Chapter 2 - Maria
Kicking at the closed bedroom door, I yell as loud as I can, even though I know it isn’t going to achieve anything.
I’m sick and tired of sitting here doing nothing. I’m going crazy with boredom and frustration.
Less than a week ago, I was at home in Detroit. It’s where I’ve lived all my life with my brother, Misha. Until four days ago, when my entire world got flipped, confusingly upside-down.
I’ve known Artur for many years. Not so much in this last year, since he and my brother had some big falling out, but before that, they were best friends. Practically inseparable. He was always over at our house and seemed like part of the family.
But now the man has clearly lost his freaking mind.
He came into my bedroom, in my home in Detroit, and literally kidnapped me.
Misha was away for business, and somehow Artur managed to get past all the guards. He took me right out of my home and dragged me to Chicago.
He locked me up in this bedroom in what I assume is his mansion, and then that asshole just vanished.
I haven’t seen him since. I’ve been completely alone with one security guard delivering a plate of food twice a day.
That’s it.
I have no idea what I’m doing here, or what he wants from me.
I kick the door again and scream for Artur to let me out.
The first day I was locked in here, I screamed for hours. My throat was raw, and I was exhausted, but it didn’t achieve anything. When the guard came to bring me dinner, I begged and pleaded, but he didn’t say a word to me.
He never speaks. I can insult him, swear at him, be sweet as sugar, throw pillows at him…he hardly reacts at all.
Where the hell is Artur? What does he want with me?
The sound of the door unlocking has me leaping to my feet and standing at the foot of the bed, ready to try and communicate with the guard again. But to my surprise, when the door swings open, it’s Artur standing there.
My heart leaps into my throat as anger spikes through me.
“How dare you!” I shout, stomping my foot and fighting tears. Whenever I get really angry, I cry. It’s embarrassing because I want to look powerful or scary, but I just end up looking like a stupid girl with tears on her cheeks.
Artur smiles at me. Can you believe it? He smiles. It’s cold and unfriendly, but a smile nonetheless.
“How are you, Maria?” he asks, wandering into the room.
“How am I? Are you serious? I’m horrible. I’ve been kidnapped. I’ve been isolated for days. I’m going crazy, and I want to go home!”
He saunters over to me and stands right in front of me.
Dammit, he’s tall. I have to crane my neck back to glare at him.
He watches me with those coffee-brown eyes and his shaggy, dark chocolate-colored hair long enough to hang over his brows.
He’s also beautiful. When he was friends with Misha, I had a massive crush on him.
But that was then, and this is now. And right now, I’m so furious that it agitates me; my mind still wants to think of him as sexy.
I press my lips together and clench my fists.
“What do you want with me, Artur?” I snap, tearing my eyes from him.
He cups his hand beneath my chin and forces me to look at him.
My heartbeat quickens, and I huff, scrunching my nose and pulling a sour face when he won’t let me jerk my head away.
“You’re still so cute when you’re angry,” he taunts, the smile gone.
“My brother warned me about you,” I blurt out. “He told me you turned cruel and evil and that I should watch out for you.”
“Oh no, he warned you? Should I be offended?” he mutters, letting me go and turning his back on me.
“Whatever is going on between you and Misha has nothing to do with me, Artur. Let me go. Deal directly with my brother,” I demand.
“What? You don’t like being my guest here?” he quips.
I roll my eyes. He’s impossible to speak to.
I used to try and flirt with him when they were friends, and his response was always sarcastic or taunting.
I guess some things never change.
My eyes drift over his tall, muscled frame. He’s the tallest guy I know, by a considerable amount. The kind of tall where he has to duck slightly to walk through the doorframe. The kind of tall that I guess girls dream about when they imagine their perfect man.
I scoff, and Artur turns to glare at me.
“Something amusing you, little Maria?” he asks with a low growl in his voice that sends a tingle through my body.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my jokes to myself. You never did have a great sense of humor,” I say, feeling bitchy and wanting to annoy him like he’s annoying me.
He seems to skim over being annoyed and shoot straight to feverish anger.
Artur takes two long-legged strides, and in the blink of an eye, he’s standing over me again. I gasp in fright at the daunting darkness of his eyes.
“Humor?” he scoffs. “How’s this for a funny joke…you’re about to get married. Every girl’s dream, right? Their wedding day? Well, surprise. Yours is today. Right now, in fact.”
His words hover somewhere in my brain, but don’t register.
Married?
No. What?
I stammer and trip over my thoughts. “I’m not getting married,” I whisper in confusion. “Who am I supposed to be marrying? You?”
