Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
ANTON
“ I have a job for you,” Luca tells me.
I was rudely summoned to his bar, and when I say I hate to be summoned, I mean it. I’m half tempted to just blow up Luca’s bar for shits and giggles, but I need to be smart about this. I need to play along until I can find a way to bring him down.
Now, I could ask Dimitri, Maxim, and Nik for help, but I don’t want to. I just made an alliance with them. I can’t drag them into another war, especially with the Italians.
“What’s the job?”
“Do you know Roman Smirnov?”
“No.”
“He’s a wealthy Russian. Supposedly, your new brother-in-law knows him.”
I shrug and lean back in my seat, trying to play it cool. “So?”
“So, he has something I want. A Fabergé egg worth millions. I want it. Get it for me.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“You do know my skill set is more suited for blowing shit up than stealing things?”
Luca waves a dismissive hand. “You’ll figure it out. Go get it for me. If you play by my rules, Anton, I just might start to trust you.”
“Ok. I can get the egg. But you’re just going to ask me for more and more.”
“Well, yes. That’s the point of a partnership.”
“No, that’s the point of indentured servitude. You’re going to make me keep working for you and keep threatening my wife in the process.”
He leans toward me. The dark light casts eerie shadows on his face. “What are you going to do about it? Hurt me?”
“Mmm. Funny.” I pat the table and stand up. “I’ll get your egg.” I can’t risk Katya getting hurt right now. Not when I just got her.
Katya has been fascinating to watch these past few days. Beautiful and sexy. Smart and witty. I can tell she’s trying to push my buttons until I snap. But I won’t snap. I’ll keep my cool with her and have her eating out of the palm of my hand, not the other way around.
But it’s cute she even thinks she can win.
Luca hands me a slip of paper with an address on it.
I don’t waste any time heading over to Roman Smirnov’s house. It’s a gaudy mansion with columns and black and yellow brick. I’m not one to judge since my mansion looks like a fucking castle, but I still have standards, you know?
I’m not a subtle man, and I don’t think that’s why Luca wanted me for this job. I think he wants me to put on a spectacle to steal the egg. He wants Roman to know it was me, and he wants that information to get back to Dimitri. He wants to hurt my newfound partnership.
Well, let him try.
I’ll do what I have to do to keep Katya safe. Besides, I love having some fun.
With a grin, I walk right up to Roman’s door and knock. A guard answers, dressed all in black. His gun is clearly visible at his hip.
“Yes?”
“Anton Volkov here to meet with Roman.”
“Roman is not expecting any visitors today.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.” I whip out my own gun and shoot the guard in the head. His body slams against the ugly black marble floor. That’s going to leave a stain.
I step over him and enter the house. Another guard comes running down the front staircase, but I shoot him in the head, too.
I pause and wait for more, but I guess that’s it. Roman Smirnov never figured someone would just walk into his house and shoot up his guards. Well, I’m not just anyone.
I’m fucking crazy.
Now, where, oh, where would that little Fabergé egg be?
I go upstairs and find the master bedroom, which is at least not as gaudy as the rest of the house. My bloodstained boots leave stains behind me in the carpet.
On the bed is an older man and a much younger woman. Both naked.
“Who are you?”
“Roman, I’m guessing.” I flash the girl a smile, and she blushes. “You have something Luca Moretti wants.”
All the color drains from Roman’s face. “Luca Moretti? You work for Luca Moretti?”
“No. I’m Anton Volkov.”
He relaxes slightly. Strange. I’m not used to that response. “Don’t you work with Dimitri Ivanov? I know him. Are you here to help me?”
I point my gun at him, and the woman screams and dives onto the floor. “No. I’m here for the egg. Just give it to me, and you don’t have to die.” I’m not subtle, and I don’t fucking care.
He points a shaky finger behind me to where a safe is.
I walk over to it. “The code?” No answer. “The code?”
“Uh, 0259.”
I plug it in, and the safe opens right up, revealing it. The Fabergé egg. It’s a beautiful blue and red and gold. Man, I kind of want to keep it for myself.
But I need to give it to Luca to secure Katya’s safety. I’m not whipped or anything. I just don’t appreciate people taking things that are mine.
I stuff the egg into my jacket pocket and turn back to Roman and the girl. “You can get up,” I tell her. “I won’t hurt either of you. I mean, I can, but I won’t. It’s your lucky day.” I give the girl a wink, then leave the house, stepping over the guards’ dead bodies.
I make my way back to Luca at his bar and toss him the egg. He fumbles to catch it. Once he goes, he glares at me.
“Be careful with it.”
“Well, you got your egg.”
“That was fast.”
“You knew I’d be fast at it. You knew I wouldn’t be subtle about it either. So, fuck you.”
