3. Chapter Three #2
Mikhail’s smile is pure danger. “Then I’ll make sure to kill him before then.” He nods towards the door. “Your driver will be waiting for you. We don’t want to make Denis suspicious.”
I force my legs to move when all I want is to be in Mikhail’s presence a bit longer. I guess I’ll have plenty of time when I’m his wife.
Though, the closer I get to the car and the farther I get from him, I can’t help but wonder if I just sold my soul to the devil.
Mikhail
It’s not hard to find Antoni. The fucker is at his usual place he frequents: a whorehouse. It’s not even an upscale place. It’s a shitty, rundown one that I’m sure is swimming with diseases.
I make it my job to know where other men of the Bratva spend their time. Since Antoni never makes it a secret, it only took one of my guys less than an hour to locate him.
I stroll into the whorehouse, which is really just a normal house that’s in desperate need of repairs. I tell one of the women I’m looking for Antoni and she points me in the right direction. Antoni is in one of the backrooms, cock deep inside a woman.
Neither one notices me as I lean against the doorframe.
“Nice hairy ass you have there.”
The woman screams while Antoni gasps. He pushes the woman away as he scrambles to his feet. “Who?” He pauses when he sees it’s me. “Mikhail?”
“Antoni.” I nod at the woman. “I hope you were using a condom because I know he has crabs.”
The woman scrunches up her face and holds the blanket around her body. “He hasn’t paid me yet.”
“Pay the woman and let’s get out of here.”
“I don’t have crabs,” he mutters, tossing some money at the woman before getting dressed and following me out of the room. Once we reach the hallway, Antoni takes off running but I’m faster. I grab him by the back of his shirt.
“Slow down. I need you for something.” I march him out of the whorehouse and into my car. My driver takes off, moving slowly. I want to savor this moment.
Antoni is beginning to look afraid. “Where are you taking me? What is this? What do you need me for?”
“I just have to ask. Are you willing to go against Denis Petrov?”
He scoffs. “No. We’re friends. I’ll never betray him and you can’t expect me to. You can ask me to do anything, Mikhail, but I won’t do it. I won’t ruin decades of friendship with him.”
“Thought so. Just wanted to be sure. Because of that, I’m going to have to kill you.”
His eyes go wide and his cheeks turn pale. “What? Why?”
“Because I can’t have you marrying Natalya. She’s mine. Denis doesn’t get to use her how he sees fit. And you’re not getting your filthy hands on her.”
“Fine. I won’t marry her. You don’t have to kill me. I’m not interested anyway. She’s too young.”
“Bullshit. I’ve heard you rape girls under the age of eighteen before.”
He tugs on his collar. “Where did you hear that? It’s not true.”
“At least don’t lie to me Antoni. Do yourself a favor in the last minutes of your life.”
“Please, Mikhail. Don’t do this.”
I whip out my gun and smack it against his head. He groans as he falls back against the seat. “Shut up. You’re gonna die, Antoni. Accept it like a man.”
My driver stops the car and I push Antoni out of it. We’re near a woodsy area. “Walk.” I push him towards the tree-line.
Antoni gulps and starts walking. I wait until we’re far into the woods with no one around before I place the gun to his head.
“Any last words?” I ask.
“Fuck you.”
“So original. You’re going to die knowing you’re not even clever enough to come up with any good final words. See you in hell, Antoni.” I pull the trigger. With my silencer on, the sound isn’t loud. Only a couple of birds in the area nearby fly into the air.
Antoni slumps to the ground, face first. Good. I head back to my driver and tell him to bury Antoni’s body. He does as I instruct. That’s loyalty.
Now, I just need to get Natalya back so I can marry her and truly make her mine.
Natalya
The meeting with Antoni comes around but Antoni doesn’t arrive at the house. Uncle Denis paces the living room, muttering to himself.
“Where the fuck is he? He was supposed to be here by now.”
I know why. Mikhail killed him.
For me.
Because he wants me.
I’m still not fully sure how to feel about that. Both elated and scared. Will it ever not scare me?
He tries calling Antoni again but of course, Antoni doesn’t answer. “Fuck.”
“Don’t cuss,” I say without even thinking about it.
He frowns at me. “What?”
“Our dad never liked to cuss and he didn’t like for us to cuss.” My sisters are upstairs in their rooms. I didn’t want them to be around for my meeting with Antoni in case either of them got any ideas about my sisters.
Mom, who enters the room, carrying a tray with tiny sandwiches on it, stops. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently, I can’t live up to my brother.”
“Of course you can’t,” she says it like it’s obvious. “Lev was a great man. You’re not.” She sets the tray down hard on the coffee table.
“Careful. You’ll ruin the wood.”
She gives Denis an annoyed look. “This coffee table isn’t yours. I picked it out. I bought it. So I can do what I want with it.”
