Prince (King of the Mafia #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Maksim

Going to Chicago to make an arranged marriage deal is not the highlight of my day. In fact, it’s my worst nightmare.

Because I’m the one who’s a part of this arranged marriage deal and if it pans out, that means I’ll have to marry a woman I’ve never met. Hell, one I’ve never even seen before.

“Do I really have to do this?” I grumble to Nikolai, one of my best friends and high ranking Bratva official. I’m almost as high as he is in the Bratva but not quite. Not when my father is still alive and knowing my dad, he’ll never step down from his position as long as he’s alive.

Honestly, it’s fine by me. I’m the type of person who likes to party and have fun. I don’t love too much responsibility as it gives me more freedom. I know how much Nikolai is tied to his job. It’s a miracle he has such a good relationship with his wife, Irina, given how much he works.

“Yes,” Nik responds as we approach the beautiful mansion in the Chicago suburb.

“We do. We’re going to speak with Lev Sokolov about marrying you to his daughter to prevent a war from happening.

If he agrees, it will save many lives. And I need you here, Maksim.

He needs to see the man his daughter will marry, otherwise he’ll be more inclined to say no.

So do this. It’s your job. And I’m not giving you a way out. ”

I glance over at my father, Gregor, on the other side of Nik. Gregor only nods, silently telling me to make him proud. At thirty, I’ve worked most of my life to make him proud of me but it’s never quite worked. He’s always seen me as too much of a fuck-up. This will change things.

I have to agree to this since I don’t want a war either.

A few weeks ago, Nikolai killed a man, Alexei Smirnov, an enemy who tried killing him.

Alexei has contacts around the country that weren’t too happy to find out he had gone missing and it wasn’t hard to figure out who had done it.

Lev was one of Alexei’s contacts – the most powerful one.

Even though he works out of Chicago and we work in New York, he has power that extends far.

Getting Lev on our side would be the best outcome.

It just requires a sacrifice.

Me.

I keep my mouth closed as we reach the front door. Nik set this meeting in motion and I can’t do anything to fuck it up, even though marrying someone I’ve never met sounds horrible. What if I can’t stand her? What if she’s ugly? What if she’s boring or mean or just plain awful?

I guess I’m going to find out.

A maid opens the door and motions us inside. “Mr. Sokolov is in the living room, waiting for you. It’s this way.” She leads us to the living room where a stern looking man is seated in a high-back chair. The wrinkles in his forehead are permanently set.

“Lev Sokolov,” Nik says, extending his hand. “I’m Nikolai Volkov. This is Maksim Petrov and his father, Gregor.”

“So which one of you is going to marry my daughter?”

Nik blinks before clearing his throat. “This one.” He nods at me.

“Maksim. He’s high ranking within the Bratva.

Holds a lot of power in New York. It would be a good business opportunity for you to be sided with us.

I know you once worked with Alexei but he wasn’t going to offer you any expansion opportunities but with us, you’ll be the most powerful man in all of Chicago if we work together. ”

“I’m already powerful.”

“With all due respect,” I cut in, “why were you working with Alexei then? He was an idiot. Put himself in danger when he didn’t need to. Started a war when he didn’t need to. Is that what you wanted?”

Nik and my father give me a surprised look. They never expected I would help in this situation but I’m more mature than they give me credit for. I may not want this marriage but I will not let any man talk down to my best friend. I will not be responsible for a war.

Lev doesn’t reply but he looks like he’s considering my words.

“We have more power than Alexei ever did in New York,” my father explains. “By combining our forces, we’d all benefit. This is why we propose a deal. My son marries your daughter to ensure peace. It would keep all of us in line.”

“Give my daughter over to the enemy?”

“We’re not the enemy,” Nik says.

“But you killed Alexei, who was my business partner.”

Nik sighs. “Alexei was impulsive. He came after me and I had to do what I had to do to save my wife’s life.

Wouldn’t you do anything to save your daughter’s life?

If you attack us for Alexei’s death, your daughter will only get hurt in the process.

Do you want that? But if we marry her to Maksim, who I can assure you will never hurt her, then you’ll gain more power you’ve never even dreamed of. ”

Lev looks me straight in the eye. “You won’t hurt her?”

“I won’t,” I promise. “I have no desire to hurt women.” Only fuck them and have fun with them but Lev doesn’t need to know that. I’m guessing once I’m married, my womanizing ways will have to be done.

“You know this is a good deal,” Gregor says. “We’ve come to your home, unarmed. You could have hurt us if you wanted to but you didn’t because you know we’re right. Let’s make this happen.”

Lev rubs his chin for a long loment before he stands up and looks at each of us with a glare. I’m sure he’s going to say no… but then he extends his hand. To me. “I’ll marry my daughter to you.”

Nik and my father stare at me hard when I don’t move. It’s up to me to shake Lev’s hand. To make peace for everyone.

