Chapter 7 #2
I was almost at the door leading to the main hall when two strong hands grabbed me by the waist, swung me off my feet, and slammed me back against the wall, nearly knocking all the air out of my lungs.
My eyes widened in horror as I took in Sergei’s big, ugly face.
I hadn’t realized he was even in the room.
“Get off me,” I screeched, before he clamped one thick, meaty hand over my mouth.
I found myself panic breathing through my nostrils as he loomed closer to my face.
“Be quiet,” he sneered, his face only inches from mine.
I put both my hands on his wrist and tried repeatedly to yank his hand away from my mouth, but he was too strong.
He laughed, enjoying my panic and my fear. “You’re ruining my career opportunities with your fake little romance with Axel.”
My eyes widened.
He continued. “Vancouver is mine.”
I put my hands on his chest and pushed against him, bracing my back against the wall, but I couldn’t budge him.
“So you need to go back to your uncle and tell him you’ve changed your mind.”
My fingers wrapped around something hard and cold.
His gun. With wide eyes, I grasped hold of it, pulled it from its sheath and, using both hands, lifted it to his forehead.
The shift in power between us was immediate.
His eyes widened. “Easy.”
His hand moved off my mouth.
“Don’t move,” I told him, as I took the safety off his weapon and put my finger on the trigger.
He didn’t move, but a deep, cold, angry laugh came out of him. “Do it. Pull the trigger.”
My hands shook, but I kept the barrel of the gun pressed to his forehead.
His gaze was filled with a malicious hate. “You can’t do it. You’re not capable.”
My entire body was shaking, but I didn’t break eye contact with him.
His smile reminded me of the reaper. Cold and dead. “You’d better pull that trigger, because if you fail to, I’m going to take the gun from your hands and do worse.”
Every cell in my body seemed to vibrate, except my finger on the trigger. It was frozen, unable to move or be pulled.
“Mila,” Axel said from beside me, “don’t move.”
The sound of his voice filled me with so much relief. Out of my peripheral, he stepped forward, and then his hand moved over mine until it was holding the gun with me. I felt him put the safety on and gently take the gun out of my hands.
Sergei started laughing as he stepped back, assuming camaraderie with Axel. “Fucking women, hey? All of them are crazy.”
Axel moved with the speed of a viper. Using the gun, he struck so hard and fast across the side of Sergei’s head that the man simply dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.
I stood there in shock. The only sound in the room was my ragged panting.
Axel bent down and returned Sergei’s gun to his holster.
“Is he dead?”
“Just knocked out.”
“He came out of nowhere, and then his hand was on my mouth and I was struggling to breathe,” I gasped, trying to explain myself.
I felt mortified when my face crumpled and I started to cry. No matter how much I fought it, stupid sobs came out of me while I struggled to control my emotions. “Why won’t he leave me alone?”
He put his hand on my back. “Let’s go talk.”
He walked me down the hall. I wiped away tears that wouldn’t stop leaking down my cheeks.
He pulled me into a small sitting room and shut the door behind us. We moved to the small settee and sat down.
“I wasn’t completely honest with you. I talked to your uncle before dinner.”
Adrenaline still coursed through my body, and my voice trembled. “About what?”
“He told me that if you don’t want to marry me, he’ll make you marry Sergei instead.”
Shock rippled through me. “Are you lying?”
“No.”
My heart pounded so hard I could feel the blood beating in my throat. I processed his news out loud. “Meaning, if you walk, he’ll make me marry Sergei?”
“He needs to get someone into Canada soon. He doesn’t care if it’s me or Sergei.”
I frowned. “If he talked to you before dinner, then why did he still publicly suggest you propose?”
“Because I didn’t back out.”
His confusing words hung in the air between us. “Why didn’t you back out? Do you want to get married?”
“Not particularly.”
His answer made no sense. Men didn’t do things like this without wanting something in return.
My thoughts were a tornado in my head. Would my uncle really force me to marry Sergei? And, if Axel didn’t want to move to Vancouver, why was he doing this?
It was amazing how calm I was on the outside when inside, all my alarm bells were going off.
A few hours before, I had been acting like he was destroying my life with his attention.
Now, I realized he might be the only thing standing between me and a man who promised a future filled with pain and violence.
“But like Sergei, you want to go to Vancouver.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes.”
I was in an impossible position, but I knew Axel was the lesser of the two evils.
“Is this where I plead with you to marry me?” The words felt like cotton in my mouth.
“You don’t have to plead.”
I swallowed and stared at him. “What does that mean?”
He shrugged. “I’m offering to marry you.”
“You’re going to marry me to advance your career?”
“Yes.”
As far as proposals went, it was the least romantic thing I’d ever imagined, outlining how vast the power difference was between us. I needed him for survival. He was interested in a work promotion.
My uncle, placating me while throwing me to the wolves.
Sergei, fighting to take control of me.
Axel, viewing me as a career stepping stone.
And, unfortunately, my best chance of survival was to pick him.
“I’m never having sex with you,” I told him, despite knowing I had absolutely no bargaining chips left in this game.
I was entirely at the mercy of the man in front of me.
He looked bored. “Goes without saying.”
I thought about running and trying to make it to a Canadian embassy on my own, but I knew if I failed again, my uncle wouldn’t be so understanding. He’d punish me.
And, after seeing Axel in action, I wasn’t sure I would be able to elude him. What was my objective, after all? My objective was to avoid marrying Sergei and to get back to Canada. Marrying Axel would achieve both.
I took a deep breath and accepted my fate. Sometimes you had to do what it took to survive. In exchange for the benefit of my Canadian passport and my freedom, Axel would offer me protection and a chance to live in Canada. We both knew I could do a lot worse.
Fatigue rolled through me, and it was so crushing it almost overwhelmed me. There was no real escape; there was only survival. I felt myself go still inside.
Axel watched me closely, but he didn’t speak.
I inhaled a deep, slow breath. “Fine.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll marry you.” My voice was flat.
He made a short noise of amusement or annoyance, I couldn’t tell, but then he spoke in a calm voice. “I’ll walk you back to the family quarters.”
I nodded, and in silence we started the short walk back to the family staircase.
He spoke again, quietly. “Let me tell Grisha. He’ll want us to announce the engagement publicly as soon as possible.”
I didn’t look up at him. “Okay.”
When we got to the bottom of the steps, he stopped me. “Can I offer some advice?”
I didn’t want to listen to his advice, but he was also the only person standing between Sergei and me. “Of course.”
“Try to pretend to be happy about this. For your uncle’s benefit.”
I could feel the anger flash inside me. “It’s hard to show gratitude toward someone who is forcing me to do something against my will.”
“He’s also capable of changing his mind,” he said softly. “And we don’t want that.”
Fear washed over me again when I realized the truth of that statement. My uncle was volatile, and he took things personally all the time. For my own sake, I needed to play the game. At least until I was safely in Canada. “I can pretend to be happy.”
A smile ghosted across his lips. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
And without another word, I walked up the stairs, away from the man I had just agreed to marry.