He sighs and tries Antoni again before giving up. “I’m going to his house. See where he is. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Once he’s gone, it’s like I can breathe again.
Mom sits down beside me. “I wonder what happened.”
“Mom, I know what happened.” I probably shouldn’t tell her but she’s still my mom and she has a right to know. This will change her life as much as mine.
“What?”
“Mikhail Novikoff killed him.”
She blinks before she jerks back. “What? How do you know this? And how do you know Mikhail Novikoff.”
“He was here at the funeral. And he met me at the theater one night. The night of Dad’s death, actually.”
“Is something going on?”
“He wants to marry me.”
“No,” she says abruptly. “Just no.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s a dangerous man. He worked with your father. Was friends with him so Lev never saw what I saw. But Mikhail is dangerous. He delights in killing people. I’ve seen it firsthand. That’s a man I would never trust with you.”
“He gave me a choice. I could marry Antoni, who’s a known rapist, or I could marry him. And he would kill Antoni for me and so none of my sisters had to marry him either. I’m going to have to marry him, Mom. He’s going to come back for me.”
“Oh my god.” She burrows her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s not ideal. He scares me a little. But he could help us against Denis. He doesn’t like him. He’s not loyal to him. And you said it yourself, he was friends with Dad. He can help take Denis down. Maybe even give you your power back. Keep my sisters safe.”
“Oh, honey. I love that you think that but don’t be na?ve. Bratva men want one thing: power. Mikhail is just like all the others. He’s going to do what he must to gain power and marrying you will grant him that. Your father’s loyal men will fall to him because of that.”
“And I can help. Mom, this is a good thing. Wouldn’t you prefer me to be married to a man who’s loyal to Dad rather than Denis.”
She hesitates then nods. “You’re not wrong. I’m just not ready to lose you yet.”
“We both knew this day was coming. It just came sooner than we both expected.” I lower my voice even though Denis isn’t here to hear. “He’s coming for me tonight.”
“I don’t want this to happen.”
“What other choice do we have? I marry a man Denis wants? No. Just like you, I don’t trust him.”
“But I don’t trust Mikhail.”
“Neither do I. But… it’s the only choice. I have to do what I can to save this family and I believe this is the way.”
She sighs. “I hope you’re right. I really hope you’re right.”
Denis returns within the hour, upset and shouting into his phone.
“What’s going on?” Sasha asks, appearing on the stairs.
“Antoni has disappeared. No one knows where he went. He’s loyal to me. He wouldn’t just take off like that which means someone killed him. And I have to find out who.”
Mom and I share a look. Neither of us offer up any information to Denis.
Tonight, I’m going to be leaving to be the wife of Mikhail Novikoff, a man I barely know, in the hopes of saving my family.
I wake up in my bed to the feeling of someone watching me. Someone’s in the corner of my room.
With a gasp, I turn on the light and sit up.
It’s Mikhail himself.
“How did you get in here?” I ask.
“It was easy to slip past the guards and your window was open. I told you I would come for you, Natalya. It’s time to go.”
Slowly, I get out of bed and grab the bag I packed just in case. “Can I change first?”
He nods, motioning towards my closet.
I grab a dress and hesitate. “Don’t look.”
“We’re going to be married soon enough, baby. I’ll see all of you.”
“No. You said you wouldn’t touch me without my consent. I’m not ready. Please, turn around.”
He complies. Keeping my eyes on his back, I quickly change into my dress and slip on comfortable shoes. “Ok. I’m ready.”
He turns back around, his eyes raking me up and down. It makes me blush. “You are so beautiful.”
“Thank you. But how are we getting out of here?”
“Out the way we came. It’s a good thing your bedroom is on the first floor.” He slips out of the window and grabs my waist, helping me down. His touch lingers on my body even after he’s removed his hands.
“Why not kill my uncle now?” I ask. “When you’re inside the house?”
“Because he’s not here. I checked.”
Denis must be out on business tonight. Probably searching for Antoni’s body.
“Ready?” He holds out his hand. I’m not ready at all but I have no other choice.
I take his hand.
He leads me outside the back gate and around the house to his car parked across the street. It feels so taboo and wrong to be doing this. I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to my sisters.
“I’ll get to see my sisters again, won’t I? I need to tell them what’s happened to me.”
“I won’t take your phone. I have no desire to be a dictator towards you.”
I slide into the passenger seat, aware of my dress riding up. I quickly push it back down.
Mikhail notices as he starts the car. “For someone who dances in leotards on the stage, you’re self-conscious about your skin showing.”
“It’s more because I’m alone with you,” I admit. “And thank you. For not dictating my life.” I send each of my sisters and mom a text, letting them know that I’m gone. Mom can explain it all to them when they wake up in the morning.
“I want you to be my wife, Natalya. Not my slave. Now, we’re going to my house first. I have a few wedding dresses picked out for you to choose from.”
“And then we get married?” I ask, breathless.
“And then I make you mine.”