Chapter 28
28
Anya
E verything happened so fast from the moment we landed.
I couldn’t do anything, not even look around for a phone. Flanked by Sokolov goons and led by Leo himself, I was taken to a black SUV just off the tarmac of what I think is a private runway and taken into the city.
“I thought you’d want to keep me somewhere secluded and out of anyone’s reach,” I tell Leo. “Not the middle of New York City.”
We step into a house in my old neighborhood. But not just any house. It’s my house. My parents’ house. The old Asimov mansion, now empty and gathering dust. It’s been two years since I set foot in these rooms. Two years since I last sat in this chair in my father’s study.
“I wanted you home. This is home for you, isn’t it?” Leo asks, taking a seat behind my father’s desk. “I admit, I haven’t done a great job with the upkeep of this place. But I’ve found you, at last, so I’ll do a better job of managing your legacy.”
“None of this is yours,” I tell Leo. “It was my father’s. Legally, it all belongs to me.”
“We both know the law doesn’t reach where I go,” he sneers.
All I can do is stare at him: a stranger with cold eyes and a wicked smile. His heart is made of stone, and he’s only capable of evil. I still can’t believe I was almost married to this monster, and it hurts me on a deeper level to think that he might get away with everything he’s done.
“That’s the problem with you second-generation Bratva princes. You think you’re untouchable. You think the laws don’t apply to you,” I say, stalling and getting as much information out of him as possible while I orchestrate my escape. It feels like the reasonable, life-saving thing to do. “You don’t own this house, Leo. I do.”
“We’re going to be married, Anya, so everything of yours becomes mine. Furthermore, since you’ve been away, I’ve been running your family businesses. You’re turning a bigger profit, too,” he says with the confidence of a Wall Street wolf. “Your father never had the balls to exploit the full potential of his ventures. Your brother was too busy being the self-righteous prick that he was, and he couldn’t see what the Asimov name could yield either. You’re lucky to have me, Anya. I’m taking your family’s name to the next level.”
“You murdered my family. You tried to murder me!”
“I was angry and hurt,” he says and sighs deeply.
I think he truly believes these tales he’s trying to spin for me. This psychopathic delusion is genuinely horrifying, yet my best option for survival is to try to understand his reasoning. The more he talks, however, the more I remember.
“But when I realized you were still alive, I took it as a sign from the universe that you were truly meant for me. I’ve been searching for you ever since.”
“Leo, this isn’t right. I never wanted to marry you. All my father did was respect my wishes, for once. He gave you a generous cut of his businesses, too. Why couldn’t you just take that and retain your dignity?”
“My dignity?” Leo snaps, the rage burning blue in his eyes. “You dare speak to me of dignity after everything you did? Leading me on, making me think we were going to be married?”
I can’t help but scoff. “I’m sorry, Leo, but I don’t remember it that way.”
“It seems you don’t remember a lot these days.”
“Wow, Breonna really gave you everything you wanted, didn’t she?” The sting of her betrayal still smarts.
“Oh, she had a lot to tell me.” Leo chuckles dryly. “But worry not, all is forgiven. Come tomorrow evening, you and I will face the other families and set everything straight. We’ll announce that our wedding is going ahead as planned, and I will make a formal apology to you. You will accept, let me put a ring on your finger, and then you will sit the fuck down and do your wifely duties.”
“So, that’s what this is all about,” I say. “You muscling in on Asimov territory, first by aggression and bloodshed, and now sealing the deal by coercing me into marriage to win the support of any other Bratva families that might still be on the fence about your moves.”
The Hayes brothers and I discussed this. I remember it being the primary driver behind Leo’s determination to find me. But there’s a lot I still don’t know—I need this monster to fill in the blanks for me, one way or another.
“You were always too smart for your own good. A little on the chubby side, but it did make you prettier than most girls,” he says.
“Oh, right. I’m fat. I should be thankful you settled for me because nobody else would take me,” I spit, prompting a scowl out of him. “Yes, I’ve heard that garbage enough times already. And it’s just that. Garbage. We both know I’m way out of your league.”
He laughs, but it’s strained. “I do admire the spunk. That blow to the head brought out the fighter in you, eh? Good. I’ll enjoy our wedding night even more then.”
“You continue to underestimate me, Leo. It will be your undoing.”
“Oh? Yet here you sit at my mercy. I could still finish what I started at Dalton, if you insist.”
“Where’s my grandmother? You would’ve gloated about killing her the moment you saw me again. You didn’t,” I shoot back. “She made it out of Chappaqua alive, didn’t she?”
