15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Viktor
W hat Erik and Dante did on my wedding day cannot stand.
I have always hated Dante for being a part of the Italian Mafia and for stealing Nadia away from me. Now that I’ve found love with Inessa, the sting of losing two fiancés to two different men doesn’t hit as hard.
But my pride is still pissed. Dante embarrassed me.
He needs to finally fucking die. I’ve had enough.
When Inessa leaves to pay for her dad’s motel, I go out to find Dante. It’s better if Inessa doesn’t know about this. She asked me to spare Natasha’s life after what Natasha did to her. Inessa might not appreciate me trying to kill more people and I don’t want her to see me in any bad light. She sees me as a man who saved her. That’s the only way I want her to view me.
I know where Dante lives but I can’t just barge in and kill him – not when his house is surrounded by guards. But I know another way to draw him out.
I call Finn. “Time to blow up Dante’s product.” Finn stole Dante’s drug shipment a few weeks ago. We’ve been selling it off to make more money but there’s still a lot to get rid of.
“What’s the plan?” I can hear the eagerness in Finn’s voice.
“Just meet me at Dante’s house.”
I park across the street from Dante’s large mansion out in the suburbs. Guess he wanted the space to start a family with Nadia. The thought makes me grind my teeth. He doesn’t get a happy ending after everything he’s done to me.
When Finn arrives with some of the product, I motion for him to follow me towards the front gates. The two guards there notice me right away.
I tell Finn to set the drugs on the ground and right before the eyes of the guard’s, I light the drugs on fire.
“Tell Dante to come out!” I say. “Or I’ll burn more of his product.”
One guard pulls out a phone and calls Dante and after a minute, Dante comes storming out of his house. “Call Erik and Aiden,” he demands to his guards before coming right up to the gate. Impressive. I could easily shoot him but he’s not showing any fear. I always appreciated that in him.
And I fucking hated it too.
“What?” Dante snaps.
“You should not have come to my wedding. I didn’t like it.”
“So? I don’t do things for you, Viktor.”
“I know. Seeing as you stole Nadia away from me. And then your man, Aiden, stole Elena away from me.”
Finn tenses next to me at the mention of his brother.
“Erik wants peace,” Dante says.
“And you? What do you want?”
He shrugs. “I’ve wanted to kill you for years for thinking you could ever marry Nadia in the first place. She’s mine.”
“I don’t want her,” I say dismissively. “I have my own wife now.”
“Ah, yes. Your maid. How romantic.” His voice drips with sarcasm. “Did you pressure her into marrying you?”
“Don’t judge me. You kidnapped Nadia, you bastard. Somehow, you forced her to fall in love with you. I never hurt my wife.”
Dante’s face contorts into pure anger. I struck a nerve, it seems. “If you don’t want to make peace, Viktor, then you need to die.” He whips out his gun and I dive to the side to avoid getting hit. I shoot back at him but my bullets hit the gate instead of him.
“Stop!”
It’s Erik. He jumps out of his car with Aiden at his side and rushes towards us. “Stop. Don’t fucking kill each other.”
Finn helps me off the ground while he glares at his brother. Aiden looks back but doesn’t glare. Instead, he just looks… sad.
“Erik,” Dante growls.
“Enough. My aim isn’t for us to kill each other. If we do that, then I’ll have no allies left.”
“You’re saving my life for selfish reasons?” Dante asks. “Pretty typical.”
“It is typical,” I say. “Erik always has his own priorities first and center. He only ever does things for himself.”
Erik roughly shakes his head. “Enough.”
I notice Aiden keeps his gun trained on me and Finn.
“You tried to ruin my wedding day,” I growl. “That can’t stand.”
“Viktor, I apologize for that. But I still want us to be allies again. There has to be a way for us to work together. I don’t want us all to kill each other.”
Finn scoffs. “Mostly because you don’t want to die in the process.”
