“Yes,” I answered.
His gaze flicked back to me, studying. “More than you should be?”
I held his stare without hesitation. “Not more than I should.” That was the safest answer. I didn’t admit I heard whispers in this house from his men and the staff. They all had loose lips when they thought no one was listening.
My answer seemed to satisfy him.
“There was an attempt made against one of the Bratva’s operations,” he continued. “A controlled hit. It failed, but that wasn’t the point.”
My fingers tightened slightly, though I kept my expression even. He’d never shared such information with me. Why now? I knew better than to ask questions.
“They were targeting a key shipping line. Something that would have disrupted movement across multiple territories. It wasn’t about a single loss. It was about leverage.”
I understood that. More than he probably realized.
“And they know it came from us,” he added.
My body tightened, and I froze. This was information that was never shared outside of those under his command and especially not with a woman.
“What happens next?” I asked.
“We control the situation before it forces our hand.” His voice was calm, but there was nothing uncertain about it.
“How?” I asked, even though I already felt where this was going.
He stepped away from the desk then, closing the distance between us until there was no space left to pretend this was anything but direct.
“We align with them,” he said.
My pulse picked up slightly, steady butunmistakable, as everything fell into place. “Through what?” I whispered, but I knew. God, I knew.
His gaze held mine, unblinking. “Through you.” There was no hesitation in his words, no attempt to soften what he was saying or dress it up as something else.
I didn’t look away even as the reality of it settled in fully. “You want to marry me to one of theirs?” I asked weakly.
“Yes.” There was zero emotion in his response, but that had always been the way of it.
My father wasn’t cruel, and he’d never treated me with anything that could be called abuse, but affection had never been something he offered, either. I’d known long before this moment that when the time came, I would be used in whatever way benefited the family and his business most.
The simplicity of his answer made it heavier, not lighter, because there was no space in it for argument or negotiation.
“This will be an alliance and give us proximity,” he replied. “It gives us access and time to decide how far this goes before it becomes something neither side can contain.”
No peace or resolution. Control. That’s what this was always about.
“Who?” I asked quietly.
He studied me for a moment before answering. “Alexei Drakovich.”
The name settled into place, unfamiliar but already carrying weight. I let out a slow breath as everything aligned into something clear and unavoidable.
This was about power, control, and making sure that whatever came next happened on our terms and didn’t leave us exposed.
I lifted my chin slightly, meeting his gaze with controlled grace, because if this was where I was being placed, then I wasn’t going to step into it blindly.
“When?” I asked.
“Soon,” he said.
