11. Lucia

CHAPTER 11

Lucia

I 'm seated in Nico's office in a chair right by my sister and her husband. Adrian's here too, and Camila. Two members of the table who hold the most power in the Cosa Nostra. Oh, and Camila's husband, a tall man called Lukas. If it wasn't for the sheer vastness of this room, it'd be pretty crowded with the number of people in here.

And they're all trying to decide what to do next. Forty-eight hours are up and he's going to be demanding an answer soon enough.

"I don't think there's any point in further discussions," Nico starts. "Lucia's not going to marry him. The move is neither politically nor strategically beneficial."

"It's also not ethically right," my sister mutters beside me. "And even if it was, my sister's not going to be forced into a marriage on my watch. Which is why I thought of an alternative."

We all perk up visibly, our eyes moving to rest on her.

Aurora has a smile on her face as she speaks, "He can't marry Lucia if she's already married, now can he?"

"Um… sis? Slight issue with that plan. I'm single as fuck," I state.

Someone chuckles lowly. I think it's Adrian but I don't turn to look.

"I know, which is why I propose we marry you off as soon as possible to the next available man."

"Who?" I ask curiously.

She stares meaningfully behind me and I whirl around and find Adrian with his eyebrows raised.

"Are you kidding me? Him?" I question.

"Way to make a man feel special, Lucia. Thanks," he grumbles.

"No offence, Adrian, I think you're amazing. But marrying him would probably be worse than marrying Volkov."

"Hey! I have feelings, you know," he complains.

"I don't mean it in a mean way. I just mean you're more of a brother to me than anything else. It would be weird."

"Agreed. Terrible plan, Rory. But I've got a couple candidates on retainer for her to choose from if we decide to go this route," he suggests.

Nico, who had been otherwise silent, shakes his head firmly.

"Unfortunately, that's not going to work. If you get married behind Volkov's back, after he's publicly made a claim on you, we wouldn't be able to avoid bloodshed."

"So you're saying this war is happening no matter what," Aurora says disappointedly.

No one says anything to the contrary. I stay silent, the pit in my stomach growing with every minute that passes.

"Right. As my wife as previously stated, we're not agreeing to Volkov's demand. However, he's not a man to be trifled with. His reputation precedes him, as I'm sure most of us in this room are aware. He has enough money and resources to pursue a fight with us. And that's not to mention the might of the Bratva behind him."

"We can take him," Camila says confidently.

I feel a swirl of warmth at that. Camila used to be close to my sister and me when we were growing up. She practically adopted us as sisters of her own. She even took me to my first party, a fact that she's made me swear to secrecy.

"I would have preferred if this issue could have been solved without going a violent route," Nico states, his gaze sliding over to Camila's husband.

Lukas meets his gaze with a blank one of his own. "I told you. Mr. Volkov has no weak points you can take advantage of."

"Everyone has weak points. You're just too far up his ass to tell us his," Adrian says.

He and Lukas decidedly don't get along.

"Cool it, Rossi," Camila snaps.

He crosses his arms before looking away. There's a certain tension surrounding him and he keeps glancing at me like he has something to say. I arch an eyebrow, trying to catch his eye, but he simply shakes his head.

"Anyway, we're going to wait for him to make the first move. I still don't want to believe he's going to risk losing everything over something as trivial as this. If he does come after us, we'll fight back. On that note, I'm making arrangements for Lucia and Aurora to leave the country with Alejandro. You'll be going to Milan."

My mouth drops open, and from the way Aurora falls still beside me, she wasn't expecting it either.

"You can't be serious," she exclaims.

He fixes her with a cool look. "Did you really think I'd let you stay in this city with our baby during a war? What if you get caught in the crossfire?"

"I'm not leaving you," Aurora states.

Nico huffs out a breath. "We'll discuss this later."

"We'll talk about it now," she says, standing up.

That's our cue to leave. Nico only has to look at Camila before she and Lukas make a hasty exit. Adrian walks out next and then I do as well, leaving the couple to their fight. I feel fucking ill at the thought that they'll have to be separated.

