Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
AXEL
I found Grisha alone in his office.
“Come in, Axel,” he said from his desk, where he sat smoking a cigar. “What can I do for you?”
I walked into the office. “Mila has agreed to marry me.”
“Very good.” He relaxed back in his seat. “Good thing, too. After seeing how you two behaved at dinner, Lena is talking about scheduling the church on Friday, two weeks from today. The church ceremony will be followed by a wedding reception here at the house.”
I wasn’t even surprised at how fast they were pushing this. “What next?”
“We’ll work to get you up to date on what is happening in Vancouver.”
“And the wedding planning?”
He looked baffled that I would ask. “Lena and Mila will take care of it.”
I wondered how well Mila could fake enthusiasm for all of this, so I added another lie to cover for her.
“Mila wants this, but she’s a little overwhelmed by how fast things are going.
” I gave him a smile and a shrug. “So expect a few tears here and there, especially as she’s trying to plan her perfect day. ”
Her uncle nodded seriously, as if he hadn’t even thought of what her experience might be in all of this. “What is a bride without tears?”
He seemed to buy my story. I switched gears.
“Sergei still acts like he’s the groom.” I didn’t tell him that I had whipped him with his own gun right after Mila had pulled it on him.
Grisha was unbothered. “I’ll talk to him. He’ll get over himself.”
I highly doubted that Sergei would go quietly. His opportunity to join the family was slipping away, and he wasn’t happy about it.
This whole situation was a ticking time bomb. The sooner we married and moved away from Sergei and this family, the safer our story would be. Once we were in Canada, we’d no longer have to pretend to be the happy couple.
I didn’t let myself think past that.
Yuri showed up at the back of the auto shop more than thirty minutes late, and he looked frazzled. He dug through his bag before pulling out a hard drive. “These are the files we got from the Canadians.”
I picked up the drive. “Anything enlightening?”
He sat down across from me, rubbing both his eyes. “The Volkov family has invested heavily in Canada, specifically in the city of Vancouver and they’re giving Grisha a lot of trouble.”
“Here too.”
“I’m sorry I bombarded you with Giselle and her objectives. I know that wasn’t fair, but we had a limited window to touch base with you.”
“It’s fine.”
“I pushed you the other day. I shouldn’t have. This Canada angle is taking everything further than the job.”
I appreciated his sentiments, but it didn’t change the facts. “I’m marrying Mila in two weeks.”
He froze. “That was quick. Are you sure that’s something you want to do?”
“I’m fine with the new objectives,” I lied.
“Giselle indicated that her boss, Richard, is balking at the formal request for immunity for Mila.”
“She’s not involved in the business. Neither were her parents.”
“His stance is that she’s still part of the family and she’s currently benefitting from the money their crime brings in.”
“She’s not choosing that willingly.”
“By Canadian law, if she’s living under the same roof, it makes her complicit.”
“She’s a Canadian citizen being trafficked for her passport.”
“I’m on your side, but I wanted you to know where the friction on this is coming from.”
My phone buzzed with a text.
Mila: SOS. In dining room with Lena. Wedding stuff.
That wasn’t a message I could ignore.
“Yuri, you know I don’t like ultimatums.”
“I know.”
“But I’m not involving myself with Canada if they can’t protect her. Out of everyone, she’s the only innocent party.”
“I’m not arguing with you.”
I shrugged. “Let Richard know that I’m set up to come to Canada, but will only do this with her immunity in place.”
He closed his book. “For the record, I think you’re right on this one.”
I arrived at Grisha’s house thirty minutes later and walked in without preamble, making my way to the family dining room located next to the library.
I stood at the doorway and surveyed the scene.
Mila sat in the middle of the long table, looking dejected. That look on her face could get us both in trouble. I was on thin ice with Mila and this sham of a wedding. Any undue friction could blow it all up in my face. Right now, Grisha thought Mila was here on her own accord.
Containment was the only reason I was responding to an SOS text from Mila in the middle of the day.
Around her were stacks of binders. Three women in suits were off to the side, comparing fabric samples and talking among themselves.
Lena stood over Mila with a sour look on her face. “I know that the rose napkins could contrast nicely with the ivory setting of the plates, but I’m not sure how that would translate to the seat covers. In this short time frame, we are limited by our linens.”
Time for me to play shining knight.
I sent her a text and watched her read it.
Me: Be happy to see me
Mila’s gaze lifted from her phone to me, and I watched as she went through a series of emotions when she saw me.
Surprise.
Disbelief.
And then relief.
Her reaction worked in my favor.
“Axel,” she mouthed, and then, to my surprise, she stood up and moved around the table toward me.
Everyone watched us, so I opened my arms. When she faltered, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her reluctant body against my chest. She felt better than she should have.
“This would be a good time, if you’re here to save me,” she mumbled against my chest.
I smiled in spite of myself. “From what?”
She lifted her face to mine. “I need to make all these decisions, and I can’t do it.”
I looked down into her deep brown eyes. “What kind of decisions?”
“I don’t know what I like, or what you like either. Everything I suggest makes Aunt Lena mad, and when I lean toward something she likes, she changes her mind and we start over.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“She told me I’m the worst bride she’s worked with.”
I searched her face to see if she was being dramatic, but she was serious.
“What do you need from me?”
“Make it stop.”
I laughed, aware that everyone at the table was watching but was unable to hear us. “Let me see what I can do.”
“Thank you,” she breathed. “You have no idea.”
“Axel, to what do we owe this pleasure?” Aunt Lena asked in a cool voice as we approached the table.