Erik gives Finn a flat look. “No shit. Of course I don’t want to die. Anya and I have a baby girl. I want to be here for her when she grows up. I am doing what I can to keep the peace.”
“Coming to my wedding was a fucking mistake.”
“You can’t honestly care about her,” Dante says, still standing behind his gate, I notice. “She’s just a maid. She’s not even a Bratva woman. I thought a man like you would only marry a woman with Mafia ties.”
“Don’t talk about Inessa.”
Erik raises his hands. “Enough. Tensions are high. But I thought of a solution that could help. Viktor, I know you got fucked over when Dante married Nadia.”
“And when that fucker married Elena,” Finn says, pointing at his brother.
“I’m a fucker now, Finn?” Aiden asks. Hurt is in his voice.
“You are when you chose some girl over your own brother.”
“Stop,” I snap at Finn, who only glares back at me.
“I propose a new deal,” Erik says. “One that could unite us. One that could make us all happy.”
“What?” I ask, skeptical.
“I know you just got married, Viktor. But you married a maid with no connections, no money. You and Dante hate each other but I have an idea. You could marry his friend’s daughter, Aria.”
“What?” Dante snaps.
“Aria is eighteen now. Old enough to be married. It could ensure peace between you and Dante and you’d be gaining more power by marrying an Italian Mafia girl.”
“I will not give Aria to that asshole,” Dante growls.
I huff. “I have to agree with Dante. I am not divorcing my wife just to marry some mafia girl I’ve never met before.”
“You can’t honestly love your wife,” Erik says. “I know you, Viktor. You’ve always made plans with logic. With your mind. You were willing to marry Nadia, then Elena, because you knew it was the logical thing. It would gain you power and wealth and prestige. It would make us all allies. Marrying Aria Romano would do that. It would ensure peace between you and Dante. It would make you an ally again and we would have no reason to go after you.”
“You mean Dante would have no reason to go after me,” I say through tight lips.
“Yes. But me as well, since Dante and I are allied. It’s a good deal, Viktor, and you know it.”
I raise my hands. “Let me get this straight. You want me to divorce the woman I love to marry some Mafia girl just to make peace with the men who routinely fucked me over? Why the ever living fuck would I do that?”
“You really love her?” Erik asks.
“Why else would I marry some maid with no money and no connections? I learned that not everything in this life is for sale. Not everything is made out of alliances and marriage contracts. You make a good point. Marrying Aria would unite us. But I am not going to do that.”
Erik’s eyes tighten. “Then you leave me no choice but to kill you, Viktor. If you’re going to keep causing problems, then you need to die.”
“Then fire away.”
Erik hesitates just a moment too long and that’s his mistake. Finn lifts his gun and starts firing. A bullet lands in Erik’s shoulder, knocking him back. Aiden rushes to Erik’s side and doesn’t shoot at us.
He doesn’t want to kill his brother, not even now.
“Come on,” I growl, grabbing Finn’s arm and dragging him away.
His gun points at Aiden. “I need to kill him. I need to end him.”
“Your own brother? Be fucking serious, Finn. Let’s go before we die.” I usher Finn towards his car and dive into my own and drive away before I’m killed. Dante’s guards come running out to give chase but I round the corner and lose sight of them.
Fuck. None of that went to plan.
Now I am worried about Inessa. What if Erik tries to kill her to force me to marry Aria? Erik used to do unhinged shit all the time but he’s a husband and father now. It’s calmed him. It’s made him want peace.
But he also wants peace no matter the cost.
And I just hope that Inessa is not the cost.
Inessa
Aiden bursts through the door as Elena and I sit on the couch and talk. We scramble to our feet.
“What happened?” Elena asks.
Aiden is covered in sweat… and a little bit of blood. “Erik got shot. Finn shot him. Viktor wants war. Erik suggested that Viktor marry Dante’s friend’s daughter, Aria. As way to make peace but Viktor wasn’t having it.”
