Chapter Eight
Konstantin’s POV
The ceremony was as stark as the living room of this safehouse.
There were no tender flowers or any music playing.
It was just vows and nothing more. We didn’t even exchange rings.
The officiating priest was flown in to conduct the vows, be compensated, then flown out again immediately after.
Since Alexei was in Norway, it made sense to invite him to be a witness.
Sergei was my best man and, although there was no one to stand in as bridesmaid (or whatever they called it these days) beside Alina, she owned the space in front of me. She didn’t need any support to look in control, and I couldn’t deny the fact that I was intrigued yet again.
Moments after, I still thought of how Alina’s ‘I do’ sounded not like surrender but a challenge.
Of course, I had seen her stand her ground at Roman’s house, but this was an entirely different situation.
It was marriage, something I was sure wasn’t casual to her.
She had been pulled into a web of suspicion and a union she never would have wanted, and she still acted like all was fine, like she was in charge.
The thought started a pulse of heat in me that I didn’t want to name.
We added our signatures to the marriage certificate, and a round of applause marked the finality of the wedding.
We were married. Alina was now my wife.
“Congratulations,” Alexei muttered, his hand slapping my shoulder. “Or condolences.”
I chuckled, my mind on Alina, who was slipping into the adjoining room, her face pale but composed.
My first thought was to go after her. But I asked myself if I’d have a reason to give if she asked me why I followed her. There was nobody here that we needed to put on a show for, so I couldn’t use that as an excuse.
Why do I even feel the urge to follow her in the first place?
“Boss, congratulations,” Sergei greeted, a hint of a smile on his face.
“Not you too,” I answered, taking my eyes away from the entrance of the adjoining room. “You know what this is about.”
“Still,” he started, shrugging. “It’s your wedding. Besides, who knows what this can turn into? Bad circumstances birth good outcomes sometimes. You both might decide it’s an alliance you want to keep,” he opined before saying, “I should go handle the priest’s departure.”
Of course, he was talking about the typical alliances in the mafia world. The ones where a mafia boss married a woman for her family’s status and the potential alliances of both families. It might be unusual in the outside world, but it was the norm in my world.
So why does the idea not sound so good to me right now?
If a mafia boss wanted love, he could have that with any of his mistresses—that, too, was a norm.
My brothers were some of the very few mafia bosses who ended up having real marriages.
But I wouldn’t dare hope for that. While we all belonged to the same world, I belonged to a continent that was the direct opposite of theirs.
My eyes flicked to the adjoining room again.
Why do I need an excuse?
I can go wherever I please.
So I went into the adjoining room before I could think of another reason why I shouldn’t be following her. The low sounds of conversations and laughter were swallowed up in silence as I entered the room.
Alina braced herself against the window ledge at the far end of the room.
She looked outside the window, like the view was something more interesting than the grass and shrubs I knew were there.
For the first time, I saw a crack in her composure.
It was a discovery that should make me feel good, like a winner.
But it didn’t, for a reason I didn’t know.
Instead, it made me keep walking until I got to her.
She blinked, and I knew she was aware of my presence.
That was when I saw that her hands were trembling.
“Are you okay?”
“Being married under duress is not okay!” she lashed out.
But beneath her anger was an air of something fragile, like it was just dawning on her what she had stepped into.
Why am I thinking about whatever it is that she feels?
And why the fuck does it make me feel this uneasy?
“This is the only way to keep you alive. How many times do I have to tell you that?” I spat back bluntly. “Well, if you wish to die, let me know. All I have to do is throw you out on the streets since you’re already a wanted woman in the whole of Russia.”
Her head whipped towards me, and her eyes dilated.
“Siroc Antonov,” she declared, her eyes flashing with barely muted anger. “You don’t even remember who you killed, do you?”
Her accusation sliced through the silence like a blade. I remembered the guy now, but she was right. I had really forgotten.
I don’t keep a list of the people whose lives I have ended.
I swallowed.
“The world we live in has no innocence,” I remarked, my voice matching the coldness of my gaze.
I turned around and left, ignoring the tiny funny feeling in my chest with every step I took away from her.