Nico could be killed. If anything happened to him, Aurora would be devastated. I'd never forgive myself.

I'm heading up to my bedroom when Adrian appears out of nowhere. His green eyes are dimmer than usual.

"We need to talk, chipmunk. Let's take a walk."

I'm immediately worried. The last thing we need right now is more bad news.

"Okay," I agree, following him as he leads me out of the house.

We walk for a couple minutes in the compound until we stop at a bench in the courtyard.

"Come on, Adrian. Say what's on your mind. You've never been one to beat around the bush," I prompt, taking a seat beside him.

"Right." He exhales softly. "I'm just not sure you're going to like what I have to say."

"Give it to me straight. I'm a big girl. Is this about me turning you down back there? Please don't tell me you're about to confess your undying love to me," I say on a groan.

He laughs. "Chill out, Luce. You're not my type. I can't handle all your crazy."

I punch him in the arm for that comment. "So what is it? You've been acting weird all morning. Just come out and say it."

"Fine. I think you should marry Volkov."

Out of everything I expected him to say, this was absolutely not on my list. My lips part and I turn to look at him, sure I must have been hearing wrong.

"Adrian, are you high?"

If it was anyone else, I'd be inclined to believe I heard right. But Adrian hates Ivan. If he had a chance to launch a hate campaign against the Russians, he would.

He laughs at the question. "No. But damn, I miss getting high. It's been a minute since I smoked."

I give him an annoyed look at that. "Dude, start making sense."

"You heard me right, Luce. I want you to marry Volkov."

"Why?"

"Because…" He trails off, clears his throat before starting up again. "Have I ever told you how my mother died?"

"No," I reply.

I've actually always been curious, though. I remember his mom dying a couple of years after mine died. And then I remember him leaving soon after. He said his father was sending him away.

"Well, she was murdered. We found her body in an abandoned cellar. She was tortured for days and then left for dead," he says bitterly. "I had to see her body. My father practically dragged me to that fucking morgue and told me to look and see what they'd done to her."

I place a hand over my mouth. "That's… I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Adrian."

"Yeah. Awful, isn't it? Which is why I need you to understand that the only thing I've been living for since that day is revenge. I have to find the man who did that to her. I have to know why she had to suffer so much before her death."

I exhale softly. "What does that have to do with Ivan Volkov and my marriage to him?"

A muscle tightens in Adrian's jaw.

"Because I have reason to believe that Volkov was responsible," he replies, and my heart skips a beat at the pronouncement. Adrian continues. "I've always known it was someone in the Bratva. Someone high up that was able to cover his tracks. It wasn't until recently that I realized Ivan is the only man who fits the bill. He was already working for the Bratva when my mother died."

I don't want to believe what he's saying. I don't want to believe that Ivan could be responsible for something so horrifying. But I also have no idea who he really is. And no clue what he's capable of.

"That's horrible, Adrian," I say after a few moments have passed.

"My request or what Volkov is possibly responsible for?"

I consider that for a moment. "Both. I can't believe you're asking me to marry him. If you believe he killed your mother, then kill him. It's as simple as that."

"He's the second most powerful man in the Bratva, Lucia. I can't execute him without due cause."

"So you want me to do what?"

"Enter his home. Find evidence. Anything that links him to my mother. Anything that proves he's the slimy bastard I know he is."

"You want me to marry him, Adrian," I say softly, feeling my heart pound in my chest at the prospect.

Adrian's jaw tightens and I can see in his eyes that he hates having to ask me this. If I say no, he won't push this, and yet I can see the reasoning behind his request. I'd been thinking it over, too, wondering if maybe it's the right thing to do.

I thought I could reason with Ivan when I spoke to him last night. But after that conversation, I'm pretty sure he's beyond that.

"Lucia, I care about you a lot. You're probably the only friend I've got right now. But for years, I've wanted nothing more than to get revenge against the man that killed my mother. I finally have a chance to do that."