“Came by to help my fiancée with our wedding,” I said, lifting Mila’s small hand to my lips so I could kiss the back of it. “She wanted the groom’s input.”
“He’s got final say,” Mila added.
I worked to hide my smile. Mila was quick on her feet and knew how to work situations to her advantage. This was her way of getting me to wrap things up.
“Well.” Lena sniffed. “We’ll see what we can do.”
I held out the chair across the table for Mila, and I sat down beside her. “Let’s go.”
Lena looked nonplussed. “The guest list is set at two hundred people max. The ceremony will be in our local cathedral, and then a wedding dinner and dance will happen here at our home. We need to start with the color scheme.” She put down several color swatches.
Mila didn’t need my input. She needed a mediator.
“What are your top two choices, Lena?”
She paused dramatically. “Based on supply and what’s available, I’d say the top two options are either the dusty rose with the gold accent or the turquoise with silver accents.”
“Mila?”
She cleared her throat and avoided my eyes. “I like the rose one.”
“Me too,” I agreed, not caring in the least. “We’ve chosen our color scheme. What’s next?”
Lena may have enjoyed causing Mila stress, but she didn’t miss a beat when I finalized all our choices. Cake design, linens, flowers, invitations were all dealt with in the same way. Lena couldn’t argue any of it, since her preferences were first considered in every choice.
In less than an hour, we had everything down, and the three wedding consultants were starting to pack up their binders.
“What’s left?”
Lena took a sharp breath. “The dress, but I have no idea how I’m going to pull that off in less than two weeks. We can’t even get a fitting on such short notice.”
“I can wear my mom’s dress,” Mila said quietly. “It fits me.”
Lena’s expression soured further, and her voice dripped with insincerity. “How wonderful.”
“Anything else you need, Lena?” I stood up. “Or can I steal my bride away?”
Lena huffed. “It seems we have made all the decisions we need to make.”
I gave her a bland smile. “Thanks for all your help.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “My pleasure.”
I walked Mila outside to the patio and then sat on a bench near the rose garden, motioning for her to join me.
She did.
I thought about my next moves. I needed to keep Mila leaning toward me, which meant I was going to have to put in the effort to bond with her.
“Are you all right?”
She gave me a look I couldn’t read. “Thanks for coming today. I’m shocked you did.”
“You started your text with an SOS. What was I supposed to do?”
“So when I use SOS, you’ll show up?”
“Every time.”
“I’ll remember that.”
We stared at each other for a beat. “Why do we even have to have this wedding?” she said. “Couldn’t we just elope?”
“I think your uncle wants you to have a good wedding experience.”
“Or they both just like to show off how good they are at hosting big parties.”
Mila was beginning to understand that her impending marriage was serving everyone but her. I needed to remind her of the advantages of this union. If she believed in that, it’d help reduce her flight risk.
“Once we get to Canada, things will be different,” I told her.
“How?” She looked at me with a genuine question on her face. She had no agency, no control, and was just making the best of situations as they came at her.
So I chose my words carefully. “It’ll just be the two of us. No one to boss you around. Everyone in Canada speaks English. You’ll be back home.”
Her entire body relaxed at those words. “I miss Canada.”
“I’ll be focused on work, so you’ll have a lot of freedom there.”
Her eyes lit up. “That sounds okay.”
“We’re almost there.”
Her smile was soft. “Just get through the wedding.”
“And act happy about it,” I added.
“Have you seen Sergei since last night?” Her question held an edge of fear.
“No, but I’ve asked your uncle to talk to him.”
She looked up at me, so trusting and hopeful. “You did?”
“He shouldn’t bother you again. But keep your distance, okay?”
“I will.”
“I need to get back to work.”
Five days later, we were sitting at Dom Volna, the exclusive restaurant that Lena had privately booked for our engagement party. Mila and I sat together with the other one hundred guests, listening to the speeches.
I had my arm loosely draped over the back of Mila’s chair. As another guest approached the microphone, I whispered in her ear, “How about this guy? Do you know him?”
This was a game we’d been playing. So far she had been able to identify only one of the nine men who’d given us toasts about Grisha.
“No.” She hid her amusement.
I glanced around the room when the guy started his speech, and froze when I saw Giselle, in a striking red cocktail dress, standing at the bar with a glass of champagne. Our eyes met, and she raised her glass to me.
What the hell?
I casually glanced around the room, but everyone was focused on the speaker and no one seemed to notice her.
When the speeches ended, the formal part of the night broke into a cocktail party. A small band started playing in the corner.
I made sure Mila had a drink and then excused myself to the washroom. I waited.
A moment later, Giselle slipped in.
She crossed the room toward me. “We need to talk.”
“I figured.”
“I’m heading back to Canada tonight, but I needed to speak privately, without a paper trail.”
I tucked that information into the back of my mind for later. “Is this about immunity for Mila?” I asked quietly.
“For some reason my boss, Richard, is resisting.”
“Does he know that I’ll walk away from Vancouver if he refuses?”
She gave me an apologetic look. “Richard is stubborn that way.”
“I’m more stubborn.”
A smile ghosted her lips. “Can I ask why it is so important that you get her immunity?”
I thought about my answer. “She’s the only innocent one in this whole mess. If I marry her, her life will categorically get worse, especially if she’s unfairly protected.”
“That happens all the time in this world.”
“Well, it doesn’t have to happen this time, does it?”
She accepted that. “I’ll talk to Richard. We really need you on board.”
I walked to the door and paused, looking back at her to make sure she understood my position. “If I don’t get official documentation protecting her, I’ll walk away before I let her walk up that aisle. You’ve got two weeks.”
“I’ll do my best.”