“Yes, me and—oh, I hear them now. Your other husbands have arrived,” he says, turning toward the door.
“Husbands? Plural?” What the hell is he talking about?
“Three other Pakhans,” he says without any further explanation.
“I’m not marrying anyone, Artur, so you can…
.” My words trail off as three men walk into the room.
Suddenly, I feel small and vulnerable. They’re all clearly powerful men, bulky, tall, wearing expensive custom-made suits.
I bite my lip and stare in stunned silence, trying to take everything in all at once.
“Maria, this is Benedikt Ronkov,” Artur says, gesturing to a bear-like man who is so broad and bulky he looks solid enough to stop a truck. He has bright green eyes and dark blonde hair, and a well-groomed beard over his square jaw. His gaze, despite his massive appearance, is warm and calm.
“Hello Maria, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says in a deep voice, holding out his hand to shake mine. I’m so stunned, I automatically shake his hand. His skin is calloused from work, but his touch is gentle.
When he smiles at me, my heart skips a beat, and I get lost in those green eyes for a moment.
The bear steps away, and Artur gestures to the next man. “This is Kazimir Petrov,” he says. Kazimir winks at me from where he’s leaning against the doorframe.
“Hi, baby bird,” he says, his voice soothing and deep.
He wanders over to me to get a closer look.
From a mile away, I can read his bad-boy charm and that devilish smile that has probably tricked hundreds of girls into falling for him.
He grins at me. With a carefree glance, his eyes trace over my body, and I swallow hard, wondering what he sees when he looks at my plus-sized curves.
Who gives a shit what he sees or thinks of me?
I’m not marrying any of these guys! I narrow my eyes and shoot him a look that I hope conveys a clear message.
In your dreams, buddy. Except he’s the kind of sexy I would dream about.
Kazimir chuckles, amused by something. His laughter sends a thrill through me, and I have to quickly remind myself that I want nothing to do with him or any of these men.
“And this is Joseph Gregori,” Artur says, cocking his head toward the final man.
Joseph steps closer, his eyes trailing over me, then back up again.
I self-consciously pull my long, wavy hair over my shoulder and thread my fingers through it, needing something to do with my hands.
Joseph’s stare is intense. He makes me feel small, like I’m being reprimanded.
He has a classically handsome face. Clean cut, bright green eyes, blonde hair, and a no-nonsense stare that makes me stand a little straighter.
He nods his head politely, speaking clearly when he says, “Good evening, Maria,” as though he were meeting me at some fancy cocktail party and not here, where I’m being held prisoner against my will.
Every single one of these men is gorgeous in a different way, but there is something obvious I can’t ignore. Every single one of them looks dangerous. The kind of dangerous that I’ve heard whispers about growing up in the mafia.
It’s not like Misha kept the mafia a secret from me, but he did shield me from things. I’ve never been exposed to violence or dangerous situations. He kept me safe.
Until Artur came along.
I let out a sharp huff, and ignoring the other three men, I turn to Artur. “I don’t know what this is about, but I’m not doing it,” I state clearly.
Joseph glances at Artur as well. “What does she mean, she’s not doing it?” he snaps.
Artur smirks. “Don’t worry, she’ll do it. She doesn’t have a choice. The paperwork is ready; all we have to do is sign. The lawyer will be here in two minutes. No fancy parades or procedures. We just sign, and it’s done.”
“What’s done?” I demand, still unwilling to accept what he said earlier.
“The marriage, little Maria,” Artur says impatiently.
I shake my head in disbelief. This can’t really be happening, right? He can’t be serious? I turn to the other three men, trying to read their expressions. They’re watching me with curiosity.
“I’m not marrying any of you,” I blurt out. “Can’t you see I’m a prisoner here? Artur kidnapped me, locked me in this room, and now he’s telling me I’m supposed to marry all four of you! I won’t do it!”
Joseph’s eyes darken, and he spins to confront Artur.
“You didn’t tell me she wasn’t a willing participant. This isn’t what we agreed to,” he snaps.
“I don’t believe we discussed anything about that side of things,” Artur states blandly. “What difference does it make who she is or what she wants? This is our alliance. This is our plan,” he snarls.
My heart races, wondering if Joseph will refuse to go ahead with it. All I need is more time. Something to stall this whole mess. My brother must be close to finding me. He must be close to figuring out where I am and coming to save me.
I turn to Joseph, focusing my energy on him.
“Please,” I say timidly, “I don’t want to do this.”
One of these men has to have a heart. One of these men has to save me!