My eyes fall shut and I look away from him to stare up at the sky.

"This is all shades of fucked up. I'm only twenty-four. Marriage was supposed to be nowhere near my future," I say placing my face in my palm.

"I know. I get that it's hard. But I swear it to you, the second you ask me to, I'll get you away from him. I'll make use of every resource I have in my arsenal to do so."

"We'd still be married, Adrian."

"You can't be married to a dead man," he says harshly.

I suck in a sharp breath, trying to ignore the clenching in my chest at the thought of Adrian killing Ivan. But I also understand his need to know the truth. If I was in his position, I wouldn't hesitate to seek revenge as well.

"This is so fucked," I breathe.

I never would have thought I'd be considering the idea of marrying a literal psychopath. Never in a million years.

Adrian's about to say something else when there's the sound of a commotion at the gate. He gets a text and his eyes darken.

"Volkov is here with his men. Nico says to let him in."

I get to my feet. "We might as well go welcome him," I mutter. "Let's go, jerk face."

His eyes search mine for a moment. He's probably wondering if I've come to a decision. I look away, unwilling to let him know what's on my mind. We walk back to the main house just before Ivan and his posse arrive.

He looks as cool and unaffected as ever, his brown eyes clear as he glances around the room. He notes the guards standing around with a smirk.

"I'm not here to fight, Ramirez. At least not yet," he states. "I'm assuming you've come to a decision?"

I step forward before Nico can speak. My brother-in-law looks down at me as I appear at his side, but I'm not looking at him. I keep my gaze straight, fixed on Ivan.

"Yes, actually. We've come to a decision."

"And what is that, milaya ?" he asks in the low tone he seems to reserve just for me.

I swallow softly before replying. "I'll marry you."

The entire room descends into chaos. One second I'm standing beside Nico, and the next he's pushing me back and my sister's standing in front of me, her brown eyes frantic.

"What the hell are you doing?" Aurora snaps. "No way in hell I just heard that right."

"You did, Rory. I'm going to marry him."

"Like hell you are."

I suck in a deep breath, knowing it'll be hard to convince her this is the better choice. I barely even believe it myself.

"Aurora, I have to do this for our family. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of this."

She glares at me. "They're willing and prepared to protect you because that's what family does. You don't have to do this. I'm not going to let you."

"You're not letting me do anything, sorella . I'm making this decision on my own because it's the right thing to do."

"How is marrying a complete stranger the right thing to do?"

"I imagine the wedding won't be anytime soon. Hopefully he won't be a stranger by then," I muse.

"Are you seriously making a joke right now? This is serious, Lucia."

"I need you to trust that I can do this on my own, Aurora. You're always so good at making sacrifices for us. It's my turn now."

Tears well up in her eyes and my heart breaks a little at the sight. I can't help but think that she'd have an easier time accepting this if she knew the truth about my situation. I have to tell her as soon as possible.

I don't realize the room has quieted around us until Ivan speaks.

"As entertaining as this has been, Lucia and I need to leave."

Aurora grips my hand at the end of that sentence, like she's trying to physically keep me with her.

"I'm sorry, leave where?"

"You don't really think I'm going to let you continue to stay here, do you? They'll have you on a plane out of the city the first chance they get. No way in hell I'm risking that. You're coming with me, krasavitsa ."

A muscle in my head starts to throb. But I know he's right. Staying in this house gives Aurora an avenue to convince me not to go through with it. And knowing my sister, she could very well bundle me onto the nearest plane out without my permission.

I look up into her eyes. "It's okay, Rory. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Lucia, you don't have to do this," Nico says, standing beside his wife.

"Actually, I think I do," I murmur, my eyes meeting Ivan's brown ones.

His expression hasn't been ruffled once since he stepped in. Not even when I agreed to the marriage. Does that mean he was expecting it? Or he just doesn't care either way?

The man is impossible to read. Which is unfortunate because I just offered myself to him on a silver platter.

It feels very much like selling my soul to the devil.