Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
All I’m sure about is that I need to protect the scene in front of me, Reina and her happy family. At least one of us needs to have that. One of us needs to love with all her heart as Dad taught us to.
Reina struggled for years to find her happy ending, and it’s my mission to make sure it continues.
There’s a knock on the door before Vlad waltzes in with both Ruslan and Katia. Right—I called this meeting.
“Listen, I’ve got to go,” I say, then hang up before Reina can say anything. Now that Asher is around, she won’t be too focused on bugging me about paying them a visit.
I join the other three in the sitting area across from my desk. Ruslan remains standing because he’s too into that ridiculous rule about respecting hierarchy. It’s not necessarily about me, but it’s about Vlad. He would never, and I mean ever, sit in his presence.
Katia heads to the cabinet to fix us drinks. She’s a fit, tall woman with dark brown hair she keeps gathered in a ponytail.
Her high cheekbones and freckled cheeks give her a distinctive look that can be adorable if only she loses the serious expression. She and Ruslan are cut from the same cloth.
“You don’t have to make drinks,” I tell her.
“Let me, miss.”
I shake my head as I flop opposite Vlad. The reason I trust those two with my life isn’t that they’re some guards Dedushka picked for me. No.
Ruslan has been with me since Grandpa’s time, but only because I handpicked him from the fighting rings myself. He was only twenty then, two years older than me, and won all his fights. I used to go with Dedushka to watch the underground fights and always kept an eye on ‘The Machine’, as they called him. In one of the matches, he had a head injury and was about to be taken out by his trainer like a dog. However, I stepped in and punched that trainer in the face, telling him if he didn’t respect his fighters, he didn’t deserve to be part of the brotherhood. Dedushka agreed. The trainer was out. Ruslan retired and asked Dedushka if he could become my guard.
Katia came after Grandpa’s death. She was smuggled in from Russia in a dirty container with drugs in her ass and was destined to become a whore in Mikhail’s brothels.
Since I was making it my mission to intercept Mikhail’s shipments and free as many women as I could, Katia happened to be one of those whom I was able to help out.
In order to save her from Mikhail’s rotten hands, I kept her close. Then I accidentally saw her training in kung fu and found out she has a black belt. She was sold to the mafia for a debt her dead father couldn’t pay.
Since then, these two have been the pillars I lean on, aside from Vlad when he’s not grunting, like right now.
“Now, what?” I ask.
“You’re really going to marry Kyle?”
I try my hardest to remain calm, even though everything inside revolts at the mention of his name.
Now that he’s back, it’s even worse.
If I’m being honest with myself, the reason I haven’t been able to work properly today isn’t only because of the marriage proposal. It’s mainly the way he invaded my space, touched me, and wrapped his hand around my throat as if he had every right to. Those long, lean fingers—
“Rai.”
“What?” I force myself out of my haze at Vlad’s strong voice. He rarely calls me by my given name, and when he does, it’s serious.
“I was asking if you’re going to marry the bastard.”
“I don’t have a choice. Either I do it or he’ll go after Ana.”
Vlad sucks in a breath but refrains from commenting. He’s the type who doesn’t like to meddle in others’ business unless he’s ordered to. “He’s not a tool you can play with as we planned.”
“I know that more than anyone. Dedushka put him as my guard at one point, remember?”
“Yes, I do. I also remember that you told me not to say his name again after he disappeared.”
“I’d still rather we didn’t talk about him.”
“That doesn’t make him disappear.”
“I can pretend to.”
“I don’t know what happened back then that you hold a grudge against him, but it’s different now that he’s Igor’s son.”
“Do you really believe that he’s Igor’s son?”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t know. It just feels fishy that he’s coming all in, to the extent of claiming familial ties. Why now, of all times?”
“If anyone can find out, it’s you.”
“Oh, you bet I will. He thinks he’ll get the all-access card by marrying me, but he doesn’t know that he’ll be poisoned in the process.”
“Keep your cards close.”
“You don’t have to remind the snake to be poisonous, my dear Vlad.”