She stepped to the side and glared at the officers. “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here, but you are not arresting him. I know he’s done things that aren’t good, but I’m not done with him yet.”
The officers exchanged looks. “We’re not here to arrest him. We’re here to finalize the case against Boris.”
“What?” She whipped her head and stared at Alek. “You’re working with the police?”
“I think we have everything we need to make the arrest. Thank you, Evanoff.” The officers nodded and left the room.
Natalia turned to him and crossed her arms. “You have several things you need to explain to me,” she hissed. “And I’m not leaving here until I get them.”
Alek shook his head. “You’re no longer bound to me, Natalia. I don’t owe you anything.”
“The hell you don’t. You knew Boris was going to try to buy me. You paid for my freedom. Why?”
He gripped her by her shoulders and turned her so she was facing the door. “I was too close to having Boris arrested and taking over his territory. I didn’t want him to think he was winning. It was nothing more than that, Natalia. Nothing more. Go home.”
“You’re lying.” She looked over her shoulder. “You’re lying to me, and you can’t look me in the face to do it. I told you, Alek. I’m not leaving until you answer all of my questions. And if that means that I have to stand here all night, then I will stand here all night. I have spent months here. I have gone through so much, and you owe me at least some answers.”
Sighing, Alek dropped his arms, and Natalia turned around. “Ask your questions, and be quick about it,” he muttered. “I am a busy man.”
“Okay.” Natalia lowered her head and took a deep breath. Now was the moment of truth, and she realized she was terrified. Before she could cling to hope, but once he told her the truth, there was no hope left. There was nothing. “How are you getting Boris arrested?”
“Claudia and Misha conspired with Boris to have you killed, and they got Ana instead. I’ve handed over the evidence that proves Boris paid to have Ana killed along with numerous other people. He’s going away and never coming back.” A bright smile crossed his face. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Really? That’s great, Alek. Ana. She needs to be avenged.” Trying t
o buy herself a little more time, she ran her hands along the grain of the wood on the desk. The next question out of her mouth was meaningless. “What are you planning on doing with Boris’s territory?”
“Legitimize it,” he said softly.
She looked up sharply. “What did you just say?”
“I said I was going to legitimize it. Next question?”
“No. Not next question. You can’t just skip over that. You can’t just say you’re going to legitimize the territory and move on. That requires explanation. I need explanation.”
“Why?” He spread his arms out, and she could see the fury in his face. “Why do you need explanation about this? Why do you even care?”
“Because I love you,” she shouted back in equal fury. “I love you, and it’s pulling me in fifty different directions. I know you’re not in love with me, and I’m not asking you to be in love with me, but I have to know that the person that I fell in love with isn’t a monster. I have to know that the man that I fell in love with isn’t a man who’s planning on contracting some other woman to live here or beating another man for their gambling debts. I have to know that the man that I fell in love with isn’t completely unaffected by me and our time together.” Her chest heaved as she tried to take a few deep breaths, and her hands trembled. Never before had she been so angry and so scared in her entire life.
“Natalia.”
That’s all he said. One word. Her name. He said it so softly that at first she didn’t even know if he’d said it at all. But the way he was looking at her said everything. His features softened, and she saw true fear in his eyes.
“I’m not saying this to scare you, Alek. I just need to know what you think or how you feel or some grain of truth that I can take back with me. That’s all.”
“Okay.” He nodded his head and leaned against the desk. “Okay. I am a mob boss. I’ve got so much blood on my hands that I will never get them clean. I’ve done things that keep me up night. I’ve done things that give me nightmares. And when Grigori named me successor, I saw my chance. I saw my chance to make sure no other child had to go through what I went through. I saw a chance to make sure my men didn’t have to do things that keep them up at night and give them nightmares. I knew I was going to legitimize Grigori’s businesses. And I was going to find a way to make sure that Boris was not going to be an issue. I’ve been planning and working on this for a long time. So if you love me, then yes. You fell in love with a monster. You fell in love with someone who contracted a woman to live here and who beat men for their gambling debts. You fell in love with someone who wants to change.”
Natalia nodded and took a deep breath. “Thank you. Thank you for answering my questions.” It was nice. It was nice that now she had answers. He’d said everything she’d wanted to hear, and he’d left out everything he knew would hurt her. He didn’t love her.
As she turned to head to the door, he reached out and grabbed her arm. “Where are you going? I thought you wanted answers. I didn’t finish.”
She slowly turned her head to look at him. He smiled. “Natalia, I am not affected by you. I am completely floored by you. I have never felt for anyone the way that I feel for you. I’m terrified by you. I’m terrified you’re going to get hurt. I’m terrified that something is going to happen, and you’re going to pay the price. You have to understand that I don’t expect to survive this coup. There are people that are going to want Boris’s territory. They are going to try to kill me for it. If you stay with me, you’re going to be in danger.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You love me.”
He smiled and cupped his hand under her chin. “I love you.”
“That’s all I need, Alek. I don’t care if it means I only have two months with you. I don’t care if I have to commit to twenty years. I love you, and I’m going to be by your side.”
Leaning down, he kissed her gently. “If you’re committing to twenty years with me, then you’d better do it as my wife.”
