Page 77 of Brutal Vows

“No. I wasn’t thinking. And besides, I didn’t want to start a paper trail.”

“Good. It’s for the best. We’ll have to get her paperwork here, but we’ll figure that out. Somewhere, there will be an official that owes us a favor or two. Or maybe we just get Benedict to hack into the site and do the job for us.”

“You can do that?” I ask, my jaw dropping.

He laughs. “Mafia, princess. Unlike the Petrov Bratva who has its business stretched from here to Russia, with spies in every last fucking outpost, our structure is more like an iceberg. Our operations I’ve told you about are just the tip of the iceberg, but we’re deep underground on this side of the States. This is when it pays off.”

“Okay.” I take a sip of my coffee, fortifying myself. “Who is going to help us?”

“The fewer people who know, the better. If you give this the green light, I’m pulling in Benedict and Stephano. It’s better if Matteo and Dominic never know. They’re working closely with Ivan and what they don’t know, they can’t lie about.”

I nod. “Have you told Benedict and Stephano anything yet?”

“No. I’m still processing it all. Plus, I wanted to run the plan past you first.”

My heart swells. Of course he’d be considerate like that. I don’t want to admit I’m starting to trust Luca with everything, but I am, and I feel lighter for it. Now I have a partner in crime, someone to help me think and plot how to get Annushka to America. “How soon can we go?”

“I’m going to talk to Ben today. He’s my first port of call. From there, we’ll figure it out together.” He pauses. “Masha, will she help?”

“Yes. But Luca, this is—” I break off, pushing down my dread. “You don’t know who we’re dealing with here. This is dangerous. Potentially deadly.”

“I know.”

He rounds the counter and comes to stand next to me as I swivel my barstool to face him. He runs his hands up my arms, warming me with his touch. When his fingertips caress my neck, I burst out in chills, my nipples hardening as he cups my cheeks.

“I promise you I’ll do everything to get you and Annushka out safely,” he states.

He is so sincere, I burst out crying, rising up to circle my arms around his neck. He catches me and hugs me close.

“I know we both headed into this arranged marriage hoping to end it as soon as possible,” he murmurs in my ear, and I feel the emotion tremor through his body—fear, dread, all of it—as it courses through mine. “With this plan, you’ll be bound to me forever. Annushka will be mine on paper, and you won’t be able to leave with her.”

“I know. I understand. We’ve made vows.” And I never thought I’d be married to a man who’d honor them with so much heart and sincerity. “I want to keep mine too.”

36

LUCA

“You’re fucked, bro,” Benedict says. “Totally cooked. Going to Russia, walking into who knows what.”

“I don’t like it at all. It’s fucking insane,” Stephano adds from where he has joined this call on video.

“Probably.” I’m in Benedict’s apartment, and I just sketched the entire situation for him and Stephano.

Their reactions are as expected, and I’ll have to give them time to get used to the idea of this rescue mission. Time we don’t have.

“You’re both going to have to help. Ben as my online man. Steph in whichever capacity I need you.” How the tables have turned is the only thought that comes to mind. For once, Stephano is going to have to impersonate me. “Get things in place on that side.”

“You know security is Dominic’s wheelhouse, not mine,” Benedict says, shaking his head.

“I still think you need to tell Dominic and Matteo,” Stephano says. “You don’t go breaking the one oath between us and the Petrov⁠—"

I hold up a hand up to stall him, suppressing a groan. Is it wrong not to tell Dominic? Or Matteo? I trust all my brothers with my life, but this secret is dangerous to all of us. I’m trying to protect Matteo and Dominic like they’ve protected me. We need to be quick on our feet, and Dominic would put so many checks and balances in place before giving us the green light, it might be too late. Matteo will fucking lose it if something goes wrong, and I’d rather not let him have time to think any of this shit through and visualize me dying like Alex did. I will spare them what I can.

“It’s nobody’s wheelhouse. It’s Russia,” I tell them. “Dominic has as much pull there as you. In fact, I won’t be surprised if you have more underground connections there than what Nicky will ever have. Just dig.”

Benedict stands, drags his fingers through his unruly hair as he paces the living room, stopping by the big windows, similar to mine. On the screen, Stephano has cupped his hands to his face and drops his head back, cursing into his palms.

“I get you don’t want to tell Matty and Nicky,” Stephano says when Benedict slumps back into his seat with a curse. “But fuck, Luca, what if we need them?”