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“You can get a ticket online.”
“I have no money.” I hold up my fingers, checking off the reasons why that plan won’t ever work. “I have no passport, so forget international travel. I have no clothes, no identification, no credit card, no driver’s license, no car, nothing at all. How am I supposed to go anywhere?”
He raises his glass. “I didn’t say it was an easy option, but if you’re intent on living a relatively normal life, this is your best bet. The first few years alone in a new place might be difficult, but—”
“I am not going to run from my sister’s killer.” Anger flares in me, hotter than I’ve ever felt before. My hands turn to fists and I square my shoulders toward him, jaw tightening, biting down like I want to crack my teeth. “I am not letting Rustik take my sister’s life, then ruin my own.”
Liam doesn’t seem fazed. Again, he only drinks. “Your next option is you give up and marry Rustik.”
“Fuck you,” I say, shaking my head. The anger narrows its focus. “Don’t even say that. You bastard.”
Shrug. Drink. “Next option. Find someone willing to help. Turn to your father, an uncle, a family friend.”
I point at my phone. “Those people are all begging me to marry Rustik. You think any of them will go against him? That man owns Portland. Hell, he owns the whole West Coast.”
“For now,” Liam murmurs, studying me. “You have one last option then.”
I take a step toward him. My anger’s dying down to embers, though it still glows. “Let me guess. Your proposal.”
“Exactly. My proposal. You’re clever and beautiful. I’m glad you didn’t let that shit-heel Rustik ruin you.”
I grunt, not sure how to take that compliment, too angry to process it. “I’m having a hard time feeling good about whatever you’re going to say.”
“I saved your life, remember? At considerable cost to myself.”
“True, but you’re also using this situation to your advantage. You know damn well I’m in a bad spot, and it’s going to be very difficult for me to say no to you.”
That ghostly smile again. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Lying bastard. You’re manipulating me.”
“I’m helping you.”
“All to get what you want in the end.”
“I’m also having fun. Does that matter?”
I make a face. “What do you want, exactly? What do you want from me, Liam? What could possibly be worth all this trouble?” I move toward him, trembling with rage. “What the hell do you want from me?”
He puts his glass down and closes the distance. We’re only feet away.
“I want to marry you,” he says, staring into my eyes with that cool expression like he’s reading the future in my face, and he likes what he sees. “And together, we can make Rustik pay.”
Chapter 5
Alisa
“Now you’ve lost your mind.” I stalk away from him, trying to process what he just said. “You want to marry me? I don’t even understand why you’d want something like that.”
“You’re in a wedding dress already, which makes things easy.”
“That’s not funny.” I look down at my torn, dirt-stained clothes. “I look like a mannequin in a bombed-out Goodwill.”
“An extremely fuckable mannequin at least.”
“I didn’t know you were into making love to inanimate objects.”
“Don’t kink-shame.”
“Explain how marrying me is even remotely on your radar, crazy?”
“You’re perfect. That’s how.”
“And you’re a total stranger. Also, probably insane.” I turn to face him again now that there’s half a room between us. “Explain to me how the hell marrying you would be better than marrying Rustik, please? I might as well shove my hand in a wasp nest and wiggle it around.”
“For one, I didn’t kill your sister, and I have no reason to hurt you.”
“Great, that’s slightly better. That’s like the bare minimum to be in the same room with you, let alone pledge my undying fidelity. I still don’t see why marriage is even on your mind right now. And don’t mention the stupid dress again.”
He pauses, watching me carefully like he’s formulating his thoughts. He speaks very carefully. “Going against Rustik will be costly and difficult. There will be violence, bribes, outright war. My family’s power base is across the country, and if I want to make inroads here, I need someone local to help me.”
“You think that person’s me?” I laugh, unable to believe what I’m hearing. “You’re making a huge mistake. Before my sister married Rustik, my family had nothing to do with the Bratvas.”
“Maybe that’s true, but your father owns the most profitable marijuana dispensary chain in the region, and I want a piece of that industry. That’s the whole reason I’m out here, scouting for new opportunities, new places to grow my family’s influence. Marijuana is going to be enormous, and I believe my organization needs to be at the ground floor sooner rather than later.”
I can hardly understand what I’m hearing. This guy wants to marry me because he’s interested in the weed business? “Why not just, I don’t know, buy a farm or something? Like a normal person? Hell, watch a few YouTube videos, learn about the freaking industry that way. Seems pretty extreme to, I don’t know, marry a stranger after helping her escape from a marriage to a psychopath.”
