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“Not yet,” he told me, his voice in complete control while mine was ragged and desperate. “You’re never going to want for anything. I’ll fulfill your every dream. What I’m not going to do is give you up, ever. So you may as well cool down.”
Considering the only thing I wanted was for him to let me out, there was no cooling down. He left me alone, and I began to pace again, suddenly afraid. Not just of the truth now, but of him. He’d locked me in, after all, and was refusing to let me go. Ever.
After a while, my rage was back, though, and it actually helped me think more clearly. I’d gotten myself into this mess, and I’d get myself out. There was no way Lev would dare harm me because it would risk Katie’s ire, and, therefore, his older brother’s. No, he wouldn’t hurt me.
But I was going to find a way to hurt him.
I settled into the big bed alone, pushing down the fleeting image of snuggling up to him like we should have been doing if things hadn’t gone to hell. If he wasn’t an obsessive, controlling mob boss.
He thought he could force me to be his wife? Fine. I’d do just that. Lean into the role so that I could find out all his dirty secrets.
Then, use them to destroy him.
Chapter 13 - Lev
Okay, so that didn’t turn out like I hoped. Not that I had high hopes for how Jenna would respond when I finally ripped off the bandage and told her who I really was. I wasn’t planning on doing it on our honeymoon, but it never occurred to me when she wanted to see my passport photo that it would all come spilling out so soon. Of course she would be upset, but I hadn’t expected her to be so furious, practically spitting flames.
At least she wasn’t shouting at me anymore, though I had to admit I appreciated her fire. After discovering she was locked in a room, I wouldn’t have expected anything less from my Jenna. Yeah, that wasn’t the best decision, but I was stuck with it now until she cooled off.
I grinned despite everything, proud of the fact she wasn’t scared of me in the least.
Not that she should be. I was more scared of my rapidly growing feelings for her. She was quickly becoming everything to me, someone I would fight for. Someone I most definitely wasn’t going to lose. There was no way she was walking out of my life.
After she quieted down, I had a lot of pent-up energy, itching to go into our bedroom and try to comfort her. I already knew her well enough by now that she’d attempt to take my head off, though, so I decided a grueling workout was in order instead. I had to do something to ease the guilt I felt for basically imprisoning my new bride.
The one thing I did take the time to set up in my nearly empty apartment was a home gym. I missed the boxing gym I had back in LA and missed sparring with my brothers and the men who worked for us. It was a great way to work out anyuncomfortable feelings and stay in tip-top condition for all the fights we got into with our rivals. It was important to know how to throw a punch, but even more important to know how to take one, and I wished I had an actual person to take out my frustration on. Maybe I even felt like I deserved to get knocked around a little myself.
After jumping rope for half an hour, I was dripping with sweat and no closer to feeling good about Jenna being locked in the bedroom. After that, I went way too hard on the heavy bag, bruising my knuckles, but finally exhausting myself enough to think I could fall asleep.
The guest bedroom bed was too soft, and lonely without Jenna’s eager arms around me. This was supposed to be our honeymoon. I tossed and turned, wanting nothing more than to claim my wife again, even going so far as to hover outside the door, listening for any sounds that might give me an opening.
It was all silent, and while I was glad she was able to get some sleep, I was pretty sure she’d rip my face off if I snuck in and snuggled up next to her.
She had been so opposed to being married into the Bratva, to the point she looked physically ill. As if that would affect her ability to do anything she wanted? The opposite was true. My connections could get her any position she wanted; all she had to do was ask.
Still, her lofty idealism was admirable, if a bit naive. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so strongly about something as Jenna did about wanting to run for government office. It was almost a shame to have to inform her that most of the people at the top weren’t as admirable as she wanted to believe.
At about two in the morning, I was still wide awake and full of recriminations, when Aleks called. Since it was such anodd time for a chat, I worried it might have something to do with Katie and the baby, so I answered.
“We’ve got a situation down here,” he said, not bothering with a greeting. “I need you to get back on the first flight you can get.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, more curious than concerned.
I’d been up here off and on for almost a year now. Aleks and the other siblings had been doing fine while I scouted our prospects up here, and I began to grow my empire. And I had a new bride locked up in my bedroom. Unless one of us was in actual danger, I wasn’t budging.
He blathered on about some new rivals who had been annoying him, but as far as I was concerned, there didn’t seem to be a big need for me to upend my life and race back to LA.
“Sorry, but I have my own fires to keep in check up here,” I said.
In the moment of shocked silence that followed, I ended the call. I ignored when he called back a few seconds later, and I ignored Max's call a few minutes after that. When they went so far as to get Mila to call me, I turned off my phone.
So now my siblings were going to be pissed off at me too. Well, it was nothing compared to how mad Aleks was going to be when he found out I married his wife’s sister. All hell would break loose then. It felt like ages ago that the prospect of stirring things up with my older brother while simultaneously enjoying Jenna had seemed like the ultimate good time. As much as I loved a good fight, I loved a prank against my brothers even more, but I never expected to be in so deep.
It was no longer a laughing matter to me anymore, no longer just a game. I was in so deep I was considering never letting Jenna leave the apartment again, if that’s what it took to keep her by my side.
Fuck.
Actually, seeing my situation for the shit show that it was didn’t help me fall asleep, but I finally managed to get a few hours, waking up with a much clearer head. It was all worth it to have Jenna. She was mine now, and that was the most important thing. When it had become the most important thing, it was unclear, but she was front and center now, and whatever came because of it, I was ready to face with fists up if necessary.
