Chapter 19
Dmitri
I stand outside the restaurant with a small army of guards, staring at the entrance like it might swallow me whole.
I’m supposed to be meeting Annika and Artur, enduring dinner with them.
I don’t want to walk in there. Not yet.
When I first started talking to the vor v zakone and Artur about striking up a deal, there wasn’t a lot of emphasis put on what the marriage would look like between me and the mobster’s daughter. The marriage was supposed to be a formality. A signature. A photo op. Nothing more.
I didn’t expect Annika to be so eager about being my wife, and I certainly didn’t expect her to pitch a fit about so many damn things. We haven’t even gotten to the wedding yet, and we’re already arguing constantly.
We haven’t even set a date, and I already dread the wedding.
I don’t know what to do. My men want this alliance with the Suyunovs. Our expansion depends on it. This is what Mikhail came to Vegas for over a year ago, and now it’s up to me to make it happen.
“Fuck.” I sigh before forcing myself to walk into the expensive steakhouse.
The hostess points me in the right direction, and I find Annika and her father seated at a round table toward the back of the restaurant under the golden glow of a chandelier in the center of the room.
This is Annika’s world. Crystal, chandeliers, triple-digit steaks. This is the level of luxury she’ll expect every night from me for the rest of our lives. God forbid I want pizza or takeout once in a while.
Annika spots me first and waves me over, her body draped in a silver dress that shimmers under the lights. She stands from her seat and holds her hand out to me. “Hi, honey.”
I take her hand and kiss the top of it, going through the motions in front of her father who watches me like a hawk. I release her hand and sit to her left so that I’m across the table from Artur.
“Good to see you, Dmitri,” Artur says as he leans forward to shake my hand. “We’ve been overdue for dinner.”
I don’t agree with that in the slightest. Unfortunately, I have to play by his rules for now.
We have enough enemies to deal with as it is.
“I take it you’ve increased security measures?” he asks.
“Of course,” I agree. “More men than you can count are currently ensuring our safety tonight.”
While the entourage will likely raise some eyebrows and questions about my position in the Bratva, it’s the smart move to protect Annika. She may be a pain in my ass, but I don’t want her death on my conscience.
Once we have some wine and order appetizers, I take a long sip from my glass and try to settle in for dinner. After being rejected by Cara today, all I wanted to do was go home, sulk, and figure out another plan to make her mine.
“So, as we were discussing on the phone earlier, Annika would like your input more on the wedding planning. Starting by setting a date,” Artur tells me. “I figure we could talk about some of those details now since we’re all here.”
Annika gives him a wide, excited smile before turning to me, her hand clamping down on mine on the surface of the table. “It’s your wedding too, honey. You should want to have a say.”
As much as I want to argue, I refrain from it.
“Sure,” I say. “What wedding plans did you want to talk about?”
“Everything!” Annika replies before grabbing her phone and showing me a horde of different pictures of venues, flowers, dresses, cakes, and a million other wedding things.
I nod while she scrolls, letting her talk my ear off about how disappointed she was that I missed the cake tasting and how she doesn’t know whether to choose the raspberry filling or the almond flavor. It’s hard for me to figure out when to even jump in, and her father stares at me all the while.
“I can help you choose the cake flavor,” I tell her. “I’m not a big fan of raspberries, so the almond will probably be the best.”
To my surprise, Annika pouts. “But I like the raspberry filling. If you were there to taste it, you would’ve seen how good it is.”
My jaw aches from being clenched in frustration as I stare at her.
“We’ll come back to the cake,” Annika replies as she waves her hand dismissively. “Let’s talk about flowers.”
I get through three glasses of wine, some bacon-wrapped scallops and spinach dip, and a ribeye by the time Annika finally slows down on the wedding talk.
My mind is a little hazy at this point from the alcohol and exhaustion, and I can already tell that this wedding is going to suck the life out of my bank account.
“Do we really need a champagne fountain?” I ask her as the waiter takes away our empty plates.
Annika lets out a laugh of disbelief. “Of course, we do. Daddy, have you been to any weddings without a champagne fountain?”
