Page 28 of Ruthless Vows

Ruslan doesn’t waste a second before stepping in front of me, taking me out of the line of fire. I sigh, getting to my feet and rearranging my suit. I pat Ruslan on the back, telling him to stand down.

“I really am sorry to have arrived so early in the morning to drop this bomb on you,” I say to Nico, who looks just as furious as Rossi. “I understand it’s a lot to think about, so I’ll give you forty-eight hours to do so. After they’re up, I want to talk to Lucia.”

I look at her and she shifts uncomfortably, nerves evident in her expression. Nico stands, and one look at Adrian has the other man dropping his gun albeit unwillingly.

“You’re not marrying her, Volkov,” he says to me, voice ringing with authority.

“I’m sure my reputation precedes me. You know very well what’ll happen if I don’t get what I want,” I tell him. “Think carefully about your decision, Don.”

After one last look at Lucia, I turn around and leave the compound. When we arrive at home, Ruslan dips, heading to the training facilities.

He’s not happy with my decision, and in lieu of saying it outright, he’s taken to giving me the silent treatment like a little girl. I’m not going to force him to talk to me, especially since nothing he says is going to change my mind.

He thinks I’m insane for trying to marry a Maranzano. From his perspective, I seem to be risking everything over a woman I slept with once, but I’m making an objective decision I came to after a lot of thought. And I have the utmost confidence that it’ll all work out.

When I walk into the house, I find my brother awake and rummaging through the kitchen cupboards. He’s only wearing gray sweatpants, and his hair’s a mess. I don’t say a word as I stand at the doorway of the kitchen, watching as he pulls out some cereal and grabs a carton of milk and a bowl.

It takes him way too long to notice me.

“Jesus!” he yells when he finally does, nearly dropping the spoon in his hand in shock.

I arch an eyebrow at that. “You’re not even religious, Alexei.”

“It’s more about the principle of the thing,” he mutters. “Make some noise next time, would you? You’re not some wraith.”

“Noted,” I state. “Put the cereal back. I’ll make us some breakfast.”

He smiles before immediately doing as I asked. He takes a seat on one of the elevated chairs in front of the island and Imove about the kitchen, grabbing ingredients for French toast. I can’t remember the last time I did something as mundane as cooking. We have cooks for that, but none of them seem to be around at the moment. Plus, I think it’s time to inform Alexei about what’s going on.

“Where’d you go off to so early, anyway?” he asks before I can bring up the topic on my own.

I don’t immediately answer, cracking some eggs into a bowl and mixing in some milk and cinnamon.

“I paid a visit to Nicolas Ramirez and his family.”

His eyebrows rise. “The man that’s currently leading the Italian outfit?”

“Yes. We had an urgent matter to discuss.”

“What urgent matter?”

“I’m not going to bore you with the details. All you need to know is that I’m getting married.”

Alexei blinks once before proceeding to stare at me in shock for a few moments. I use the time to pull out the pan and preheat it.

“No, please, bore me with the details. I need to hear everything,” he says finally.

I chuckle and begin telling him everything. I leave out the part about meeting Lucia in New York, because he doesn’t need to know that. Instead, I tell him all about Sebastian and the deal we made—one I’m hoping to collect on.

“Shit, Ivan. You’re going to make this woman marry you because of some deal?” he asks on a frown.

I roll my eyes. “Since when are you the voice of reason?”

“It just seems a little cruel,” he says, visibly confused. “You’ve never been interested in marriage.”

“True, but in the past month, I’ve found myself a little curious.”

“About marriage? I can tell you all you need to know. It’s a shit show. Would not recommend.”

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