He grabs my arm before I can walk away. “Remember, Anton. I can skin your new little wife from lips to cunt. So, be nice to me.”
I rip my arm away from him. “Just call me when you need me to do anything else for you.” Fucking bastard.
I leave the bar feeling dirty. I’ve done a lot of terrible things. Getting my hands dirty is not new. But at this moment, all I feel is wrong. Dirty and wrong.
And I fucking hate that feeling.
KATYA
“Come along,” Katerina snaps as I follow her into the tea function. I’ve been to many of these functions over the years, so I recognize a lot of the women. But I always came under the protection of my brother. I had my own freedom in a way.
Now, I come under the control of Anton, and my freedom has been stripped away.
“Sit,” Katerina says, pointing at a chair at one of the tables. The tea function is always held in a hotel around the city. A different hotel for each month. This month it’s the Hilton.
I roll my eyes but sit down anyway. Getting into a fight with Katerina in public is not a good idea.
A woman named Vera is seated at our table. She’s married to a wealthy Bratva man and loves coming to these functions for gossip.
“Ah, Katerina. Katya. How lovely to see you. And Katya, I hear you’re a married woman now.”
“Yes.” To a madman who frustrates me yet makes my body come alive at the same exact time.
“Let me see the ring.”
I hold out my hand, and Vera marvels at the large diamond. It’s unmistakable—I’m Anton’s wife.
“How is married life to Anton?” she asks, giving me a wickedly curious grin from over her cup.
“Anton is … interesting.” That’s the truth, at least.
Katerina nods. “My son’s a very interesting man. Everyone knows that.”
“How is he interesting?”
I cut Katerina off before she can speak. “He’s very good at making you feel alive.”
Vera frowns. “Interesting. What do you mean by that?”
“He has a talent for looking at you and making you feel seen. I never feel invisible around Anton.” Even though sometimes I wish I could be.
Katerina shoots me a glare even though I didn’t say anything wrong. “What my daughter-in-law means is that Anton is a very smart, accomplished man.”
“I know he is. That’s why a lot of women wanted to marry him.”
“But I got him,” I say, laughing. It’s a complete and utter fake laugh. Both Vera and Katerina can tell, but neither one comments on it.
I look around the room and find what I was hoping to find.
Evie, Ava, and Luna are seated at a far table near the window. I ignore Katerina and Vera and go over to them.
“Katya!” Evie gasps when she sees me. Within a second, she has her arms around me. Soon, Ava and Luna join the hug as well. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here with my new mommy.”
Evie looks behind me and spots Katerina before giving me a knowing look.
“I’m amazed Anton let you out,” Ava says. “I, for sure, thought he’d hold you captive.”
“In a way, he did. He locked me up the first night, but since then, I’ve had free rein of the house.”
Luna covers her mouth, shaking her head. “That’s horrible. I know what it’s like to be locked up, and it’s never fun.”
I squeeze her arm. “I know you do.” Luna was forced to grow up in a lighthouse, held kidnapped by a crazy man. If anyone knows captivity, it’s Luna. “But I think Anton only did it because he wanted to mess with me, not because he actually wants to keep me captive. He didn’t seem to care at all that I was coming here today with his mom.” I pause. “Well, he probably thought that was punishment enough.”
That makes Evie smile, at least. The sight of her even the tiniest bit happy makes me happy. “Well, I’m glad you’re not completely suffering.”
“So, how have you three been?”
“We’re on strike,” Ava says as she sits back down and motions for me to sit as well.
“Strike how?” I grab a napkin and place it in my lap.
“With our husbands,” Luna explains.
Evie nods. “It’s punishment for them agreeing to make you marry Anton.”
“So, what’s the endgame?”
“Once we know you’re safe and happy, we’ll forgive them.” Evie roughly shakes her head. “But I’m just not sure I can ever be truly happy knowing you’re married to a monster.”
“Anton’s not a monster.” But I say it too slowly for them to believe me.
“Katya, he’s tried to kill Nik on more than one occasion,” Ava says.
“And he tried to kill Dimitri.”
“And he tried to kill Maxim.”
I hold my hands up. “I know. He’s a terrible person, but what can I do? I have to try and make the most out of my marriage to him, or I’m going to crash and burn. I have to try with him. I have no other choice.”
A contemplative expression crosses Evie’s face. “Unless …”
“Unless?”
All three of them share a look and nod. What the hell is going on?
Evie turns to me. “Unless we help you escape.”
“What?”
“You’re here now. Katerina can’t stop all four of us. We could just go. Get you somewhere safe.”
“Where?”
“We can start with my house,” Ava says. “Nik is still uncertain about making an alliance with Anton. He’d maybe help.”
“Key word being maybe.” I shake my head. “Ava, he wouldn’t want to risk your safety by helping me. You know this. Anton would try and kill him or you if you helped me. He’d try to kill all of you. I can’t have that on my conscience.”
