Page 112 of Ruthless Reign

My heart climbs into my throat, but I can’t hide the truth from her any longer. “Sergey will marry you, and Anatoly will marry me, which will link their partnership through marriage.

“This ... this can't be real.” Sofiya’s face drains of color. "Married? To Sergey? How can they force us to marry them?"

“Men like them can do whatever they want, and there's nothing we can do about it."

“I can’t believe this.” She stands up and paces the room frantically. “Wait.” She comes to a sudden stop. “Did our parents have something to do with this?”

I bite my lip. “Our parents had a lot to do with it. I’m pretty sure Anatoly convinced Papa to sign a contract promising you to Sergey.”

Sofiya clenches her fists, her expression showing how utterly betrayed she feels. “How could our own parents be so cruel?” she shouts, her anger boiling over. “They just sold me like I'm nothing! Sold both of us!”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t. But we can't focus on that right now.” I grab her by the shoulders so she doesn't miss a word I'm about to say. “These men are depraved. They've been involved in shit I don't even want to tell you about. All that matters is that we get away from them. We need to save ourselves."

She walks towards the window to gaze outside. “How? There's nothing but cliffs and open water as far as I can see. We're completely secluded here.”

“We need to scour this place for anything we can use as a weapon. Maybe if one of us pretends to be sick, we can distract them, and … I don't know, make a run for it. Try to get help.”

Doubt creases her forehead.

“We’re going to work together to find a way out of here,” I insist. I need her to believe it as much as I do. “We can't afford to think otherwise.”

She offers me a weak smile as her distant gaze shifts out the window. “If you say so, Lizka.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

ROMAN

Maybe I’ve died and gone to hell. It certainly sounds like it with the chaos everywhere—men yelling and boots stomping all over the place.

There’s a sharp slap to my face, maybe from Satan himself, but when I open my eyes, it’s Pavel kneeling in front of me, frantically patting me down.

“You died too?” I ask.

Pavel frowns. “The only dead person in this room is Sergey.”

I force myself to sit up and find Nikolai’s gun smoking, the barrel still pointed where his brother just stood. Sergey is on the floor, motionless, with a pool of blood widening around him.

The Zhukov guards all look spooked. They draw their weapons, but Nikolai raises his hand, signaling everyone to stand down.

“Everyone in here, listen very carefully,” Nikolai booms.

All eyes land on him, and the entire room goes still.

“My brother wasn't worthy of the Zhukov name. I am the rightful head of this brotherhood. If any of you have a problem with it, speak now. You'll be free to go. But if you stay, I demand complete and utter loyalty."

He scans the room, but not one person makes a move to leave. Instead, all the guards lower to one knee, demonstrating their allegiance to Nikolai, the pakhan—the boss. He nods and makes a motion for them to rise. Then he turns toward me.

"Thank you" might not quite cut it in this situation, but either way, Nikolai doesn't seem like a man who wants to be thanked. In truth, he had his own reasons for killing his brother.

The air crackles with tension, but I stand and stride toward Nikolai.

His stare is piercing; he follows my every move, sizing me up and deciding if we’ll move forward as friends or enemies. I hold out my hand, making it clear I’m leaning toward friendship.

His jaw ticks, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. But he’s no idiot. Partnering with us is his best option, at least for now.

He nods and steps forward to shake my hand.

“You want to help us take down Anatoly?” I look him in the eyes.

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