He stops when he finally notices me. “Oh. Inessa is still here.”
“Yes.” Elena angles herself a little bit in front of me.
Aiden and I accidently met over a year ago when he and Elena were on the run from Finn. It was a brief moment but it was one I will never forget: mostly because Aiden held me at gunpoint to make his escape. I wasn’t hurt and Elena assured me it was just to protect her. I believed her then and I believe her now. I can tell Aiden doesn’t hurt her.
But I know in this moment that I made a mistake coming here.
Aiden doesn’t know I married Viktor. Elena promised she wouldn’t say anything.
“I should get going,” I mumble, heading for the door.
“Where have you been? I know Elena’s been missing you.”
“Busy with her dad,” Elena blurts out. “He’s been keeping her from me. But she needs to go now. Inessa, it was great catching up.” She gives me a big hug. “Stay safe,” she whispers into my ear.
“Don’t tell Aiden. My life depends on it.”
“I know.” She releases me. “Let’s try to catch up again, ok?”
“Ok.” Even though we both know there’s a good chance we cant. Our husbands are on opposite sides of this war.
I’m desperate to ask Aiden about Erik and his marriage plan for Viktor but I’m not supposed to know anything about that. And Aiden can’t know I’m tied to Viktor.
I quickly leave the house. Once I’m driving, I realize that I don’t want to go back home. The guard next to me is silent. I just have to hope he doesn’t tell Viktor about where we went today. Hopefully, he’ll think Elena’s apartment building is inconsequential and not worth mentioning to Viktor.
“I need some space,” I mutter.
“Then go back home and I’ll leave you alone. You’ll be safe in your own house.”
“I just need space now.” Viktor’s protectiveness is a little suffocating. Having a guard follow me everywhere is annoying. I get why he’s doing it but that doesn’t make me happy.
That was the one good thing about being a poor Bratva woman with no connections. Dad never had the money to hire guards. I could be as obscure as I wanted to be.
Now, with Viktor, I’m in the limelight.
I stop in front of a café. “I just need some space. Wait in the car.” I hurry inside before the guard can object.
I order a coffee and take a seat near the back so no one can see me. I love Viktor and I’m happy with him. He showed me pleasure beyond anything imaginable yesterday. But we just got married and he’s already back to war with Erik and Dante. When will it ever end?
Can he ever put his pride aside and focus just on us?
I worry that it’s not going to take long before someone figures out who I am and then… what?
What am I going to do?
“Inessa?”
The cold voice of Natasha makes me sit up in my seat. She’s standing by my table.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. “Are you following me?”
“I come here all the time. It’s not my fault you’re here. I have to wonder if you’re following me .”
Pure coincidence brought me and Natasha back together again.
“Viktor and I are married now,” I blurt out. “So you can’t hurt me any longer.”
She makes a big show of looking around the room. “I don’t see Viktor here at the moment. You’re only safe when he’s around.” She tosses her coffee right onto me.
The steaming hot water makes me scream and jump to my feet. People look in my direction but no one comes to help.
“Whoops,” Natasha says, giving me a wink. “Sorry about your dress. Coffee stains are a bitch to get out. And remember, Inessa.” She lowers her voice. “Just because you’re married to Viktor, doesn’t make you invincible. I will kill you one day.” She flashes me a cheerful smile before walking away.
I dab at my dress but the coffee stain is going nowhere. At least the scalding hot water is abating though. I won’t be surprised if I get another burn because of Natasha.
Feeling shaky, I go back to my car.
The guard gives me a curious look. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I hold back my tears. It’s not this guard I want to comfort me. It’s Viktor. I need to tell him about Natasha’s threat. I need to feel safe for once in my life.
The moment I get home, I search for Viktor but I don’t find him.
“Mrs. Green.” I interrupt her cleaning the dishes. “Is Viktor here?”
“He went out on some business. That’s all I know.”
