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“There’s one thing I still don’t understand,” she said.
“What’s that?” he asked. Nikolai wanted to keep touching her but refrained from doing so. Right now, Veronica needed space and he could allow her that.
“Why would you agree to such a thing? You’re single, have influence and enough wealth to marry someone important, maybe the daughter of a more prominent mafia boss,” she pointed out. “Are you doing this as a favor to my father, because he was an old friend?”
Nikolai chuckled. She looked both irritated and wary at the same time.“Friendship could only go so far,” Nikolai admitted.“Is it so hard to believe I genuinely want you to be my wife, to stand by my side for the rest of my life?”
“You’re just saying that to appease me,” she said.
Nikolai didn’t like the fact she easily dismissed his words. He lifted her chin using two fingers, forcing her to look at him. A flash of fear appeared in her eyes. Fear was good. Nikolai would give Veronica the world but he needed to establish firm ground rules with his future bride.
“If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s this. I am a selfish man, Veronica. Appeasing others is not part of my personality. I see what I want and I go for it without question,” Nikolai said.
“And you want me.” Veronica didn’t phrase those words as a question.
Nikolai rather liked the glint that appeared in her eyes. Arturo had been a fool for thinking his daughter was merely a naive pawn he could move on his chessboard. Veronica possessed hidden depths Arturo never knew. Nikolai could spend the rest of his life being challenged by his wife and getting to know every bit of her. The thought amused him.
“For now, it’s time for you to rest,” Nikolai said.“We’ll go over the details tomorrow if you’d like.”
“It’s been a horrid night,” Veronica agreed. She hesitated, then asked, “What’s the arrangement like, between me and you? Are we … going to share a bedroom right away?”
Nikolai chuckled. Some part of Veronica remained innocent still but not for long. He would eventually have the pleasure of corrupting her and she would like every bit of it.
“I will have my housekeeper prepare a room for you,” he reassured her. “We will sleep in separate bedrooms until our wedding day if you prefer.”
Veronica nodded quickly. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
Nikolai wasn’t disappointed by her decision. After all, waiting would only heighten his anticipation. Besides, before enjoying his upcoming nuptials he had an assassin to catch and a new enemy to destroy.
Chapter Four
Like the past three nights, Veronica’s sleep was plagued by nightmares. She kept seeing her father’s skull, erupting into a carnage of flesh and blood, and someone letting out an ear-splitting scream in the background. That someone would be Veronica. In her nightmares, she couldn’t stop screaming and in the end, the sniper got her as well. Veronica turned on her bed so she lay on her back. She stared up at the ceiling.
Tonight, she wore her mother’s old nightgown, with the hope the garment would ward her nightmares away. A silly thought, for they still came. Veronica doubted she would ever get a restful night’s sleep. Nikolai had sent someone two days ago to the old house to retrieve what they could. He must have given him explicit instructions to retrieve the bag Veronica arrived with, because he did exactly that. Nikolai had also secured the rest of the house and had taken care of Arturo’s body.
Veronica assumed he also dealt with her father’s staff and his surviving men. Nikolai turned out to be frighteningly capable and efficient at his job. She shouldn’t be surprised by that. Either way, she was thankful he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Still, it didn’t sit quite right with her that she was fully under his debt. It was only thanks to Nikolai that Veronica was still alive and in the safest place in the world—his home. She couldn’t imagine being on the streets on her own, easy prey for anyone who held a grudge against her family. Or, she mused drily, Gibson would have probably killed her before she could leave her estate.
“Would it be so terrible to marry him?” Veronica whispered to herself.
The idea wasn’t entirely unpleasant. She’s always had a crush on him, ever since she was a teenager. In fact, she even dreamed of marrying him back in those innocent days.
Things had changed. She was no longer a child, with a head full of impractical daydreams. Allowing Nikolai to put a ring on her finger meant surrendering the life of independence she worked so hard for. Then again, would she be truly be able to return to that life? Her father’s enemies clearly had orders to take both Arturo and her out. If she didn’t agree to Nikolai’s offer, would she be hunted for the rest of her life?
She was no threat to her father’s enemies, not really, but she’d grown up among ruthless men and knew how they thought. They would end her because they could.
Feeling uneasy and knowing sleep would elude her again tonight, Veronica slipped out of bed. She left the guest room she was currently occupying.
She had only seen Nikolai during breakfast and dinner the past three days. Veronica had spoken to his housekeeper and some of the men in charge of security. It was understandable Nikolai was busy, since he was still managing the fallout from her father’s assassination. Still, she wished he had more time for her. They needed to talk. Veronica wanted to get a feel for the man her father had arranged for her to marry. Still, she knew she had to be patient.
In the wee hours of the morning, Nikolai’s apartment was dark and quiet. She made her way to the kitchen. Veronica opened the well-stocked fridge and took out a carton of milk. After pouring herself a glass, she wandered out of the suite. Nikolai’s penthouse suite opened to a large pool area. Veronica’s bare foot touched cold stone floor. She shivered, wondering if she should have brought a blanket or some kind of cardigan with her. Too lazy to return to her room, she wandered to the edge of the balcony. She sipped her milk and peered out at the splendid view before her.
Nikolai’s building wasn’t the tallest in the city but it was tall enough. The city stretched before her, the vehicles and people below her reminded her of tiny ants. Was this how Nikolai viewed the world from up above his fortress? After everything she had been through—the death of her entire family—could she really go back to her normal life? Did she even want to?
An unfamiliar and hot emotion uncoiled in her belly. Rage. She and her father might not have gotten along, but he was the only family she had left. Her mother and brother were gone. Now fate had cruelly ripped her father from her as well.
Nikolai offered her vengeance but after her rescue, she had trouble deciding what she wanted. Veronica finally made a choice. Someday, she might return to that life but not now.
