55
IVAN
I meet Katerina at the top of the driveway in front of the mansion. Just like I told Konstantin I would.
She’s wearing a satin gown that must have fit her at some point, but it hangs off of her frail shoulders now. Her arms are thin and her cheeks are sunken in. It is definitely Katerina walking towards me, but all I see is Cora.
And not Cora as she was just a few hours ago when I fucked her on my desk like I’d never get to do it again. The Cora I see superimposed over Katerina is Cora as she was in that photo of her from the paper, her bony arm wrapped around Mikhail’s. A wilted Cora. A dying Cora. It was like touching him drained the life from her.
I see that same mute horror in Katerina’s face.
One day, I’m going to kill them all for what they’ve done to these innocent women.
“How did you convince him to let you talk to me alone?” Katerina asks when I’m close enough to hear her quiet murmur.
I ignore her question. “If you have a wire, tell me now.”
“I don’t have a—”
“Give me a signal,” I demand, stopping a few feet away. “One he can’t see.”
She glances over her shoulder, looking back at the car idling at the base of the drive. I know Konstantin is inside watching our every move. It was a condition of this meeting. The other condition was that we wouldn’t be recorded.
She holds out her arms and lets them fall to her sides. “I don’t have a wire. If I did, I’d wink or something. But I don’t. It’s just the two of us.”
Just the two of us and the dozen-plus Sokolov soldiers hiding in my bushes.
“How did you convince him to let you talk to me alone?” Katerina asks again.
“I didn’t need to convince him,” I growl. “No matter what your father tells you, I have the upper hand. He needs this deal more than I do. I can do whatever I want.”
She shakes her head sadly. “If that was true, neither of us would be here right now. I’d be an ocean away from these people.”
Tears well in her puffy eyes. She’s done a lot of crying the last few days; that much is obvious. I reach out and squeeze her shoulder. I never wanted to marry Katerina, but I always liked her. She was a hell of a lot better than anyone else in her disgusting family.
“I’m going to get you out of here and back home. You just have to trust me.”
“I do trust you, Ivan. Or at least, I trust that you’re better than the men in my family. You tried to do the right thing by me even when you didn’t have to. But here we are again and I’m not sure even you can get me out this time.”
“My plan doesn’t depend on you being sure. I just need you to stay out of my way.”
“What plan? What are you going to do?”
“There is more than your life on the line here,” I say softly. I trust she doesn’t have a wire on, but I’m not going to take any unnecessary risks. Not with this. “Follow my lead and I’ll get you where you want to go. Do you understand?”
Katerina stares at me for a few seconds, pondering. Then she leans in. “I’m not marrying you or anyone else. I never wanted that. I want to be on my own. Independent. Whatever your plan is, take that into account.”
I nod. “Already done.”
“And when I leave, I’m taking my sisters with me,” she adds in quickly.
Harder to manage, but not impossible. Given the way Konstantin keeps trying to sell them off to the highest bidder, it’s probably a good idea. “I’ll do my best.”
She obviously doesn’t love that answer, but it’s all she’s going to get. “Thank you, Ivan.”
I press a hand to her lower back and walk her towards the front door—the sign to Konstantin that our conversation is over. “Don’t thank me yet. Save it for later. When you’re free.”
Katerina and I are standing in the entryway when Konstantin and Mikhail walk through the front door.
Mikhail’s face twists into a smirk. “Well, aren’t you two a pretty picture? Together at long last.”
On second thought, fuck the plan. I’ll skip dinner and kill him now.
“Enough.” Konstantin elbows past his son and looks from Katerina to me. “Have you made your decision, Ivan?”
“I told you I’d have an answer for you at dinner, didn’t I?” I snap.
His brows raise, waiting. “And?”
Before I can tell Konstantin that I’ll gut him before I let him come into my house and demand answers from me, the doorbell rings. Mikhail is closest to the door, so he spins around and throws it open… to reveal Francia.
Mikhail’s eyebrows hit his hairline. I just sigh. I’ve stopped being surprised when she pops up. She’s like a fucking cockroach.
“Oh. Mikhail…” Her eyes narrow before she struts past him into my house. “Am I late?”
“You can’t be late if you weren’t invited.”
Konstantin steps in front of Francia to box her out. “You aren’t part of this deal.”
