Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I didn’t care if my wedding didn’t go quite as planned. I had a feeling if I allowed my wife-to-be, Charlotte—or Lottie, as she insisted on being called—to die, Ivan would be pissed.
Ivan always had his own agenda. Sometimes he shared it with people, most of the time, he didn’t. We were all pawns in his game, and I didn’t mind that.
Ivan had taken back the Bratva, destroyed everything his previous father and members had believed, and made it his own. He’d adapted.
He’d proven himself time and time again, that he was a force to be reckoned with. It’s why I’d protect him with my life. Ivan was cruel, malicious, and at times evil to the core, but only to those that deserved it. When the rumor of his death had run through my territory and word had gotten to me, I’d been lost. That was the truth. I’d been fucking lost. He was our leader, our boss, and without him, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the Volkov Bratva fell. My only concern at the time was to try and keep everything Ivan had built, secure.
Hearing his voice over the phone shouldn’t have been a joy to me, but it had been. I never considered myself capable of love. I couldn’t love, I didn’t know how. It wasn’t something I was built to do. If I did know what it felt like, at that moment, it was the closest I’d ever come to it. No doubt about it.
“You look nervous.”
I turned to see Slavik approach. It was rare for Slavik Ivanov to be in my territory but here he was. The first brigadier to be married off. From what my sources tell me, he’s a very happily married man. Of course there are always mixed rumors. Considering Aurora was still alive, and they had recently had a child together, I would say the happily married man rumors were more accurate.
One of the few things I prided myself on was my power of observation, and I knew Slavik was happy with his wife. Powerful men had to be subtle while out in public. The way whenever Aurora was near, Slavik would touch her. A small caress to the wrist, the gentle touch to her back, even the way he would graze her knee with his own. Of course, the smile Aurora often gave to Slavik. His serious expression never wavered, but it was in his eyes. Always in his eyes.
“I’ve got nothing to be nervous about,” I said. There was nothing for me to worry about. Charlotte was who I had to marry. This was my job. Ivan wanted to create peace with the Evil Savages MC, more specifically Rage, who was now President of the club, and I had no doubt wasn’t going to make life easy for us.
The Evil Savages MC had always been a thorn in my side, and would continue to be. They were not the first MC and I doubt would be the last to attempt to take more territory or to invade our turf without an invite. There was going to be a war between us—the more important question was when.
I was growing bored with waiting for my intended bride. Charlotte would be easy to train. If she stepped out of line, she’d be thrown into one of my dungeons or caves. I possessed quite a few of them. Over the year I’d come to see the power of isolation, especially as a tool.
Most people didn’t realize how crazy they could get by being forced alone, especially when I exposed them to the elements, or better yet, utter darkness and rodents. It was something I’d learned to embrace.
Some might say I have a screw loose in the head, but really, I’m a natural born survivor. It’s what Ivan had said to me often. No one fucked with me and if they even dared to, they often ended up begging a lot sooner than I anticipated. I liked to have fun.
“Nothing to be nervous about. You’re about to be married. Bringing two warring families together, and you’re not worried.”
Looking at Slavik, I don’t smile. There’s no way for me to smile. I’m not happy, nor am I sad.
“This is the job, Ivanov. You know this.”
Slavik forced a smile to his lips and gently bowed, before stepping back. He was pissed off, but I didn’t care. There was no reason for us to have a polite conversation.
Staring across the church, I notice the MC are getting antsy. I totally understand. I’m tempted to glance down at the time, but I don’t do that either. I refuse to show any kind of weakness.
Where the fuck was Charlotte? I refuse to call her Lottie. It’s not her name. It sounded childish to me, like someone couldn’t be bothered to say her actual name. I also notice Ivan Volkov is nowhere to be found. There was only one other place for him to be and that meant he was with my soon-to-be bride. Why? Charlotte was not an important person. She’d been handed to us and even encouraged by her father to be killed. He wanted her dead. Ivan, like always, had other plans. In the beginning, she had put up a fight, being quite violent as she attempted to make a break for it. Her body was no match for the bars of my cages.