Page 91 of Savage Pakhan

“Take your time,” I say to him as he leaves.

Just as he steps onto the elevator, Alek and Nikolai come from the other room. Alek’s eyes search the penthouse for me, and he smiles the moment they catch me sitting on the sofa.

“Lyubimaya,” he greets in relief. “Did you have a good day? Did you get everything you needed? I missed you.” He sits down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder to pull me close.

“It’s only been a few hours,” Nikolai groans.

A few hours too many.

“I missed you too.” I nestle against his chest, wondering if I need to talk about how much I spent today, then realized I don’t have to do that with Alek.

“Tomorrow. We are getting married. There is a chapel here in the hotel.”

“Tomorrow?” I look up at him with a frown.

“Are you disappointed, My Love? I am sorry it is rushed but we have no choice.”

“It isn’t soon enough,” I admit, not wanting to waste another day not being married to him.

“You’re right. Get ready. I’ll make some calls. By tonight, you will be my wife.”

And there won’t be anything Ivan can do about it.

22

ALEK

Her ring is heavy in my pocket as I stand at the altar with Nikolai by my side. We’re in a small chapel that’s in the same hotel we are staying in. That’s what’s so wonderful about Vegas. There’s a chapel at every corner, in every space, in every fucking building, giving people no reason not to get married on a whim.

And maybe that’s what I’m doing. Maybe it is a whim, but I do not care. Mia deserves to be protected and loved in a way she has never had before. Why can’t that person be me?

“Are you ready?” Nikolai asks me in Russian, his hands folded in front of him.

Am I?

My heart is slamming against my chest but not from nerves or second guessing. I’m excited. I don’t want to wait another moment. I want Mia Roswell to be Mia Bykov, now and forever.

She deserves more than her family ever gave her. She has a family with me now.

The chapel is small which is fine considering the circumstances. Nikolai pulled a few strings to get the chapel filled with flowers and decorated. Money talks, but it was the connections that turned these wooden walls into something magical.

Long beautiful white flowers hang from a ceiling. Big bouquets with roses and lilies are at the end of every pew. Rose petals line the aisle she’ll walk down any minute, and somehow, Nikolai managed to find a violinist play for when Mia walks down the aisle, then back up as a married couple.

“I couldn’t be more ready.” Which is the honest truth.

I’m getting restless waiting for her to walk down the aisle.

“Where is she?” My worst nightmares play in my head all at once.

What if Ivan found her and took her away from me? And I’m sitting here waiting for the love of my life to walk down the aisle to me but it won’t ever happen?

Or worse. What if Ivan killed her?

Now I’m panicking. I’m scared. She’s the only person in the fucking world who has the ability to make me afraid.

“She’s coming, Alek. Give her a minute.”

I can’t. The nightmares have been planted in my head now. I have to see if she’s okay.