“I was until you cut me out. You broke your word, but I won’t break mine. I said I’d be here until the end, so here I am.” She picks lint off the shoulder of her black dress like everything is la-di-fucking-da, but her hand is shaking. “What happens here tonight concerns me. I’m staying.”
“Get out, Francia,” Mikhail barks. “You lost. It’s over.”
Francia is ready to face off with the Sokolovs in my foyer, but it’s a waste of time. I know how this ends for all of them. As far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier.
Besides, none of them should be here. If the Sokolov Bratva was just a touch more inexperienced, I’d kill them all where they stand and be done with it. But they are a genuine threat, even with their meager resources. I won’t throw my men into a war if I can avoid it.
“Everyone is staying,” I announce. “Go to the dining room. Grab some champagne.”
“What are we toasting to?” Francia asks.
I slide my arm around Katerina’s shoulders and smile. “A new beginning.”
Katerina goes rigid, but her family and Francia are all too thrilled to notice. Konstantin thinks I’m marrying his daughter. Mikhail and Francia are both looking around like they expect Cora to be wheeled out to them on a silver platter.
You better celebrate now, I think. It won’t last long.
Katerina and I lead the way to the dining room, where flutes of champagne are waiting on a tray. I take one and gesture for everyone else to follow suit.
It’s a hell of a scene. A room full of enemies sitting in a circle and sipping champagne. Completely unaware of the noose tightening around their necks.
I stand at the head of the table, glass in hand. “I know we’ve all had our troubles. There’s a lot of history here. Betrayals and partnerships alike. Secrets and lies aplenty. I brought you all here because I want to start this next phase of my life on the right foot.”
Konstantin raises his glass in cautious agreement. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good. I’m glad you agree with me.” I step back from the table just as the doors behind me open.
I don’t need to see Yasha and Lev to know they’re there. They’re standing on either side of the kitchen doors, waiting. Konstantin’s eyes dart between them and me, trying to get a read on the situation.
“Not that it matters either way,” I continue. “I don’t give a fuck about your feelings or whether you agree with me. It would just make things simpler if you did.”
Mikhail points to the door behind me. “What are they doing here? You said security would stay outside.”
“Your security would stay outside. This is my house. If you thought I’d be unarmed while you walk in here making demands, you’re even dumber than you look.”
Konstantin lurches to his feet. “This is against the spirit of the arrangement.”
“And kidnapping the woman I love was in the spirit?” I snap.
Konstantin frowns. I can practically see the gears churning in his head. Am I talking about Katerina? Or someone else?
So many people kidnapped. Who could possibly keep track?
“If you can’t honor the conditions you required, then we’ll leave,” he spits. “You can’t marry my daughter and treat her family like this.”
Katerina is doing exactly what I asked her to do. She’s sitting quietly and staying out of my way. If only her father and brother were as accommodating.
They both step toward the door as if there is a chance in hell I’d let them walk away.
“Sit the fuck down, both of you. You’re not going anywhere. I haven’t even made my announcement yet.”
“With the way things are going, I don’t think I want to hear it,” Konstantin seethes. “I’ve waited a long time for this, Ivan. For you to follow through with your commitment. If we’re going to be family, then—”
“That is where I’ll stop you, Konstantin. You’re wasting your breath. We will never be family. I won’t marry Katerina.”
Konstantin exhales sharply. “You’ve made your decision then.”
“There was no decision to make. I can’t marry her.”
“Can’t?” he asks. “Or won’t?”
Konstantin is looking at me like he wants to impale me on the wall. Mikhail is searching for an exit. The rat wants to flee, but there is nowhere to go. Not until I release them. If I release them.
“Can’t,” I repeat. “I can’t marry Katerina—or anyone else, for that matter. It’s too late.”
I extend my arm out, champagne flute held lightly in my hand. I only have to wait a few seconds before delicate fingers slip around the stem.
I revel in their stunned silence.
Cora does, too. I can see her out of the corner of my eye, head held high, shoulders back. She is sheer grace as she presses the glass to her lips and drinks. Just like I told her to.
She tips the champagne back slowly, letting the light reflect off the glistening diamond on her ring finger.
I take her other hand in mine and face my guests. “I’m already married.”