“But we can’t just sit back and watch you get hurt!” Evie exclaims. It draws the attention of some of the other women in the room. Leaning closer to me, she lowers her voice. “Katya, I need to help you. I need to get you out of that marriage. I’m willing to put myself at risk if it means saving you.”
“I can’t ask that of you.”
“I’m not asking. I’m telling.”
I look at Ava and Luna. “And what about you two? Are you both willing to die to save me? Because that’s what will happen if Anton comes after you.”
Ava looks me steadily in the eye. “I am. I can’t live with your life on my conscience.”
“Neither can I,” Luna says.
“But you’re all asking me to deal with your deaths. How is that fair?”
Evie grabs my hand. Never has she held onto me this tightly before. “How is it fair that the men in our lives signed away your life? You never even got a say. Let us help you. Let us get you to safety. Please.”
I can see how much this hurts Evie. How much she needs to help me. I want to give her that.
“But Anton. He’ll come for you. And I can’t live with that.”
She grips my hand even tighter, and I wince. “And I can’t live with you being married to him for the rest of your life. I can’t sit back and not do anything while he ruins your life.”
I look at all three of them. “You’re willing to do this?”
They all nod.
Tears prick my eyes. I didn’t realize just how alone I’ve felt this past week until this moment. Anton and Katerina haven’t been exactly welcoming.
“Ok,” I whisper. “If you want to help, then help me.”
“Will Katerina try to stop us?”
I scoff. “Oh, yes. Katerina hates me, but she’ll hate me even more if I make a fool out of Anton. She can’t catch us leaving. She’ll create a scene or call Anton, and then our plan will be over before it even begins.”
“I’ll go talk to her,” Ava says. “She likes me. Or, at least, doesn’t hate me. The rest of you leave. I’ll follow soon.”
“I can’t believe you’re all doing this for me.”
Luna’s smile is so kind and genuine, it almost breaks my heart. “You’re family, Katya. We take care of family.”
“Now, go,” Ava says, already heading over to Katerina. Once she reaches her, she places her hand on Katerina’s shoulder, drawing all of Katerina’s attention to her.
“Come on,” Evie says, still holding my hand. There’s only one entrance in and out of this hotel restaurant. Katerina’s seated so she’s facing the door. She’ll see us if she looks.
I just have to hope she doesn’t look.
This is a crazy idea that I’m scared won’t work, but I have to try. I was resigned to my fate, but now that I’m with my friends, they’ve renewed my sense of hope. I’m not alone anymore.
Evie and Luna stand on either side of me, trying to hide me from Katerina, but I’m taller than both of them. It’s hard to hide me.
Ava does a good job keeping Katerina’s attention trained on her.
We get closer and closer to the door …
… and then we’re out of the restaurant and soon out of the hotel.
“This way,” Evie says, going over to Ava’s car. “She has the key. Shoot. I didn’t think of that.”
“We have to wait for her,” Luna says.
But that could mean Katerina noticing I’m gone and alerting Anton, and then any hope of escape will be over.
Ava comes hustling out of the hotel a moment later, motioning for us to get into the car. “I’ve unlocked it. Go!”
Evie and I dive into the back seat while Ava and Luna get in the front. She slams onto the pedal and speeds away from the hotel.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” I say. “Did Katerina notice?”
“No. A waiter came by to ask for her order, and I used that as an excuse to leave. But she’ll probably notice soon, so we only have so much time to get you to my house and hope that Nik will help.”
“Nik hates Anton, I know that, but is he willing to go to war with Anton again over me?” I somehow doubt it.
And judging by the way none of the other women speak, they don’t seem to think so either. But all have to have hope. What else is there?
We arrive at Ava and Nik’s large Gothic mansion on Billionaire’s Row. Nikolai Petrov’s house would have been an intimidating sight before, but now, it’s a place of refuge.
Ava ushers us inside. “Go wait in the living room. I’ll get Nik.” She only makes it a few steps before Nikolai Petrov himself appears.
“Ava. I heard you come back.” His eyes settle on me. “Katya. What are you doing here? Did Anton give you permission to be here?”
“Yes,” I blurt out. “He absolutely did.”
Nik sets his eyes onto his wife. “Is this true?”
“Nik,” she says, “listen. Katya needs our help. She can’t be married to Anton. You know this. You hate him. You never wanted to work with him again. So, let’s just get Katya somewhere safe. Surely you have a safe house in Paris or Rome or somewhere. Somewhere she can go that Anton won’t be able to find.”
He holds up a hand, silencing her. “Wait. So, Anton doesn’t know Katya is here?”
“No,” she admits. “But we need to help her. You know this. Katya was screwed in the deal Dimitri made. It’s not fair for her to pay the price for the rest of our freedom.”
