3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Natalya
“ W e failed her,” I say, feeling numb. Mikhail comforts me in our bed but his strong arms around me can’t help the fact that I was close to getting my sister back and I lost her. Again. She put her faith in me to save her and I let her down. “You should have shot Nico.”
“You told me not to. You didn’t want to risk Sasha getting hurt.”
“I know what I said!”
Mikhail raises an eyebrow, reminding me to stay calm. Getting angry doesn’t help anybody.
“We now know who Sasha is going to marry,” he says.
“Which means it will be easier to find out where they’re going to get married.
If we find the location of their wedding, we can attack.
I can kill Nico, save Sasha. And if your other sisters are there, we can save them too. It’s the best bet we have.”
“It’s so dangerous though. I’m worried one of my sisters or my mom could get shot.”
“I know. I will make sure I’m careful. I will make sure my men are careful. I promised I would save your family and this is me keeping that end of the bargain.”
I lean into him, letting his strength seep into me. “All right. If this is our only way, we’ll do it. She can’t marry Nico. She just can’t.”
Sasha
The large church doors stare back at me as I stand outside, willing my legs to move but unable to get them to listen. My wedding dress is beautiful. My mom styled my hair in perfect pretty curls. I should feel like a princess.
But all I feel is like a prisoner.
Denis grabs my arm. “Let’s go in.”
My sisters and mom trail behind me, all in their best dresses. Denis wouldn’t stand for anything less. This is a marriage between his niece and the king of the Italian mafia. No expenses can be spared.
We enter into the front room before the church itself.
“Go on in,” Denis tells my family.
Ana opens her mouth to say something but Denis gives her a hard look, so Irina takes her hand and tugs her along.
Mom gives me another hug. She was never this open with affection when I was growing up. I guess I’ll take what I can get but it saddens me that it took to this moment for my mom to be more affectionate.
“Go, Tatiana,” Denis says in a hard voice.
She shoots him a glare. “I’m going to hug my daughter and you can’t stop me.
” She makes a point of holding onto me for a long moment.
Denis taps his foot but that doesn’t speed my mom up at all.
She’s never given in to Denis and she won’t start now.
I wish I had that kind of power. It comes from having been married to a high ranking Bratva member for so many years.
In time, I’ll become like her through my marriage to Nico. That’s the only good that will come out of this. Assuming Nico doesn’t beat me down until I’m a shell of myself.
Finally, Mom lets me go. A tear slips down her face, which is unusual for her. She’s never been one for crying. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Enough,” Denis growls. “Go.”
She finally leaves me alone with Denis, who grabs my arm again, tightening his hold slowly, like a snake does its prey.
“You’re going to cut off blood supply to my arm,” I say.
“It’s so you can’t run. You’ve done it before. I don’t trust you to not do it again. You are going to marry Nico and you will smile and you will be grateful for it.”
“You can’t just force someone into feeling how you want them to feel. That’s not how this works.”
“It does in my world. Because I can go in there and hurt either Irina or Ana and there’s nothing you can do about it. Will that get you in line?”
All the fight in me evaporates. What kind of sister am I if I let them get hurt so I can save myself?
“I’ll marry Nico,” I grumble.
“And?”
“And smile.”
“And?”
I sigh. “And be grateful.”
“Good. Now, lets go.” He pushes the doors open and I’m confronted with the large church before me with it’s many pews and stained glass windows.
It’s fairly empty since we changed the wedding last minute so only my family and a few guards are here.
Nico waits at the end of the aisle, looking handsome in a navy suit.
I hate that he’s so good looking. This would all be so much simpler if he weren’t.
Denis quickly walks down the aisle, probably making sure this actually happens. If we take too long then who knows what could get in the way?
He’s walking so fast, I struggle to keep up with him and end up tripping on my dress. I stumble forward. If it weren’t for Denis holding onto my arm with a tight vice, I would have landed on my face.
He yanks me up and keeps on walking, wasting no time.
“Careful,” Nico says. “Don’t break my wife before our wedding night.”
What does that mean exactly? I shiver at the thought.
Denis’s smile is strained. “She ran from you, Nico. We have to make sure you two get married today.”
“I’m well aware, Denis. But you don’t need to drag her down the aisle.”
The priest standing beside Nico acts as an imposing figure. I know he won’t help me. A man like him has already been debriefed on the situation. Probably paid off by Nico to go along and not say a word.
