Page 36 of Captivated By Him

“This girl. Nicole.” He arches his back and wiggles himself into a better position on the chair. “You’re sure she’s not behind the trouble back in New York?”

“Nicole wouldn’t talk to the cops.” I don’t hesitate a moment to back her up. “Her father’s job was to take care of guys who stepped out of line, who talked when they weren’t supposed to. She wouldn’t do that.”

Joseph nods. He didn’t doubt her; the question feels more like a test for me than an inquiry into her loyalty.

“The Kaczmareks did a lot for her when her father died. Helped her.”

“I know that. And so does she. But she never took an oath. She didn’t need to stay in New York and be with that asshole just because he couldn’t take no for an answer,” I point out. So long as Nicole is no threat, her walking away should mean nothing to anyone back in New York. Or Chicago.

“That’s true,” Dominik pipes up, taking the seat beside my father. They’re on one side of the desk staring at me together.

“I understand you want to protect her.” Joseph folds his hands in front of him and levels me with a fatherly look. The same he would use when I was a child, and he was about to lecture me about grades or watching after Lena more. “But there’s only so much we can do. She’s not our family.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” My chest fills with anger at the implication of his words.

“It means, we can’t go into a war with the Kaczmareks because you want to get your dick wet,” Dominik adds.

I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth. Throwing my fist into his face would make my entire day brighter.

“It’s not like that,” I say, although I’m not really sure what it is.

“Whatever it is, the same applies. The Kaczmareks have a longer arm then we do,” my father reminds me. We have no family presence in New York. We’ve built our empire here in Chicago. Going to war with the Kaczmareks could bring us all down.

“You want me to cut her loose?” I ask, but I won’t do it. I won’t throw her to the wolves.

“You have a decision.” Joseph points a shaky finger at me. “We can’t give her the full protection of our family unless she’s part of our family.”

Realization of what he’s talking about hits me. My arms feel heavy, my heart slows.

“Marriage? You want to use this situation to force me into a marriage?”

Joseph raises his brow. “I’m not forcing you, Jakub. It’s your decision. If you want Nicole to be safely tucked under our family name, she must have it.”

I stare at him momentarily surprised, but I shouldn’t be. The man has been on a warpath to get me down the altar for months.

“She won’t agree.”

He shrugs. “Then she’ll have to understand while you can offer her as much protection as you’d like, if the Kaczmareks decide they want further discussion, I won’t be making any more deals on her behalf. They are her problem. Not ours.”

Everything they say is true. Her connection is the Kaczmarek family. They’ve employed her father and given her aid when she needed it.

Without the family having our backs, she’s vulnerable.

I stare at them both in silence. She’s never going to say yes. It will be a fight from the very mention of the subject until I get her down the aisle.

But it’s a fight she’s going to lose.

For her own safety.

Her own protection.

I will drag her into my life, my family, and my marriage bed kicking and screaming if I have to.

Chapter 11

Nicole

It’s dark outside by the time Jakub gets back to the apartment. I’m in the kitchen making a sandwich when the elevator doors open, and he walks in. I tense, knowing he’s going to be in a bad mood, and me being in the kitchen is only going to make it worse. But it’s been hours and I’m hungry.

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