“But we made that deal.” His strong, firm voice is soul-crushing. I knew deep down this would happen. I knew Nik wouldn’t help, but I believed it for a moment. That’s what hurts most of all.
“I know you did,” Ava continues. “But help. Please.”
He sighs, crosses his arms, and bows his head. His entire demeanor shows how much he’s not going to help me. “I made a deal with Anton, Ava. It killed me. I can never forget what Anton did to me.” He points at his scar across his face. “This is a living reminder of Anton’s betrayal. I did not want to make a deal with him, trust me. I wanted him dead.”
“So, do that. Just save Katya first.”
“No.” That one word breaks my heart. “I want Anton dead, but I made a deal with him instead. I don’t like it, but I do think it’s the best way for peace. Any way of keeping Anton on our side is a win in my book.” He looks at me. “Katya, I’m sorry. But I cannot help you. Coming here was a waste.”
“I figured,” I say, trying to sound brave.
“No,” Evie whispers before she storms over to Nikolai. “There has to be something you can do.”
“I will not risk Ava’s life or any of yours. Not even yours, Katya. Who knows what Anton will do to you if he finds out you tried to leave him. I’m doing this for your own benefit. I’m going to take you back to him.”
Ava steps right into his path. “You can’t do this.”
“I have to. My hands are tied.”
“You could kill him,” she says.
“I could, but then any of his own men would come after you, and I can’t risk that. I don’t know every follower of Anton’s. It’s too great of a risk. So, I’m sorry, Ava. I am sorry I have to hurt you like this.” He walks around her and stands before me. “And I’m sorry Katya that I can’t help you. You don’t deserve this. You never have. But I need to bring you back to Anton. I hope you understand.”
I keep my head high as I respond. “I do.” There’s no need to show my friends my fear. It would only make them feel worse.
“You”—he says to the other women— “need to stay here. I’ll take Katya back. I don’t want Anton to set his sights on any of you or for any of you to get hurt.”
Except for me. I could very well get hurt.
Evie crumples against Ava and sobs her eyes out. Luna pats her arm, but there’s nothing else she can do. There’s nothing anyone can do.
I belong to Anton now, and I need to get used to it.
Nik drives me back out of the city to Anton’s house. “I am sorry,” he says again.
“I know. I know none of you wanted this. I don’t blame you. If I blame anyone, it’s Dimitri. It was ultimately his decision. But I’ll be fine. I don’t think Anton will seriously hurt me.”
“ Seriously hurt you?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what he’ll do. But that’s for me to worry about. Not for Evie or Ava or Luna. Don’t tell them anything. If I can call them, I will.”
He nods once. “Understood. And can I just say you’re handling all of this a lot braver than I thought you would.”
“I guess we all have a little bit of surprises within us.”
Anton’s castle-like mansion comes into view. This is it. A moment of freedom, then back to where I belong.
I get out of the car and am surprised when Nik does the same thing. “You don’t need to come in with me.”
“I want to make sure you’ll be ok.”
Since I don’t have a key, I have to knock on the front door.
Anton answers. “Where have you been?” His eyes light up when he sees Nik. “Oh, Nik! Wasn’t expecting you. Why are you with my wife?”
“I’m bringing her back home. She was spending some time with my wife and the rest of her friends.”
“Mmm. All innocent, I’m assuming.”
“Yes,” Nik lies. “Just four women spending time together. Don’t take it out on Katya.”
“You never said I couldn’t spend time with my friends,” I remind him.
“You’re right. I never said you couldn’t. But what I find interesting is that you were spending the day with my mother, and then she called me and told me you had left. Without a word to her, I might add. That’s a little … how shall I say it? Suspicious.”
“I just wanted to spend some time with my friends away from Katerina. Is that so hard to believe?” I wasn’t even thinking of escaping . All a lie, but Anton doesn’t need to know that.
“No, it’s not. You know, Katya, if you wanted to spend time with your friends, all you had to do was ask.”
“Would you have let me?”
His grin tells me he wouldn’t have. Turning to Nik, he holds out his hand. “Nice seeing you again.”
With a sigh, Nik shakes Anton’s hand. “Just go easy on Katya.” Then he walks away, leaving me alone with my husband.
Anton steps out of the doorway so I can enter the house. The moment he shuts the door behind me, I know I’m in trouble.
“You know what I love to do, Katya? Play games. And I have a game in mind for you.”
“What’s that?” My entire body is somehow made of ice yet on fire.
“It’s called you run and I chase you, and when I catch you, I spank you.”
I gasp. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m deadly serious. You’ll know when I’m joking. So, on the count of three, you run, ok?”
“Wait—”
“One.”
“Anton.”
“Two.”
“Let me explain.”
“Three. You better run, baby.”
All my instincts light up, and I turn around and do as he says.