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“Now,” I demand, widening my eyes at him. “We should get married right now.”
Nikolai furrows his brows and shakes his head. “No, serdtse. We’ve done a lot of things badly, but this is one thing I want to do properly.”
“I love you, Nik,” I tell him, realizing it’s truer than anything else I’ve ever said. “I’m in love with you.”
Nikolai halts and looks straight into my eyes. Then he releases a breathy chuckle and grabs me by the arms, shaking his head in disbelief.
“You’re crazy,” he whispers, and kisses me deeply.
When he pulls away, I pout. “That’s all you’re going to say to me?”
Nikolai’s gray eyes go to slits. “And I love you too, serdtse.”
“Does that mean we’ll do it?” I ask with a smirk, excitement coursing through my veins.
Nikolai’s own smile could light up the entire room.
“My God,” he mutters, and pulls me into his embrace. “There’s nothing I’d love more than to be your husband. And yes, we’ll get married. Just not yet.”
I groan. “Ugh, you’re such a buzzkill.”
“This buzzkill loves you, moye serdtse,” he coos, as if he is talking to a baby. It would make me gag if it was anyone else. “And I will come back to make an honest woman out of you.”
I exhale and squeeze him. “I’ll hold you to that,” I say against his neck, drinking him in and imprinting this moment to memory. I’ll need it if he doesn’t return to me. I don’t see anything other than him for me and my future. Whatever’s coming our way, we’ll face it.
Nikolai picks up his bag, and we leave the basement together. He’ll take me back to my parents’ house, where he and his men will meet with Igor and my father’s thugs. Together, they’re going to go after Yakov at one of Gargarin’s bars, which he frequents. I’m glad they don’t involve me in their planning, keeping the details to themselves. I don’t think I could deal with all the unknowns.
As I sit in the car, I rub my belly and pray that Nik will come back to us.
FORTY
NIKOLAI
We’re not leaving anything to chance, taking six cars, each packed with five men. Three are filled with people I trust, and the other two hold the people who’ll become my family.
I readjust the straps on my bulletproof vest while Ivan follows Igor’s car. I recheck the gun and count the ammo. I tap my thigh with nervous energy.
In theory, we’ll have the upper hand by using the element of surprise and coming at them with thirty men. The plan is to be in and out before Gargarin even realizes what hit him. All of us should come out in one piece with barely a bullet spent.
In theory . . .
We all know that real life doesn’t work according to theories. It’s a lot more cruel and brutal. People make mistakes, and life often doesn’t always end nicely.
But it has to for me.
Because Katarina can’t marry a dead man. The thought of her, pregnant and miserable, thinking I broke my promise, doesn’t settle well in my mind.
My child won’t be raised without a father. I’ll be there every day to teach him or her about running a business. Only when they’re all grown up and strong, will I be ready to leave this world, knowing that the Volkov empire will be in capable hands. In my child’s control.
But to do that, we have to play our cards right today.
As Katarina so sweetly told me, I can’t fucking die. There are too many people relying on me, and I’ll be damned if I fuck that up.
“You okay, boss?” Ivan asks, glancing at me from the driver’s side.
“Yeah,” I reply. “Just wired up.”
“It’s been a while since you’ve done this,” he muses. “Do you remember that time we robbed the liquor store as kids? Your father beat us up, but not because we did it.”