Denis places my hand in Nico’s and I have no choice but to walk up the small steps and stand before the man who will become my husband in a matter of minutes.
Denis takes his seat right by my mom. She nudges over, creating space between them, which only makes Denis look more pissed off.
Nico’s hand is so different from Denis’s. For one thing, it’s not as rough but it’s just as strong. His hands feel softer but also more masculine. I find myself staring down at Nico’s hands, never realizing that a man could have such nice hands.
“Sasha,” Nico murmurs, drawing my attention up to his eyes. I can’t help but blush. Caught red handed staring at his hands.
“Father, begin,” Denis says.
The priest nods and starts the ceremony, talking about love and obeying one’s husband and creating a partnership. All of it is bullshit. I do not love Nico. We are not going to be partners in crime.
And I most definitely will not obey him.
Unless he threatens to hurt my sisters like Denis does. If that’s the case, then I’ll fall in line but I won’t be happy about it.
“Do you, Nico Bernardi, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.” Nico’s rich voice echoes through the large church. Even his voice has to be handsome. It’s not fair for a man to look as good as him and be evil.
I tighten my hands with his, wishing I was strong enough to hurt him. But Nico only tightens his hands in return, squeezing mine until I relent and loosen my grip. He’s the one with power. The one in control.
And I hate him for it.
“Do you, Sasha Petrov, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“No.” I don’t even hesitate to say it.
Nico looks amused while Denis shoots to his feet and starts berating me for making a fool out of this ceremony.
“You will marry him,” Denis blabbers on. “You will say ‘I do.’”
“You cannot force the words out of my mouth and if I’m not consenting, then we cannot marry. Isn’t that how it works?”
“You will say you will marry him!”
Nico holds up a hand, silently telling Denis to be quiet. The power Nico exudes is intimidating though I will admit, watching him take charge over Denis is satisfying.
“I will not force you to say the words,” Nico says. “But I will remind you that your uncle is unhinged and who knows what he’ll do? Do you really want to put your sisters at risk like this?”
“Are you threatening them?”
“I have no desire to hurt them. But your uncle does. Think wisely about this, Sasha.”
I turn to Irina and Ana and hate how helpless they look. How petite and young and innocent they are. I’m the same way but soon my innocence will be stripped away when Nico finally gets his hands on me.
“What will it be, Sasha?” he asks in his handsome, calming voice.
I know what it has to be. I have to marry Nico or my sisters will suffer.
“I do,” I say through gritted teeth.
“What was that?” Nico asks, clearly mocking me. His smile gives away that he heard me just fine.
“I do,” I snap. “I’ll marry you.” I turn to the priest. “I’ll marry him.”
The priest nods with no other emotion on his face. “Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Nico takes my face in his hands. His touch makes me blush even more. I was never one for being shy but around Nico, I can’t help but be a little self-conscious over the way I look. Every feature on my face feels like it’s on display.
Nico smirks a little right before his lips find mine.
The kiss lasts just a moment before the church doors burst open, ripping me and Nico apart.
Mikhail storms inside with a few of his men. None of them shoot, I notice. It must be for me and my family’s benefit. Natalya must have told him to be careful.
“Ah, Mikhail,” Nico smiles widely, even though he’s clearly pissed to see Mikhail. My brother-in-law did shoot Nico clean in the back. That was in a church a lot like this one.
“Nico. Hand over Sasha and no one has to get hurt.”
“I see. But you see, Sasha and I officially married. She is mine. So if you take her, you’ll be stealing from me and I won’t appreciate that.”
Mikhail’s men have their guns locked onto Nico’s men. No one moves except Mikhail, who slowly approaches me. “Sasha, come with me. Nico, do not make a move. I will shoot you.”
“Then shoot me. Oh, wait. We already established that you can’t. Can’t risk hurting your wife’s precious sisters, can you?”
“Sasha.” Mikhail holds his hand out. “Come to me. I’ll get you to safety. You won’t have to be married to him.”
Without even thinking about it, I grab Mikhail’s hand and let him pull me away. Nico’s smile morphs into a sneer.
“Let’s go.” Mikhail tugs me along the aisle, still keeping his gun trained on Nico.
“You’re going to play the white night to Sasha?” Nico calls out. “What about the rest of her family?” He nods to them. It’s then that I notice Denis is behind them, cowering, so he can’t get shot. “Can you save them too?”