“No, sweetie,” Artur replies as he leans back in his seat, his round stomach looking even more prominent now that he took down a whole steak.
“This wedding can’t look cheap. No one will believe our marriage if it looks cheap,” Annika tells me. “Besides, it’s the only wedding we’ll ever have. We should make it as big and amazing as possible!”
The only wedding that I’ll ever have.
The only woman I’ll ever get to have.
Those words hit me like a sucker punch, leaving me spiraling. It’s hard enough that the woman I want won’t let me have her because I’m about to be married. Judging from all her flirting and choice of attire, I thought she wouldn’t have an issue with a fling—a simple, single transaction.
Cara’s known for a while now that I’m getting married.
She knows how badly I want her.
But she drew a line I can’t cross. And it’s driving me insane.
“Champagne fountain it is,” I reply before finishing off the last sip of my wine, my head growing hazier.
“Yay!” Annika says before turning to her father. “This will be the most incredible wedding that this city has ever seen!”
“We probably shouldn’t draw too much attention to ourselves,” I tell her.
“Why not?” Artur questions me as he narrows his eyes. “Are you ashamed of marrying my little girl?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“No, of course not,” I say, feeling the weight of both of their glares on me. “I only say that for safety and security reasons. We don’t want an attack to be staged at the wedding.”
Artur gradually settles down. “I suppose you’re right, but we’ll have plenty of security. Nothing bad will happen on my daughter’s special day. We’ll make sure of that.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Annika tells him with a glowing smile. She then grabs my hand and squeezes it hard. “We should look over the guest list together too. No female friends on your side. And I don’t want your little assistant or secretary to come either.”
My jaw tenses. “I wouldn’t invite my assistant or secretary to my wedding.”
I’d never force Cara to sit through that train wreck, and it wouldn’t do me any good to see her sitting in the pews either.
Annika’s eyes sharpen a degree. “Just making sure. I want my wedding to be perfect, and I don’t want to worry about any whores making a scene.”
The fact that she just called Cara a whore pisses me off, but I can’t explode on her in front of her father. If she ever spoke that word in front of Cara…I don’t know what I’d do.
“Everything will be fine,” I assure her. “Invite whoever you want. Take off whoever you want. I don’t care.”
“You should care, Dmitri,” Artur tells me before gesturing to Annika. “This is your wife. You need to work together and put effort into your marriage.”
I’m not going to be able to win with him.
“I hear you,” I reply with a nod. “I was just saying that I want her to be happy. I’m fine with whatever pleases her.”
Annika holds my arm and smiles at me in a sickeningly sweet way that makes me want to vomit.
“I think you two will be happy together,” Artur says, lifting his glass to us before finishing his wine.
“Me too, Daddy,” Annika replies before shifting her eyes to mine. “We’re just learning how to love each other.”
I almost laugh out loud. Learning how to love each other? There’s no love in this arrangement.
Only money and opportunity.
“Dmitri, you’ll pick up the check this time, won’t you?” Artur tells me as he hands me the check.
I love paying for a thousand-dollar dinner that I didn’t even want to attend. But I do it without complaint because I want to get the hell out of here.
“Are we leaving already?” Annika asks once I pay the check and stand from the table.
“It’s been a long day,” I reply as I glance toward the front of the restaurant where I can finally escape and go home.
Artur checks the time on his gold watch. “Oh, it’s still early. Why don’t we stop by one of my establishments and have another drink? There’s still plenty to talk about.”
I’d tear my damn hair out if they weren’t staring at me expectantly right now. But I do want a closer look at his businesses to figure out how I can best use them. After all, they’ll be mine someday.
“Sure, I can do one more drink,” I tell Artur before motioning for him to lead the way.
Annika immediately glues herself to my side, her fingers tightening around my bicep as we walk past the hostess. If she’s going to act possessive every time I’m in the same vicinity as another woman, she’s going to exhaust herself.
When we step out into the night, the first thing I think about isn’t the alliance.
It’s Cara.
I should be thinking about expansion. Instead, I’m thinking about her mouth, and running out of self-control.
Soon, I’m going to have to make a fucking final decision.
And I have a feeling that I won’t be choosing marriage.