I can’t hold back my tears any longer. They come spilling down my face.
“Oh, child. What’s the matter?”
“I just need Viktor.” I need my husband.
Mrs. Green awkwardly pats my arms with her sudsy fingers. “I’m sorry. You’re just going to have to wait for him to return home.”
I pace around the house for hours before Viktor finally returns.
The moment he does, I feel a spark of anger. From what Aiden said, I know he got into another fight with Dante and Erik.
Of course, I can’t tell him that I know.
“Where were you?” I demand.
“Business,” he responds curtly. “Are you all right? You seem upset.”
“I am upset, Viktor. I missed you today. We just got married and you’re already off on business. How is that fair?”
“I know. I’m sorry. But my work is important. You knew this when you married me.”
“What happened? At work today?”
He hesitates before he gives me a peck on the cheek. “Nothing. Just the usual.”
I know he’s lying. But I’m not one to judge since I’m still lying to him about who I really am.
“I needed you today,” I whisper.
“Why?”
I nod towards my stained dress. “Natasha happened.”
Viktor’s entire demeanor changes. “That bitch. What did she do to you?”
“She threw hot coffee on me. I went to a café and she was there. It hurt me, Viktor.”
“You didn’t want me to kill her, remember?”
“Because I don’t believe killing is the answer. All I needed was you today and you weren’t here.”
“I’m here now.” He cups my face. “I’m here now, sweetheart.”
“We just got married yesterday. Be honest with me. What did you do today?”
“Why do you think I’m lying?”
I sigh. “I know you well enough to know that you’re a prideful man. Those… men came to our wedding yesterday. Did something happen today?”
He pulls away from me and the space instantly makes me cold. “Something did. But you don’t need to know about it. It’s not for your ears.”
“I’m your wife. Shouldn’t I know?”
“It’s because you’re my wife that I’m trying to protect you.”
“Just tell me. I want to know.”
“Fine! I went after Erik and Dante. I tried to kill them and it didn’t end well.”
I gasp. I didn’t think he’d actually tell me. “Viktor…”
“I didn’t want you to know because… because I didn’t want you to be ashamed of me. I know you don’t believe in killing as the answer.”
“I just want…you. I was so scared because of what Natasha did to me that I just wanted you.”
“You have me.” He wraps his arms around my waist and picks me up. “You have me, Inessa.”
Our lips collide in a passionate kiss. We walk past Mrs. Green, who knows to get out of the way, and go to Viktor’s bedroom. Well, our bedroom now.
“I just want you to make me feel safe,” I whisper against his lips.
Our hands are frantic as we tear at each other’s clothes. Viktor pushes my dress up and shoves my panties down while I undo his belt buckle as he lays me down on the bed.
He slides his hand between my legs, making me gasp. “You’re already wet for me. Fuck, sweetheart. I care so much for you. I always want to be here for you.”
His words only make me want to cry because he doesn’t know the full truth of who I am. I can’t stop the tear that escapes my eye.
“Why are you crying?”
“I just need you.”
He lets out a deep growl before he takes his erection out and places it to my entrance. In one quick motion, he enters me. I’m still sore from our wedding night and it hurts a little but that pain only adds to the pleasure.
I cry out but Viktor doesn’t slow down. He takes me like a madman, thrusting into me with wild abandon.
I wrap my legs around his waist and draw him in closer.
With a growl, he rips the rest of my dress off over my head and kisses along my breasts. I let him have his way with me. All I want is to feel safe and secure and protected by him and there’s no better feeling than being in Viktor’s arms.
He takes my bra off and slips one of my nipples into his mouth. I moan and arch my back. He brings our lips back together as he cups my breasts. His hips grind against mine.
“Viktor,” I moan softly. It spurs him on even more.
“Fuck, say my name like that, sweetheart. Fuck.” He drives his length deeper into me.
My hands grip his shirt and I rip it open – the buttons go flying. I need to touch his chest. I need to feel it on mine.
