“So what about the Irish?”
“We have two options,” Alessio started. “Enter into negotiations that will cost us more than it will cost them, or go to war.”
“The problem with negotiating with McKenna is that we’ll be going into it on the back foot. He holds all the power,” Fabi continued. “He will make outrageous demands because if he agrees to accept Aria and Sani’s marriage, we will have entered into a marriage alliance with Ireland, breaking his promise to the Russians. That means we are allied with an untrustworthy asshole we hate and have caused a war with the Bratva, which is not a good position to be in.”
“So what you’re saying is we go to war regardless? Either against the Irish and the Russians, or just the Russians?”
“Aren’t we looking at this all wrong?” Elle interrupted. “Instead of trying to negotiate with McKenna, why aren’t we reaching out to the Russians? If we can get them to side with us, then we can go to war with the Irish and win. Problem solved.”
“Not problem solved,” Alessio sighed. “McKenna’s empire is as big as ours. He controls the entire Irish criminal network. He has strong allies in Boston just as we do in New York. You’re right that whoever the Bratva sides with has the advantage in a war. But that’s the issue. The Bratva are private, very traditional, and extremely selective about who they ally with. They only form alliances through marriage. That’s why McKenna needs Aria.”
The room fell silent. The unspoken words echoed. The alliance would need someone else. And my family was deadset against marriage alliances for power. No woman in our family was traded like cattle. We married for love.
My gaze darted to my little sister before her quiet words even left her lipsbecause I knew. Raya had that look on her face—stubborn and resolute. She’d already thought this through before she walked in. She’d already made peace with it.
“Use me then.”
“No!” I snapped, leaning forward in my chair to slam my hand on the table. Of course, she completely ignored my outburst and continued to hold Alessio’s gaze.
“Offer me to the Russian heir.”
“Not fucking happening,” I growled across the table.
“Sani’s right,” Gio interrupted. “Over my dead body.”
Elle and Olivia joined in, telling Raya that it was never going to happen and we’d find another way, all while Raya’s deadpan expression stayed fixed on Alessio. They were staring at each other in a way that made my stomach twist.
“The Russians want a marriage alliance. Sean has no one else. But we do,” she said in her quiet, calm tone that somehow caused all the louder voices in the room to fall silent. “Use me to forge a strong alliance, increase protection, and strengthen our position against the Irish.”
She spoke as if it was a strategy, but we all knew it was a sacrifice. I could not let my baby sister, my best friend, someone I have spent my life protecting, offer herself up as if it was a reasonable cost for my happiness.
“I would rather take a bullet than hand you over to the Russians!” I shouted, standing up from my chair. “It’s not happening, Raya. We do not sell our women!”
For the first time, she looked at me. Her big, hazel eyes were filled with quiet certainty. I spent my life becoming a man people feared, yet the peace on her face made me feel powerless. Like she had already decided to cross the invisible line we were all trying to keep her behind. But it was Aria who made her gaze soften. She reached across the table for Raya’s hand, the guilt already evident in her eyes.
“I cannot let you do this for me. Please, Raya. This family is already beginning to bleed to keep me safe. You can’t.”
“It’s my choice,” Raya said with a small smile. “I want to do this. If blood can buy us time and survival, then give them mine.”
“She has a point,” Fabi hesitated, especially when he received death glares from everyone else in the room. He raised his hands and shrugged. “It’s our best option.”
The worst part was that I could see the devastating logic in it. That still didn’t mean I’d allow it to happen.
“You’d have to be sure, Soraya,” Alessio said, lowering his voice to a soft tone. My eyes widened. “Once I put that offer to the Russians, there is no going back.”
Elle shot up out of her chair next. “Alessio! You can’t be serious!”
“It’s my choice, Elle,” Raya replied, placing her hand on our sister’s arm. “Andhonestly, I’m fine with it.” She looked at Gio and me. “You give the women in this family choices. This is mine.”
I sank back into my chair, my heart hammering like a war drum in my ears and my fists clenched. My chest felt so tight that I struggled to breathe properly. I felt caught between sacrificing my wife or my sister. I wasn’t willing to do either in any universe.
“I’m not agreeing to this right now,” Alessio said, with his hands on his hips. “We need to consider other options and see what else we can come up with. But unless Soraya changes her mind, it’s on the table.”
“Raya, a word,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Now.”
I stormed out of the meeting room and paced the lobby until she appeared. I gripped her bicep and pulled her into the living room, away from soldiers’ and maids’ ears.
“You’re not doing this,” I growled, releasing her as she looked up at me with fire in her eyes that she rarely ever showed.