Gritting my teeth, I place my hand in Lev’s and shake it. Done. It’s official. I will be marrying a stranger.

“So, can I meet your daughter?” I ask. “Since we’ll be married after all.”

“No,” Lev says, pulling his hand away. “You’ll meet her on the day of the wedding. I don’t want anything to compromise her honor. She’s an innocent in this world.”

“When will the wedding take place?” Gregor asks before I can say something I’ll regret. I won’t get to meet Natasha until the day of the wedding? This is the worst outcome.

“In a few weeks. We’ll host it here in Chicago to prove to me that you’re on my side.”

“Great,” Nik says. “We’ll go over the details more later.”

“Good. Now, leave my house. I don’t like having multiple Bratva men inside of it when my daughter is home.”

My eyes flick up to the ceiling. So Natasha, my future wife, is somewhere in this house. All I want to do is meet her but I can’t risk this plan falling apart. I’m going to have to wait until the wedding to meet her. I won’t have time to prepare. To come to terms with who she is.

It’s all going to be a mystery and I have no choice but to stay quiet on the matter.

“Of course,” Nik says. “We’ll be leaving. Thank you, Lev. For this.”

“Don’t make me regret marrying my daughter to your man.”

“I will not.” Nik gives me a hard look. “Right, Maksim?”

I offer a smile that is purely fake. “Yes. You won’t regret it.” I just hope that it’s a promise I can keep.

We make it back to New York the following day. Even though I have my own apartment, my father insists I come over to his house to talk business. All I want is to have a drink and forget that I’m marrying a stranger but I know my father will not let me.

“I am proud of how you handled yourself in there,” he says as we settle in his home office. It’s dark wood and smells like leather. My father always had an old-fashioned style for things whereas my home office is much more minimalist. Modern.

“Thank you.”

“I was worried you’d throw a fit.”

I grit my teeth. “I am thirty, dad. I’m not going to throw a fit like a toddler.”

“You never know. With you, I can’t tell sometimes.”

I’ve never thrown fits like my father claims. It’s just that he’s the type of person who expects perfection and if you’re not that way, he claims you’re acting immature.

The door of his office opens and a young woman bursts inside. My sister, Kira.

“You’re back home,” she says, shooting both me and my dad an annoyed look. “Why didn’t you tell me? You promised you’d bring back a present for me and I was waiting.”

“Ah, yes.” Gregor picks up a small box he bought when we were in Chicago. “Here you go, darling.”

Kira saunters over and grabs the box, opening it greedily. She squeals when she sees what’s inside. “It’s beautiful, daddy. Thank you.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek before she picks up the earrings inside the box and attaches them to her ears. “How do I look?”

“Like the perfect princess you are.”

Unlike how my father treats me, he treats Kira like she can do no wrong.

At twenty, she’s a force to be reckoned with now and my father spoiling her doesn’t help.

She’s not allowed to date given our father’s rules, especially after how he saw his men looking at her at a recent event he threw.

With her blonde hair – a stark contrast to my brown – and her cheery smile, she draws the attention of men.

I know Gregor is trying to keep her on a leash by spoiling her for as long as he can.

If Kira is happy, then she’ll have no reason to act out.

“Thanks, daddy.” Kira turns to me. “Did you get me anything?”

“I don’t need to buy you presents. I’m your brother.”

She pouts. “You still could have bought me something.”

“Sorry. I was a little busy making a deal to marry a woman I’ve never met. You understand.”

Kira’s eyes widen. Her head whips back and forth as she looks between me and our father. “What?”

“Maksim is getting married, darling.”

“To who?”

“To a stranger,” I say right as Gregor says, “Natasha Sokolov.”

“Who?”

“Her father, Lev, works in Chicago,” Gregor says, shooting me an annoyed look that I ignore. “He has power. It’s a good way to keep the peace.”

“Did you meet her? What does she look like? I mean, this is all happening so fast.”

“No, I didn’t meet her,” I say, getting to my feet. “And I’m not going to until the wedding. Now, we’re done here. I’m going home to rest. I need it.” I leave the office before my father can stop me.

Kira follows me to the front door. “Maksim, are you ok?” Despite how much our father spoils her, she can still be sweet when she wants to be.

“I’ll be fine. Just have the weight of the world on my shoulders right now. No big deal.”

“I’m worried. If Dad is willing to marry you off to make a deal, when will he do that to me? I know I’m twenty. I’m of a marrying age. I knew this day would come.”

I try to give my sister as reassuring of a smile as I can but judging by her expression, I know I fucked that up too. “You’re off the hook. For now. It’s me who has to do this. And I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Just focus on the pretty earrings Dad gave you.”

She frowns but doesn’t say a word as I leave the house. I really need a fucking drink to get through all of this.

In just a few weeks, I’ll marry a woman I’ve never met.