The way Viktor looks down at me is pure desire. Pure lust.
“You are so fucking sexy,” he says darkly. “And you’re all mine.” He thrusts deeper into me.
I choke from the sensation. I can barely breathe. I can barely think.
“I just need you,” I gasp out.
“You have me.”
“Don’t put your pride ahead of me,” I practically cry.
Viktor’s pace slows down a little as he gazes down at me. “It’s my nature.”
“Just be with me.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I want to be.” He grips my thighs tight and increases his pace again. “Now I’m going to fuck you like I’ve wanted to for weeks.”
I’m powerless to put a stop to it – not that I want to.
Viktor takes me hard and rough and it’s the best feeling in the world, even if it hurts a little. My body will be raw and ruined when we’re done.
And just when I can’t take anymore, my orgasm rips through me.
“Viktor!”
He growls and thrusts into me harder before he comes next with a groan. “Sweetheart. Inessa. Fuck, you have my heart. No one else has it. No one else has ever had it.”
He presses our chests together but keeps his weight off me.
“I am sorry I wasn’t here for you today,” he says. “I know this is all new for you. I shouldn’t even be working right after our wedding.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I just got scared.” And I’m lying to you and the guilt is eating away at me.
“You don’t need to be scared any longer. You have me.” He gives me a tender kiss before slipping out of me. I remain naked. His eyes rake me over. “You are mine. God, you’re fucking perfect.”
I shiver at his words. “You make me feel desired when I’ve never felt this way before.”
“You should feel desired every day. God knows I already want you again.” He takes the rest of his clothes off and gets into the bed with me. “Do you want me to deal with Natasha? If she’s making you afraid…”
“But then you’d have to kill her and I… I can’t stand the idea of her death being on my hands.”
“I sometimes forget that you’re not a Bratva woman. You weren’t raised with the violence that a lot of women in my world were raised with. I’m sure you’re scared.”
“It will take some getting used to but I have you to protect me. Maybe just talk to Natasha? Tell her to back off?”
“I can try but a woman like her doesn’t listen well. If she tries to hurt you again, Inessa, I won’t hesitate to end her life. I know you don’t love the idea but I will do what I must to keep you safe.”
I look into Viktor’s eyes and take in his strong, steadfast gaze. “I love you. I really do.”
“I should hope so since we’re married.” He cups my face and gives me a tender kiss. “I love you too.”
I have to tell Viktor soon – about who I really am. I just have no idea how to get the words out.
And once he knows, he’ll never love me again and there’s a good chance he’ll kill my father. I’m not ready for any of that.
Finn
After Viktor and I leave Dante’s house, I follow Aiden back to his apartment. I don’t go in. Aiden and I haven’t spoken once in the past year. Today was the first day seeing him in a long time.
I don’t miss him. Not when he betrayed our brotherhood for some girl. I sometimes come to his apartment to get a sight of him and Elena – that bitch. I do it in part to torture myself.
I also do it just to keep tabs on my brother. Make sure he’s doing ok.
He could have died today. I could have died today.
But like always, we managed to survive.
I watch him go into his apartment and wait for a long time. Waiting for what? I have no idea.
And then something happens.
Inessa leaves the apartment building. I sit up straighter in my seat. Why the hell would Inessa be in the building that my brother lives in? She’s never met him – that I know of.
She’s not a Bratva woman.
That she’s claimed.
I, however, have always thought she was keeping a secret, and now it’s clear to me that she is. This is the proof I’ve been waiting for.
Inessa is not who she says she is. There are too many coincidences for it just to be that. Unless she just happens to know someone else who lives in that building…
No. I think she was there – either to see my brother or… Elena.
Elena’s birthday party a year ago. I know I saw Inessa there. That must mean one thing: Inessa knows Elena.
And for her to know Elena, then Inessa isn’t just some innocent little maid.
Inessa has been lying.