Chapter 11
Mikhail
Icleaned myself up, washing my hands and splashing cold water on my face. My reflection looked back at me, eyes dark and intense, jaw tight. I needed to shower and change before taking Shanice to class.
But when I stepped into my bedroom, Olek was there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice flat.
Something in his tone made my stomach tighten. "Now?"
"Now."
I followed him to his office, closing the door behind us. He moved to the window, staring out at the grounds, his jaw working.
"Dmitri called," he said finally.
Dmitri. Olek's cousin, the one who handled operations in the northern territories. A cold, calculating bastard who saw everything as numbers and risks.
"What did he want?" I asked, though I already knew. Could feel it in my gut.
"He wanted to talk about Shanice." Olek turned to face me, and I saw the conflict in his eyes. "The police found Marcus’ body. And Dmitri's concerned that our witness might become a problem."
My hands clenched into fists. "She's not a problem."
"Dmitri thinks she is. He asked if she'd talked to the police. Asked if I was capable of handling it, or if he needed to come down here and solve it himself."
Rage flooded through me, hot and vicious. "He threatened her?"
"He threatened to clean up what he sees as my mess." Olek's voice was tight. "And the thing is, Mikhail, he's not completely wrong. Shanice has no reason not to betray us. She's not bratva. She's not bound by blood or oath. She's just a civilian who witnessed a murder and is living in my house."
"She wouldn't talk."
"How do you know?" Olek moved closer, his expression hard. "How can you be sure? Because you want to fuck her? Because you've decided she's yours?"
"Because I know her," I growled. "She's loyal. She's Katrina's best friend. She wouldn't put her in danger."
"Friendship isn't enough. Not for this." Olek scrubbed a hand over his face. "I need a solution, Mikhail. I need her either gone or secured. And I don't know how to do that without destroying my wife in the process."
Gone. The word hit me like a bullet. He meant dead. He was talking about killing Shanice.
"No," I said, my voice deadly calm. "That's not happening."
"Then what do you suggest? Because I'm out of options here. Dmitri is right. She's a liability. And if I can't guarantee her silence—"
"Make her family."
The words came out before I'd fully thought them through, but once they were out there, I knew they were right.
Olek blinked. "What?"
"Make her family. Bind her to us the same way Katrina is bound to you." I stepped closer, the plan forming even as I spoke. "I'll marry her. Make her a Volkov. Then she's not just some witness. She's bratva. She's protected by our laws, but also bound by them. She can't testify against family."
Olek stared at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine. "You're serious."
"Completely."
"Marriage is permanent, Mikhail. You understand that? This isn't just about solving a problem. You'd be tying yourself to her for life."
"I know." And I did. I wanted it. Had wanted it since the moment I'd taken her out of that warehouse. "I want her anyway. You said it yourself. This just gives me a reason to move faster."
Olek was quiet, thinking. I could see him weighing the options, calculating the risks.
"If you can get her to agree," he said finally, "it would solve everything. Dmitri couldn't touch her. She'd be protected. That would keep me from being the reason that my wife shed tears."
Relief flooded through me. "Then I'll get her to agree."
"That's the problem though, isn't it?" Olek's expression was almost sympathetic. "She wants normal. A regular life. School, friends, maybe some boring guy who works a nine to five. Marriage to you is the opposite of normal."
My chest tightened. He was right. Shanice had been clear about what she wanted. Focus on herself. Independence. Normalcy. Marriage to an enforcer was none of those things.
"I'll figure it out," I said.
"You better. Because if you can't convince her, I'm going to have to find another solution." Olek's voice was heavy. "And I don't want to do that to Katrina."
I nodded and left his office, my mind already racing.
I had to marry Shanice. Had to bind her to me before Dmitri decided to take matters into his own hands.
But how the hell was I supposed to convince her when she'd made it clear she didn't want a relationship at all, let alone marriage to someone like me?
I went to my room, showered quickly, and changed into fresh clothes. My mind kept turning over the problem, looking for angles, looking for leverage. By the time I went downstairs, Shanice was waiting by the door, her bag over her shoulder, a bright smile on her face.
"Ready?" she asked, chipper and happy in a way that made my chest ache.
She looked so normal. So free. Like the weight she'd been carrying had finally started to lift. And I was about to make everything complicated again.
"Yeah," I said. "Let's go."
We got in the SUV and headed toward campus. Shanice chatted about her classes, about a paper she needed to write, about some group project she'd been assigned. I listened, responding when appropriate, but my mind was elsewhere.
How do I ask her to marry me without telling her it's because she's a liability? Without making her feel trapped? How do I convince her that marrying me is the right choice when she's finally starting to feel free again? How do I protect her without destroying the progress she's made?
"Mikhail?"
I blinked, glancing at her. "Yeah?"
"You okay? You seem distracted."
"I'm fine. Just thinking."
"About what?"
About how to keep you alive without ruining everything. About how to make you mine without making you feel like you’ve given up even more of yourself.
"Work stuff," I said.
She studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. But if you need to talk, I'm here."
The irony wasn't lost on me. She was offering to be there for me while I was trying to figure out how to trap her in a marriage she didn't want. I pulled into the campus parking lot and killed the engine. Shanice gathered her bag, still smiling.
"I'll see you after class," she said.
"I'll be here."
She got out, and I watched her walk toward the building, her ponytail swinging, her hips moving in those jeans that made me want to follow her and forget about everything else. But I couldn't. I had a problem to solve. And a very limited amount of time to solve it.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I stayed close to Shanice, walked her between classes, made sure she ate lunch. But my mind was working the whole time, running through scenarios, discarding options, looking for the right approach.
By the time we got back to the mansion that evening, I still didn't have an answer. But I was running out of time. Dmitri wouldn't wait forever. And I'd be damned if I let anyone hurt her. Even if that meant forcing her into something she wasn't ready for.