Page 72 of Forcibly Sold to the Bratva
Once we’re home, Tikhon dismisses his men and leads me straight to his office. I don’t even bother asking where Andrei and Alexey are.
The truth is, I don’t want to see my brothers. Any of them. And after tonight, I can’t bear to see Tikhon’s face.
Once we’re inside the office, he motions for me to sit, but I keep standing. For the first time, I meet his glare and feel something wither within me. How could he threaten to kill two innocent women? My sisters-in-law.My friends.
I remain standing and feel so small under his gaze that I wrap my arms around myself. When I speak, my voice comes out low. “What do you want from me, Tikhon?”
A pained expression passes across his face. “I want you back.”
“And this is how you thought you should do it?” I feel my voice choke. “By scaring and blackmailing me into submission?”
He flinches slightly. “Look, Arina. Please, there was no other way…”
“There’s always a choice, Tikhon.” I finally let out a sob. “It seems you just aren’t good at making them.”
“I did what I had to do, you understand?” he snaps.
“How can I understand when, for the longest time, I thought you ran restaurants?” I hiss, my fear now turning to fury.
“I was trying to keep you safe!” he bellows.
I whisper. “Surprising, since I no longer feel safe around you.”
“Yeah? What are you saying, Arina?”
“I’m saying,” I raise my head to meet his gaze, “I want to go back…to Ilariy.”
Tikhon’s eyes narrow. “He kidnapped you to take his revenge on us. Are you going to allow yourself to be used like that?”
“He didn’t—” I begin, then stop myself. What’s the point in arguing? Tikhon will never understand what Ilariy and I have built together, how things have changed.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tikhon lowers his voice. “You’re going to end it with him tonight.”
I stare at him, disbelief washing over me. “What?”
“You’re going to call him and tell him it’s over. That you’ve chosen to return to your family willingly.”
“I won’t,” I say firmly. “You can’t make me.”
“Can’t I?” A cruel smile plays at his lips. “Alexey is watching Ilariy’s family as we speak. His sisters made it home safely—this time. I can give the order right now, and Alexey will ensure they don’t wake up tomorrow. And then, we’ll go after each family member of his. Every man, every woman, until Ilariy is all that’s left and then I’ll slit his fucking throat for what he did to you.”
The room seems to tilt beneath my feet. I steady myself against the arm of the couch. “You…you can’t possibly mean it.”
“You want to test me?” Ilariy growls. I just stand there, trembling.
Do I want to test him on this? Do I even want to give him the opportunity to show me he’s not bluffing? I can’t forget all I’ve learned. They tortured Lilibeth. His men pointed a gun at Tatiana tonight.
I sink onto the couch, my legs no longer able to support me. I close my eyes, trying to think, to find a way out. But there isn’t one. I know he’s capable of things I can’t imagine, and if I refuse, the people I care about will die. If I agree, I lose the only man I’ve ever truly cared about, who I’m not bonded to by blood—the one who showed me what family really means.
My eyes blast open when I absorb the words I spoke to myself.
I can’tletanything happen to him.
“Fine,” I say instantly. “I’ll call him.”
Tikhon nods. “You’ll tell him you’ve realized you belong with your true family and what you felt for him wasn’t real. Blame it on Stockholm syndrome if you have to, chalk it down to confusion after being kidnapped. You’ll tell him you never want to see him again.”
Each word is a knife in my heart, but I listen—for Ilariy. “And if I do this, you promise to leave his family alone? All of them?”
