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Andrei shakes his head, going all disappointed big brother on me. “Emilio Morales called me this morning, quite alarmed I might add. Something about you winning his niece in a card game.” His voice is deceptively calm as his thumb brushes down the centerline of his lips. “Do you want to tell me what the fuck happened?”
I meet my brother's eyes without flinching. “I didn’t know she was his niece when I bet on her. All I knew was The Madman was knocking around his girlfriend. I saw it happen not once but twice, thatmudak.So when the opportunity presented itself to free her from that scum, I took it. He didn’t have to accept the bet,” I point out.
Andrei lets out a harsh breath. For all his diplomatic maneuvering, he’s also not someone who would stand idly by while a woman was being hurt. “Where is she now?”
“At my penthouse. But before you get your panties in a knot, you should know she fucking lost it on me afterwards. She wants me to return her to Días today.” Bitterness singes my throat. It must be fear that keeps her loyal to Días and her uncle. I don’t understand what she’s been through, but I understand that there are many reasons victims remain in an abusive relationship. As much as I hate it, I can’t force her hand. “She was hoping to keep all of this from Emilio,” I add. “Guess it’s too late for that. How did he find out?”
“You know how mafia kings gossip.” Andrei shrugs but remains stone-faced. “Any of those men in the room would rat Días out in a hot second to win favor with Emilio. He found out and called me…” Andrei releases a tight breath. “Let me ask you, brother, what was your plan when you made that bet? To make her yours?”
I stand and pace in an attempt to outrun my twisting thoughts and the exhaustion weighing on me. A sinking feeling in my gut tells me I will not like the direction of this conversation. “I was going to buy her freedom and let her go. Set her up with an apartment, school if she needed it. Money.”
Andrei’s lip twists. “Admirable.”
“You would have done the same,” I scoff.
That vein in Andrei’s temple throbs like a heartbeat, and an entire conversation takes place between us without saying a word. Our mother was the victim of powerful, corrupt men who used her as a pawn. We were kids then, we couldn’t protect her, but like hell I’m going to sit by and watch as another innocent woman is strung up like a puppet.
Andrei is the first to look away. “Except I would have done my research and known who she was. Unlike you.”
Khuy. I wouldn’t hesitate to take a bullet for my brother—and I know the reverse is true—but let me be clear: He can be a real dick. “Point taken,” I say between gritted teeth. “Now tell me why I’m really here.”
Andrei stands. The bare bulb in the room casts a circle around him. He clears his throat. “Congratulations are in order.” My breathing stills, and my gaze flicks towards Andrei. “You won Bianca fair and square, she’s now yours. Emilio is insisting you marry her.”
Unease rises to the surface of my skin. “What the fuck?” I spit out. “Marriage? I don’t think so.”
He cocks a brow. “I don’t believe you have a choice in the matter.”
“Jesus, Andrei,” I bark. “Tell Emilio no fucking way. The Kozlov Bratva is more powerful than the Zegas, we don’t have to give in to his demands.” Eventually marriage will be my duty, but not now. I’m thirty-one. I’m owed at least another decade of freedom.
Andrei spins a pen between his fingers, his expression way too fucking smug. “Don’t underestimate Emilio Morales, he’s as savage as they come. He won’t hesitate to declare war over this.” My brother shoots me a withering look. “And he’s not wrong. Word has already gotten out. If you don’t put a ring on it, you compromise her honor. Maybe if you’d handled the situation a bit more discreetly, we wouldn’t be here, but seeing as half of the city’s gang bosses saw what went down, she’s yours.”
My blood roars in my ears as I feel the booze sweats come on, but I won’t back down. I refuse to be bullied by my brother or Emilio. “It’s not happening. You know I’d make a terrible husband anyhow. She deserves better.”
“Like Días? Because if it’s not you, that’s who she’ll marry. Emilio said as much.”
My hands ball into tight fists. The thought of Bianca marrying The Madman sends a violent impulse through me. It’s out of the fucking question. Except, that only leaves one alternative.
Andrei perches on the edge of his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. He knows he has me backed into a corner. “I didn’t think I was the marrying type either… turns out, I’m quite a fan.”
“You chose Georgia. You fell in love with her. It wasn’t some fucked-up mafia alliance that you were forced into.”
“Bianca is a beautiful woman. You must have been taken with her to go to all this trouble.” A flicker of sympathy passes over his features, but he’s not backing down. He never backs down. “If it’s any consolation, Emilio wants to use the casino to clean his money. This will be a very lucrative alliance.”
Money. That’s what it always comes down to in the end. “And you trust Emilio?” I shake my head bitterly. “She could be a spy.”
Andrei barks out a laugh. “True, but he couldn’t have predicted the events of the evening. For argument’s sake, let’s say sheisspying for her uncle. What can she learn? Your pretty new wife is going to traipse around all day spending your money and lunching with her friends. No risk of her learning our deep dark secrets.” I narrow my eyes at my brother, but as usual, he takes it all in stride, his lip curling as he adds, “More likely, Morales wants to cement an alliance with a powerful East Coast family. That’s why Días attended last night in the first place. The Zegas want to bring their product to the streets of Brooklyn, and for that, they’ll need our blessing.”
I lower my head into my hands, my temples throbbing. Andrei may be my brother, but he’s also my pakhan, and he’s giving me an order. And as fucked-up as this all is, if I marry Bianca, she’ll be free of Días.
When I lift my head from my hands, Andrei is still staring at me. He looks vaguely amused, taking pleasure in my misery.
I swallow the bitterness in my throat and straighten my spine. “When are we to get married?”
“Tomorrow.”
And just like that, it feels like the walls are caving in on me again. “Why so soon? What’s the rush?”
“It’s what Morales wants. His people will handle everything. All you have to do is show up in Miami, tux in hand, ready to walk down the aisle.”