“What?” Pulling back, she stared at him. “What did you just say to me?”
“You heard me, Natalia. I love you. And you’ve already committed twenty years to me. I heard it, and you can’t take it back.” She let out a small burst of laughter. “Marry me, Natalia. I can’t see my life without you. You focus me. You ground me. You give me hope.”
Now. Now she had absolutely everything that she wanted to hear. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you!” He leaned down to kiss her, and the whole world stopped spinning. It was just the two of them, and she was happy.
Chapter Twenty
Three months later, Alek threw a huge party in the mansion. People laughed and ate and drank. There was no violence. There was no blood. There was no screaming or crying. There was just bliss.
“I expected to see you have at least three women on your arm.”
He turned to see Grisha popping a shrimp into his mouth and grinning. “Didn’t I tell you to leave and not return?” he asked mildly.
“I’ve got business in the area. I’m not leaving just yet. So why aren’t there three women on your arm?”
Alek snorted. “You do realize that this is my wedding reception, right? There isn’t a single woman in this party that can hold a candle to my wife, let alone three.”
“I know. I snuck into your wedding. Your wife is definitely something else. It’s too bad I didn’t see her first. I probably would have snatched her right out from under you. Good job on Boris.”
“You didn’t think I could do it.”
“Legitimize the territory? I had faith that you could do one. I didn’t think you’d do two. My father is no doubt turning in his grave, and that makes me a very happy man.”
Alek gave Grisha a curious look. “What were you doing in the United States?”
“We still need a few secrets between us. Especially if we’re going to be friends.”
“Friends?” Alek chuckled. “What makes you think we’re going to be friends?”
“You had no groomsmen in your wedding. No groomsmen means no friends. But seriously, no groomsmen? You’re followed around daily by Sasha and Misha, and you couldn’t have them in your wedding?” Grisha leaned over and snagged a champagne glass from the tray. “Excellent choice in bubbly.”
“Misha was going to overthrow me. I know that Claudia turned his head, but he had a hand in Ana’s death, and I can’t let that go. He’s been arrested, along with Claudia. And Sasha is still in shock. Claudia likes to leave her men broken, and I was not going to have that in my wedding. So it was less that I have no friends and more than the wedding just came at a strange time.”
“Sure. Whatever you say. I’m impressed with how you’ve handled things. Handing Boris, Claudia, and Misha over to the cops rather than taking things into your own hands. Especially when everything got personal with you,” Grisha said quietly.
“I can’t legitimize everything in the wake of murder. Did I want to kill them myself? Yes. But the cause was more important than my own personal desire.”
“Your own personal desire is stronger than you think. I noticed Petr walking the beautiful woman down the aisle. That couldn’t have been easy.”
Alek frowned. He would remember every second of his wedding, but he knew that more than anything, he would remember how happy Natalia looked. How happy she’d been when she took his hand. How happy she’d been when she’d looked at her father.
And the bliss in Petr’s eyes when he’d looked at his daughter.
“I understand Petr. I understand having to do something you’re not proud of. I know the feeling that you have something to protect. Someone to protect. He makes her happy, and I would never take anything away from her that makes her happy.”
Grisha nodded. “Good. I’m glad things worked out for you, Alek. I know the demons inside you. And I’m glad you’ve found someone to help you let go of those demons. If you’ll excuse me, there’s another party I want to crash tonight.”
“Grisha.” He turned and Alek cocke
d his head. “Are you going to find a reason to let go of your demons?”
The man just winked and disappeared in the crowd.
“You look like you’re looking at a ghost.”
He turned at the beautiful voice and leaned down to kiss his wife. “Not a ghost. Just someone who might end up being a ghost if he’s not careful.”
“Grisha?”
“How did you know? Don’t answer that. I feel like you know everything.” He stroked her bare arms and smiled. She wore an ivory dress that contrasted with her creamy skin. Her dark hair was gathered up and curls cascaded over her shoulders. She wore little makeup, but she didn’t need it. She was absolute perfection.
“Are you happy, Alek?”
He whirled her around and dipped her down. She shrieked with laughter, and he leaned and kissed her hard. ‘I have never been happier in my life, Natalia. Life is a roller coaster, and I don’t care if it’s ups or downs. As long as you’re by my side, I’ll be on the track.”
Lifting her back up, his heart soared when she wrapped her arms around him. “Aleksandra Evanoff, I had no idea when I signed that contract what I was getting myself into. I love you, and I’m going to be right next to you no matter what.”
“I think we’ve partied enough,” he said huskily. He whirled her around and lifted her up to carry her into the crowd and up the stairs.
“Alek,” she laughed. “This is our wedding, and we have to leave for our honeymoon soon!”
“Yes,” he agreed as he kicked the bedroom door open and carried her inside. “And I want to give you a small taste of what you’re going to be enjoying for the next two weeks.” He carefully laid her on the bed and stepped back to admire her. “You look absolutely beautiful, but the dress has to come off eventually.”
Slowly, placed his hands along her smooth legs and carefully slid the skirt of the dress up. Without a word, she lifted her hips before sitting up so he could slide the soft silk over her head. Grabbing his hand, she guided him to the bed, and he sat next to her.
