Page 46 of Corrupted Guilt

“Freedom to make my own Doctor’s appointment? Yippee.”

“Freedom like your own place. Your own home to let your nesting instinct run wild and free. “I’ll visit, protect you, fuck you but it’ll be your place where you can even have your own rules.”

“Would that be safe?”

“Not as safe as locking you away in a vault but you won’t escape from your own place? You’d have a full security team outside the walls around the clock. You’ll be safe.” He stands up, “I’ll visit frequently, and check on you.”

“Why now?”

“Petya made his move and failed. He won’t try again for a while, we killed too many of his people, and you’ve wanted this, so …”

“No school but a place of my own to keep me occupied?”

“Pretty much. Think of it as a wedding present.”

“What? You’re still want to go through with that?”

“Now more than ever. Sooner the better, Petya might give up looking for you if he hears you’re married.”

“You’re really going to make me marry you?” I whisper. “Even though you don’t care about me?”

His expression remains impassive. “The moment you become my wife, you become Bratva. You become mine. You’ll be entitled to all the privileges and protections due to a Bratva wife. I’m doing you a favor, Katya.”

“I don’t know how to be a Bratva wife.”

“You’ll learn.”

I don’t want to learn how to live without love. I don’t want to learn how to be useful to Yuri without ever meaning anything to him.

I want so badly to tell him all of that, instead I ask the obvious: “What’s the catch?”

“No catch.”

“There’s always a catch with you.”

“No catch.”

I don’t believe him but can’t argue with him. A sudden wave of nausea hit me and I run to the bathroom to vomit again.

20. Yuri

Of course there’s a catch.

Of course, I have an idea and a plan to make this all come together.

I’m liking the idea less and less, but I’m not going to let her, or anyone know, especially my Vors, Anton and Maxim.

They’d think I was getting soft.

Which I’m not.

Part of it is that Katya is starting to get secretive again. I have an uncomfortable feeling she’s planning to leave me again, despite Petya and the dangers. Nothing definite, just a feeling. A disappointing feeling. I had hoped she was over those rebellions – not all rebellions, some I enjoy immensely – just the ones involving escape attempts.

Besides, an escape, whether successful or unsuccessful, would spoil my plans and I can’t have that. Not at this late stage.

The other part of it is that I like spending time with her. I really like fucking her but even when we’re not fucking, I feel calmer somehow around her.

I walked down the hall to my office to meet Maxim and Anton. They were already sitting across from the desk, Anton stood up immediately, and I motioned him to sit. Maxim didn’t stir.

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