“You’ll be moving upstairs,” I proclaimed over my shoulder as I approached the threshold.
“Why?” she retorted before my statement had even landed.
“Why wouldn’t you want to leave that room?” I questioned, partly baffled as I turned around to face her. “I’m sure you’re not so eager to share my room.”
“What a miracle, right?” she taunted, a bitter laugh emanating from her lips. “A woman doesn’t want to stay in the same room with the almighty, sexy Konstantin.”
I inclined my head to the side, my anger melting into something else. “Did you just call me sexy?”
She blinked repeatedly like she just realized it, too. Then she half-rolled her eyes as she answered, “No, I do not intend to ever share your room. I’m asking why I have to move since the reality of things remains the same.”
With a small chuckle, I left the room.
It shouldn’t have any effect on me that someone indirectly paid me a compliment while calling my bluff. But it did.
Thank goodness I don’t have to confess that to anyone.
Worse, beyond the elation I felt, I was turned on—and that was my second reason for leaving.
If I didn’t leave, I might have been forced to notice how her lower lip was slightly fuller than her upper lip and how the cream dress melded smoothly with her skin.
My eyes might have mistakenly lingered on the front of her dress and the warmth in her eyes.
I was just about to enter my office when I heard Alexei call, “Konstantin, the latest groom.”
I opened the door, and he followed me in.
“She’s beautiful, though,” he remarked, taking a seat on the couch by the left side of my desk. “When you said she was a nurse, I expected an uptight woman.”
“Yeah, you said that already, Alexei,” I pointed out as I shed my suit jacket and sat in my leather chair behind my desk.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did,” I argued. “She was right beside me as we walked to the chapel.”
“I didn’t say she was beautiful then,” he clarified. “I said she was a looker.”
“And that has a different meaning?”
“I’m not even going to try explaining it to you. You definitely won’t get it,” he concluded. “So, has any move been made so far?”
“Nothing new. Although I expect that to change in the next few days.”
“Viktor and the others still have no idea?”
“Nope. I’ll tell them when we get there.”
“As long as you don’t mention my presence here. I’d rather deal with anything but Viktor’s anger or Mikhail’s blame. Not even Roman’s annoyance,” he mentioned.
“Well, it can’t be kept a secret,” I uttered, chuckling.
“Right. I’d better brace myself for the trouble Konstantin has dragged me into.”
“Shut up. I didn’t drag you here, did I?”
“I had to stand by my brother for such a big moment,” he defended jokingly.
“How’s your business going?” I inquired.
“Fine, actually. With the government going lax on regulations lately, it’s been okay. How’s it going with you?” he uttered, sitting up.
“Hmm. It’s been okay,” I answered. “We’re sighting a potential problem with one of the routes. Traffickers are beginning to frequent the road.”
“Eh, that makes it a target if their cover is blown,” he pointed out.
“Precisely,” I confirmed. “So, we’re looking at stopping them. Blow the trucks open. Free the victims and send them a message. Threaten them with media attention and force them to reroute.”
“Okay. But, if these people are connected to the higher-ups, it might blow up, you know? They might want to stake a claim on the route, especially if it gives them any kind of advantage in their business.”
“The plan is to lead them to believe we’re private guys. A detective bureau or a humanitarian society. Something like that.”
“Well, that’s smart. That gives them a reason to hold their horses.”
“That’s the idea. So, you think it’s a good strategy?”
“As long as the attack would be on a small scale but with a huge impact, it’s a good one.”
I nodded.
“I’ll head back later in the afternoon from St. Petersburg. I would have suggested a good time at one of my favorite clubs in Moscow, but it’s not your scene, so enjoy your first married day alone.”
“Right.”
**********
Again, I couldn’t sleep.
I gave up trying to catch sleep and walked out of my bedroom. As I wandered the hallway, I noticed rays of light from under the library door. I went over to the door and opened it.
My eyes immediately landed on Alina.
She stood by the window, barefoot, moonlight shining in her copper hair.
Without thinking, I entered the room and kept walking until I was right in her personal space.
She gazed up at me. But she didn’t step back.