“Zoya Asimova won’t be an issue, not while I have you right where I want you,” he says. His phone pings, and he checks it. I notice the slight frown, but he quickly hides it before he looks at me again and smiles. “You should make yourself comfortable, Anya. And you should thank me while you’re at it. I brought you home, after all.”
“I killed your brother,” I blurt out.
Leo stills in his seat.
The silence that falls between us becomes unbearable. The air, unbreathable. For a moment, I worry he might hop over the desk and wring my neck like a chicken. Instead, he shrugs.
“I figured something must’ve happened,” he mutters. “Max had it coming, though. I told him to bring you back alive despite his insistence otherwise. I’m guessing he tried to kill you?”
“Yes.”
“All he had to do was stick to the plan. But no. He thought he was smarter than me. He had it coming.”
I’m stunned by his lack of emotion. “I just told you your brother’s dead, and that’s all you can muster?”
“I’m not sure you noticed, Anya, but in the war for power, there is no room for emotions or affection of any kind. Blood ties or not, Max went against my orders and it cost him dearly. Though I am surprised you, of all people, were able to kill him.”
I don’t want to bring the Hayes brothers to his attention. Maybe Breonna kept them out of it—I’m assuming her goal was to stay in Seeley Lake with them, out of trouble and away from me. Away from Leo. At least, I can be thankful for that much. But if I survive this, I will wreck her.
“It was pure luck,” I mutter. “So, what’s the plan, again? You’re going to parade me in front of the other families, and I’m expected to just play along, if I want to survive?”
He leans back in his seat and smiles broadly. “If you want to carry your baby to term, yes. That’s pretty much the plan.”
“Fucking Breonna,” I hiss. His knowing I’m pregnant puts me in an even more precarious situation because he can clearly use it against me.
“I will forgive this transgression as well, if that’s what it takes to have you as my wife. I’m not unreasonable. I even support raising the child, but we will have our own as well. Your bastard can keep the Asimov name, but our sons will inherit everything. It sounds like a fair deal, don’t you think?”
Either he’s delusional or simply comfortable with the idea that I’m not going to fight him because of my current vulnerability. If there’s one thing I learned from my brother and father over the years, it’s that when cornered, an Asimov must project the impression desired by their opponent, if only until they’re able to go on the offensive again.
So, with a heavy heart and a knot in my throat, I nod slowly.
“Good.” He gets up and walks to the study door, where one of his goons stands guard on the other side. “Confirm with the families that we’re coming tomorrow night. And have Anya taken to her room. She needs to be rested, fed, and dressed accordingly.”
The guy in a dark suit simply nods as Leo turns to face me. His smile sends chills down my spine.
“I’m not sure you’ll get what you want,” I warn him. If I seem too compliant all of a sudden, he’ll know I’m up to something. “Everything you’ve done will come back to bite you in the ass.”
“I’m not worried about that. Once I’ve got you in front of the judge and taking your vows, it’s game over for whatever is left of the Asimov pack. Not even Zoya will be able to save you. And I will have full control over every Asimov-owned business. It’s a good thing, though.”
“How is that a good thing?”
“It will bring an end to the bloodshed. I’ve had to kill quite a lot of people to get your daddy’s business managers to comply,” he says. “An empire is built on mutual respect, not crippling fear. I mean, worst-case scenario, fear is still an option, but I’m hoping for a more reasonable outcome here. See? Your future husband is a reasonable man.”
“You murdered my family in cold blood,” I reply, my voice low and cold.
“I did what I had to do to secure our future.”
Leo crosses the room in the blink of an eye. “And I would do it all over again, if I had to. For once, take this chance I’m giving you and simply be fucking grateful you’re still alive,” he hisses, his face too close to mine. One deep breath later, he regains his composure and takes a step back. “Now… be a good girl and go to your room. I had the house stocked for your return. Clothes, toiletries, food. Everything and everyone is at your service.”
“Don’t expect me to thank you,” I mutter, crossing my arms.
“I’ll teach you gratitude as soon as that little mutt is out of you,” he replies, disgusted as he glances down at my belly.
I’m screwed six ways from Sunday, if I don’t figure a way out of here. Leo had iron bars mounted on the windows. The mansion is full of Sokolov soldiers. Escaping won’t be easy, but it shouldn’t be impossible either. Every nook and cranny of this house are some of the only parts of my memory without holes.
Maybe I can get out before it’s too late.