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Feeling deeply unsettled, I tossed and turned for nearly an hour. Sometime in the middle of the night, I heard the floors creak outside my doorway. The knob turned, but the door didn’t open like I expected it to. I had forgotten to lock it, and I admonished myself for forgetting after what I’d seen, but no one ever came inside. Instead, audible footsteps echoed away from it down the hall. Another door opened and shut. I knew it was his.
He’d almost come inside tonight.
For the first time, I hadn’t wanted him to.
CHAPTER6
Sergei
Ihadn’t wanted her to see me like that.
I thought I’d been careful to conduct the seedier parts of my business far enough away so that they didn’t touch her. My world didn’t always have a place for a woman, especially when dealing with matters like I’d needed to last night. I had only planned on teaching the man a lesson. If I showed mercy on him at a critical time like this, that would only weaken my position here in the city and it was already precarious enough.
I was the new face, and all five of the families had already looked at me with judgement enough. I had something to prove, and I had to operate differently than I normally would.
Boris’ decision to sell the weapons to another had undermined me and I couldn’t allow that to stand unpunished. His betrayal was unforgiveable and needed to be dealt with, especially since he’d fucked up my own deal with one of my most important business associates.
I’d made a deal with the kingpin of the Petrov family, guaranteeing him that I had access to better weapons than any of his own connections. Alexander had taken the deal on a whim, clearly not believing me at that initial meeting. When I’d been forced to give him the bad news on the delayed shipment, he’d been understanding, but I knew that my own ass would be on the line if I disappointed him again. My reputation couldn’t take another hit like that.
But that wasn’t the only thing that bothered me.
Boris had laid eyes on Natasha.
I couldn’t let that go. In fact, a part of me had seen red. Pulling that trigger had never been easier.
The time for my wedding announcement had not yet come in the criminal underworld, and if he’d breathed a word about it to anyone, it might endanger my alliances with the Lenkovs and the other families at such an early stage. There would be a time when our marriage would be announced, I just had to pick the right one. Boris had endangered all of that.
I’d had no choice. I had to pull the trigger myself.
The fact that he could get his hands on advanced weaponry wasn’t anything particularly special. The underground market for guns was booming, and sellers like him were a dime a dozen. Ultimately, Boris was replaceable. There was no doubt in my mind that I’d have another name by morning. I’d already given the order to my men to come up with a list, and I knew they would deliver a plethora of options to eventually consider and ultimately contact.
I may not be fully established here in Chicago yet, but I had plenty of connections across the globe in the political, criminal, retail, and underground worlds. If I needed something, I could get my hands on it in twenty-four hours or less. I had the power of Moscow at my back, which was something that put me in a uniquely strong position. My family had operated there for a very long time, and I was making sure that we kept growing even bigger here in the states.
Earlier tonight, I’d left my men and ensured that Natasha had made it safely home. I’d wanted to hold her and tell her that everything was alright, that I would never dream of laying my hands on her like that, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to.
I couldn’t forget the terror in her eyes when she’d looked at me.
That was a sight that would be burned into my head forever, and the worst part about it was that it had been directed solely at me. She had seen me at my worst, and she’d run from me.
What if I’d made a mistake? What if she couldn’t stand beside me as my queen?
I’d looked endlessly into her background before I’d walked into that chapel. She was at the top of her classes at the University of Chicago. No matter what challenge her professors threw her way, she was able to stand tall against anyone that stood against her, and that made her truly special. Her relationship with her parents was slightly strained. Losing Robert would have left her alone, and I hadn’t wanted that either.
I opened the drawer in my nightstand and pulled out her picture, taking a moment to sit down on the bed. Her gorgeous green eyes stared back at me. Her cheeks were splintered with a massive smile as she walked the university grounds with her friends. That picture had been the one.
I’d known I had to have her from the first moment I laid my eyes on her.
What if I’d put her in more danger than she would have been on her own? I shook my head. If I hadn’t taken care of her ex-fiancé’s debt, the Lenkovs might have come for her, and I couldn’t take that chance. They wouldn’t get the money they wanted from her. I already knew that Robert had bled her dry. I wasn’t certain quite yet, but there had been a distinct possibility that they might have taken her and sold her to the highest bidder. They’d catch a much higher price if they ever discovered she was a virgin. The innocent always fetched obscene amounts at auction, especially ones sourced from America.
Those were especially rare.
Feeling uneasy, I paced my bedroom, walking back and forth and trying to figure out the best course of action. I couldn’t take back what had happened, but I could protect her from the dangers out there by taking more precautions.
The Lenkovs wouldn’t make a move against me, but any of the other families could target her to get to me, and I couldn’t let that happen.
When it came to keeping myself safe, I’d never been afraid of heading in guns blazing, but Natasha wasn’t me. She was an innocent that deserved to live a happy life that wasn’t clouded by the much rougher parts of mine. I needed to do my best to protect her from that.
Still restless, I stripped and climbed into the shower. The water plummeted down on my skin from the showerhead above me, the pressure firm but not punishing enough. Aggravated, I washed my hair and my body and rinsed off. I finished and toweled dry, pulling a grey pair of sweatpants on before I collapsed into bed. There was a glass of bourbon waiting for me and I swallowed it down in a single gulp just so I could feel the maximum amount of burn.
