Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Anastasia
T his could not be happening. It had been two years since the day that had changed everything in my life. I never thought I would see that man ever again, but here he stood in front of me, shaking my hand with a look of pensiveness in his eyes.
His eyes were the most magnificent shade of blue I had ever seen in my entire life. I had stared into many blue eyes before, but never quite like his. The man was stunning in the way that a diamond dazzled when it got hit by the light just right.
Our eyes connected, and the world seemed to fall away. The last time I had seen him his head had blood dripping down the side of it and his eyes were barely holding onto life.
When I noticed that I had been grasping his hand a little longer than normal I quickly released my hold. His intense gaze held onto mine, never once allowing me a single moment of reprieve. I tore my gaze from him and looked to my brother. Thankfully, Danill was already engaged in conversation with Andres. The last thing I needed was to have my brother questioning things.
I had promised him that I would do what I needed to for our family. I had promised that I would make sure that the deal with that man would go through. I had to keep my word.
Because the last time you broke it , that inner voice of mine haunted me.
“We hope to have the wedding before the new year. Of course, there are many preparations that need to be done. I have to fly to Russia to clear a few things.”
“You said she is to marry.” That velvet voice reached into the deepest chambers of my heart and pulled at the strings that kept that fragile thing in my chest hanging. “So, she is betrothed?”
I didn’t dare look his way. I kept my eyes trained on the wall behind Andres. I could not meet this man’s gaze for fear of having him looking too deeply. He stripped me bare without taking a single item of clothing off my body. It was unnerving, and I had never encountered a man quite like him.
Danill turned to Valerio. I could tell from the slit twinge in his jaw that he was not overly fond of the man. He knew nothing of him aside from the things that had been said through the streets of New York.
His reputation preceded him, especially in the last few years.
“Yes. She will be marrying Sergei Volkov.” The hardiness in his tone did not go unnoticed.
It was like watching two bulls sizing each other up before they charged for one another. Valerio easily towered over my brother. As far as reach went, the Valdez family was like the Rothschilds of the Mafia world. Their power and influence ran deep, and anyone who dared to oppose them never lived long enough to tell the tale.
“Sergei? Was he not found to be trafficking children?”
My stomach churned.
My brother pursed his lips into a thin line. “Those were allegations.”
“They were proven to be true. I should know. I was the one who led the investigation into him after he cost me nearly five million dollars in a deal.” Valerio’s tone was ice cold and caused shivers to run down the length of my spine.
The tension in the air thickened, so much so that you could cut it with a knife. The air clung to the soft tissue of my lungs and refused to leave.
“What do you have to say, Valdez? Clearly, you have an issue here.” My brother scowled.
I couldn’t be here for this.
“Please, excuse me,” I muttered under my breath and turned on my heel. I didn’t wait for any of the three men to acknowledge me. But then again, they were too focused on debating each other to even care. That was how it went in the Mafia world. The women were simply meant to be looked at and praised. We were nothing more. That was, unless you were Savina Valdez, of course. She had defied every rule there ever had been in regard to gender in our world. They hated her for it, but they could also do nothing about it.
I walked to the bathroom with my heart in my stomach, racing at a million miles a minute. I could not calm myself down. My mind was just stuck on the fact that this man was actually here.
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think of this man. Over the last few years, he had remained a fantasy. I often wondered if he had fully recovered. I wondered if he would remember our brief but impactful conversation as I held his hand all the way to the hospital.
That night had changed my life in a whole string of ways.
I pushed through the door of the bathroom and made my way to the sink. I braced my hands on the basin and looked at my reflection.
I was the picture of the perfect Mafia darling. I had been groomed and prodded to become this perfect put-together Barbie with elegant hair, fitted dresses, and a face that could rival that of a Victoria's Secret model.
I was perfect. Just what my brother and family wanted.
I was simply but a pawn on the larger chessboard. I was disposable in the grander scheme of things. Though my brother loved me, he still treated me like a tool.
I opened the faucet and looked out at the water. Oddly enough, the sound of the water rushing out was similar to that of a waterfall. The same waterfall that I—no. I refused to allow myself to plunge into deeper and deeper darkness. My heart could not take it anymore.
“It doesn’t matter.” I washed my hands and looked myself in the mirror. I could see the terror on my face, and I needed to wipe all of that clean off. The last thing I needed was for my brother to catch on.
He didn’t know about Michigan. No one was ever meant to know that I was there. That night had been nothing short of a nightmare. I had saved a man in exchange for another life. I felt the sting behind my eyes begin to build, but I forced the tears back. The last thing I needed was to allow my makeup to run when he was so close to coming.
I tilted my head to the ceiling and blinked the tears back. Just the simple thought of him sent my entire body into a spiral.
I hated this world.
I had been saying the same four words for as long as I could remember. I didn’t like the Mafia world, and that was one of the many reasons I had made my way to Michigan. But somehow, I had found my way back into the very world that I had run from.
I took out the tissue paper and pulled out a small one to wipe my hands. My heart had not calmed since I had set my sights on those eyes of his. Those blue eyes had pierced right past my armor and found my weak point.
From the moment we locked eyes, I knew that he remembered me.
I had saved him from a tragedy that night, while I had been plunged right into one after. It was strange, the trade-off that always happened in life. There was no give without take. There had to be a balance, a perfect equilibrium. That was how the world stayed in order, even if that order looked like chaos.
I rolled my shoulders, trying to shake the tension off my body. I gave myself a long-lasting look before I exited out of the bathroom and made my way back to the party. I had only made it a few steps when my back was pressed against the wall and another large body loomed over mine.
I was about to scream, but then a large hand covered my mouth and muzzled my cries. I looked up to meet my assailant's gaze, but then I stilled. I stared into those same molten eyes that had stabbed me right in the middle of my chest. But unlike just a few minutes ago, there was a raging fire that filled his clear irises. I could sense the first rumbles of a storm looming just below the surface of his skin.
He tilted his head to the side, his eyes moving up and down my body, drinking in my body. I would be lying if I said that his gaze didn’t heat my blood in both anticipation and fear.
Standing in front of him was like standing in front of an apex predator.
“I think you and I need to have a little chat, cielo .”
Could this night get any worse for me?