Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
She had been through too much. Survived too much.
I refused to let fear be the first thing she felt when her eyes opened.
No, she was going to wake up to me.
To my touch, my voice—she was going to know she was safe before any doubt could creep in.
I told the others I was getting some rest, that I needed to be ready for when it was time to go on the offensive. They nodded, barely sparing me a glance. Let them believe whatever they wanted.
My fight wasn’t down here.
It was upstairs, in the shape of a woman who had already branded herself into my bones.
And I wasn’t letting her go.
Pavel gave me a hard look for a moment, like he could see through my excuse, but nodded.
Artem and Gregor didn’t even look up from their current standoff.
At least this time, they were working toward the same outcome.
I snuck back upstairs to Marina.
She was exactly as I left her, fast asleep under a thick down comforter.
The only light in the room was from a single beam of moonlight that shone across her sleeping form. Illuminating her already beautiful face, seeming to glow like an angel. Her silky hair spread out in a halo on the goose down pillow.
She looked so calm, peaceful even.
I’d sent a prayer of thanks to a God I rarely acknowledged, when the doctor had looked her over and confirmed she had not suffered any harm from the accident. It was a damn miracle. My girl had been smart and made sure she was seat belted.
Marina deserved to sleep like this every single night. The deep, uninterrupted sleep of a woman who was well-loved and safe.
The temptation to crawl in next to her was too much, and I was done fighting it.
With a quick tug, I pulled off my cashmere sweater and undid my leather belt, kicking my jeans off with my shoes and leaving all the clothes crumpled in a heap on the floor.
Downstairs, my brothers and cousins were working out the specifics of the hit, putting the pieces together and learning about Oleg’s true target. They had a few days’ head start, but it was still only a matter of time before Solovyov learned of his hitman’s blunder and demise.
Solovyov would want someone to answer for Oleg’s death, and more than that he would simply hire a new man to take his place.
The death of a hitman did not cancel the hit.
If anything, Solovyov would take a more aggressive stance and start arranging countermoves. He would increase the payment for the hit and then expand it from a single target to others, eliminating them to prevent collateral damage to his organization. Solovyov was smart enough to realize he needed a show of strength and to tie off any possible loose ends. That included Marina.
That meant not only was she still a target, but it was also only a matter of time before the price on her head increased exponentially.
There was no fucking way I was ever going to let anyone near her again.
I made a promise to Veronika on her deathbed to protect her sister, but more than that, Marina was important to me. Not just because of the promises I made Veronika, but because Marina was what I wanted. She was the future that I would die for.
I loved her. It was that simple. I’d always loved her.
My path was clear.
I had to do anything in my power to keep her safe, and that meant giving her my name.
In my world, no man would dare kill a mafia rival’s wife.
That wasn’t just a declaration of war, it was a very complicated suicide mission. If someone went after Marina and she carried my name, not only would I have every right to kill them, but so would my brothers, my cousins, and every other man who carried our name or worked for someone who did.
More than that, with Gregor, Damien, and Mikhail also married, we would make an example of that man. His death would be so gruesome, so painful, it would strike fear into the hearts of any man who dared stand against the Ivanov clan.
Veronika was the sole exception to that rule, and only because of her own actions.
Had she been faithful, had she treated our arrangement like a marriage, she would have been safe.
But by openly violating the sanctity of our marriage, she made herself fair game.
She was no longer considered my wife or under my protection.
If anything, she was under Solovyov’s protection.
Veronika had made her choice, and she had died from the consequences.
Marina would not have those same choices.
I would not allow her to sleep in another man’s bed.
I would not allow her to live separately from me.
No, Marina would be my wife in all ways.
It would keep her safe, and in my bed where she belonged.