AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I make the choice not to comment on his lie. Instead, I draw the spotlight to his family.
“Fedot,” I murmur. “I’ve heard a lot about you. A real up-and-comer. I’ve also heard that Dimitri has been favoring you to marry my fiancée.”
“And I heard that she didn’t want to marry you, so you decided to kidnap her instead.” He huffs, getting to his feet. “If you’re a real man, you’ll let her go.”
“Katarina is free to leave or stay,” I reply cooly. “She can do whatever she wants. And guess what? She prefers to stay with me rather than return home.”
“Fucking liar!” Fedot shouts, lunging forward with his fist raised.
Ivan and Peter meet him halfway. They’ve put a gun to his head before he’s made another step.
Boris moves to get up, but Vladimir stops him.
“Just calm down,” Vladimir begs, his eyes pleading for his son’s life. “Fedot and Kata are childhood friends. He cares about her well-being. That’s all.”
I keep my eyes locked on Fedot for a while longer before turning the entire force of my attention back to Boris. “Here’s the deal, and you better accept it because I’ll only offer it once,” I say, my voice cold and formal. “I don’t care whatever agreement you have with Dimitri Sokolov, but it ends now. You don’t pick up the phone. You don’t talk to him. You don’t go anywhere near him or his family. Your partnership’s done. Is that clear?”
Despite the two guns pointed their way, Boris tilts his head back and laughs. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Nikolai, but no one does justice to your sense of humor,” he muses. “You’re a funny guy.”
“I don’t have a sense of humor, Boris,” I murmur and point the gun Ivan hands me toward his crotch. “I know you run strip clubs. I’m sure you like to test the girls yourself. I’d hate to see anything happen to your . . . equipment. Now, let me ask you again. Is that fucking clear?”
Boris glares at me, his gaze burning as he gives his answer.
“Sooner or later, you’ll get what’s coming to you,” he finally mutters. “You have more enemies than friends.”
“Is that what you think?” I wonder out loud. “Well, if that’s so, I’ll share a little secret with you, just to show that there are no hard feelings.” I lean my elbows on my desk. “I have plenty of friends infiltrated deep inside your tacky clubs. One word from me, and they’ll burn your businesses to the ground along with the slimy patrons inside them.”
Silence descends, seconds ticking by slowly, as if time itself is getting on my nerves. I don’t want to indulge Boris any longer. This conversation’s far from over, but I’m calling it to an end for now.
“Keep your brother in check,” I say to Vladimir, recognizing him as the smarter of the two. I then turn to Fedot. “And you—you better forget about Kata. She’s mine.”
I know my words sting, but I don’t need Fedot thinking of himself as a knight in shining armor. If he turns stupid, it’ll be harder to avoid ending his life, which could very much cause a war. Killing him would be the opposite of profitable.
“Now get out,” I order, lifting my chin, a silent signal of dismissal.
Ivan lowers his gun and casually handles it as the three men vacate their seats. He escorts them out of the office.
“Should we have someone watch them?” Peter asks, peeking outside through the small window in the door. “I don’t like them. They’re arrogant assholes.”
“They are, but they’re not our biggest threat,” I reply. “We should focus on Dimitri and Gargarin right now. Olenko is loud and disgusting, but he’s a weak bastard.”
“I agree with Nik,” Roman says. “That Fedot guy’s a prick too, but that has to do with Katarina.”
Ivan comes back to the office and shuts the door. He gives me a nod. “They’re gone.”
“Good,” I say, the corners of my mouth lifting up in a small smile as I glance at the clock. “I better get some work done before going home. I don’t want to keep Katarina waiting.”
Roman, Peter, and Ivan make some jokes about me being whipped, but one look from me, and they change their tune. When it comes to my relationship with Katarina, I won’t tolerate jesting and teasing. I’m not sure what Kata means to me, but I won’t have other people making wild guesses. Even if they are joking.
If what she and I have doesn’t measure up to love, it doesn’t change the fact that she’ll be my wife. The sooner people learn to treat her that way, the fewer deaths my conscience will have to carry.
THIRTY
KATARINA
“I’m sorry it took me so long to come by,” Mila says when she takes a seat next to me in Nikolai’s living room. “I was so relieved to get your message, but I’ve been dealing with an emergency. One of my patients is going through a crisis. But that’s so beside the point right now. How have you been? I can’t believe this happened to you. Are you his sex slave now? Tell me everything.”
“I will as long as you let me get a word in,” I tell her. “So much has been happening that I feel like I don’t even know myself anymore.”
