13. Lucia

CHAPTER 13

Lucia

T his is a nightmare. Someone please wake me up.

I think by the time you get to my age, most women have encountered that man they fell hopelessly in love with. The man they would have done anything for. Most of the time, men like that have several flaws that for some reason we willfully choose to be blind to. Toxic relationships are a slippery slope. And my slippery slope was Alex. Alex Shaw.

That was his name. I'm starting to realize it was fake. And another thing I'm suddenly violently thankful for is that he wasn't that man for me. I've never experienced that kind of toxic love. I've never experienced love at all. Maybe that's why I'm strong enough to stand tall in the face of this bizarre situation. Because if I don't, I'll fall to pieces.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, looking straight into Alex's brown eyes.

Brown eyes I used to know so well. Brown eyes I can't believe I forgot. Because they're so much like his brother's, I should have known the moment I saw them.

He's still staring at me in shock. I can feel the tension in the room. Particularly from Ivan, whose head is swinging back and forth between us, no doubt trying to understand what's going on. If it were any other moment, I'd find it funny that this is the first time I've ever seen him so off-kilter.

Alex blinks, seeming to come out of his shock.

"I live here, Lucia. What the fuck are you doing here?"

Ivan glares, but he doesn't even look in Alex's direction, keeping his eyes fixed on me. I work up every single nerve I have inside me to look back at him, wringing my hands together as I try to figure out this situation.

"Apparently, I live here as well," I reply in a mutter.

He seems to have heard enough from me because his gaze swings to Ivan next, who speaks up before he can.

"Alexei," he starts, and I can't help a scoff. So that's his real name? Both men turn to me for a second before looking back at each other. "What are you trying to say?"

Alex's—or Alexei's—jaw grinds. "Don't ask when you already know, Ivan. I was just telling you about her last night. What's going on? Why is she here? Did you go looking for her in New York? Why did you bring her here?"

Ivan is white as a sheet. I can sympathize. This is so fucked. He doesn't seem to be able to voice the words, so I figure I might as well do so for him.

"Your brother and I are getting married," I say in a low tone, quickly, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

Alexei snarls, that face that I used to think was so beautiful becoming a mask for a second. In a way that used to scare me. It's one of the reasons things didn't work out between us. Because he was always wearing that mask.

"Like hell you are," he snaps. "This doesn't make any sense. How did you two meet? Are you doing this to punish me, Lucia? Is that it?"

"No. I had no idea you were even related to Ivan, Alex," I grit out, making sure to emphasize his name—the one he gave me.

"Bullshit! I'm just supposed to believe this is all a coincidence? That Lucia Kent from fucking New York found her way to my fucking house in Chicago and is suddenly getting married to my brother?"

He's getting more worked up the more he speaks, his body growing tenser beneath his clothes. Another reason I couldn't love him. He always seemed to have this pent-up rage within him. Frankly, he scared me sometimes. He never hit me, but I was afraid he might.

"My real name isn't Lucia Kent, it's Lucia Maranzano. I'm sure that would make things easier for you to understand, Alex. I was never just Lucia Kent from New York; I had a family here. My father used to be the Don of the Italian outfit. I was a fucking princess in the Cosa Nostra. That's how your brother and I met."

Lies. I keep lying about our origin story for some reason. But in this situation, he really doesn't have to know how we actually met. It's none of his business.

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that?"

"Yes," I answer simply.

That only makes him angrier.

"You fucking…" He starts walking toward me, rage in his brown eyes.

But he doesn't get far. Ivan seems to get over his shock enough to step in front of me smoothly, cutting his brother off.

"Leave," he orders in a low, commanding tone.

Alexei's eyes widen. "You can't be fucking serious."

"Walk away, Alexei. I understand you're confused right now. I am, too. We'll discuss this matter in the morning. Now leave."

Alexei looks at me before looking back at his brother.

"Fine, I'll go. But have a little decency, Ivan. And don't fucking touch her. Okay?"

I scoff. He can touch me if he wants to. Or if I want him to.

I don't say that out loud, though.

"Go," Ivan says again, and this time his brother listens.

He walks out of the kitchen, leaving me space to breathe for the first time in a couple of minutes. But I immediately stop breathing again when Ivan invades my space. Unlike his brother, the rage in his eyes is more muted. Less scary. It doesn't make me want to hide. It's actually fascinating. The clear display of emotions.

"I'm only going to ask you this once, milaya , and I need you to answer honestly. Alright?" he prompts.

I nod once, waiting for his question.

"Did you approach me that day because you knew who I was? Because you know my brother? Was this some sort of revenge ploy or a plot to get back into his life? I need to know, Lucia."

I roll my eyes before placing a hand on his chest to push him backward because I really need some space to breathe.

"In case you've forgotten, Mr. Volkov," I start, "let me remind you that you're the one who barged into my family's home suddenly demanding I marry you. I have no ploys or plots. I am technically an unwilling participant in your stupid plan to get me to marry you. And no, I didn't approach you that day in the restaurant because I knew you were Alex's brother. In fact, if I had known who you really were, I would have run like hell. Understand?"

His eyes narrow, roaming over my face like he's trying to work out if I'm telling the truth. He must be able to ascertain or confirm because a minute later, he's dropping my gaze and stepping even further back.

"Go to bed, Lucia," he says after a couple of seconds.

"Are you kidding? This is a mess. What are we going to do about your ticking bomb of a brother?"

Because despite everything, I know Alexei well, and he really is a ticking bomb. There's no telling what he'll do next.

"I'll take care of it," Ivan tells me. "You've had a long day, milaya . Just go to bed, okay?"

Somehow, his words provide me with some level of comfort. Which I hate because I really don't need him to be comforting me right now.

"Okay," I say on a nod, remembering my smoothie on the kitchen island.

I grab it on my way out. Before I leave, though, I turn to him, because I do need to know one last thing.

"You believe me, though. Right? I didn't do this on purpose."

Ivan lets out a soft breath as he looks at me. "Of course I believe you, krasavitsa. "

I can see in his eyes that he's being sincere. After one last look at him, I turn around and leave, heading to the room I was shown to earlier today. Once the door is shut behind me, I'm glad to be alone with my thoughts. My heart is racing.

The plan was simple. Adrian, that jerk face, told me to make Ivan start to trust me. I figured seducing him was right up that alley because since I'm already here, I might as well help him get revenge for his mother. Or at least the justice she deserves. It's why I wore these stupid shorts. I want to drive him crazy a little. Because I know he at least likes my body.

I was only planning on teasing him. The problem is, though, I forgot I also seem to like his body just as much. And when he asked to kiss me, there was just no way I was going to be able to say no. So I let him, and it was pretty fucking electric.

Maybe if he had kissed me like that back then, I never would have snuck off the morning after we slept together. The kiss made me realize I might be in a little more trouble than I expected, and I was just coming to terms with that when Alexei walked into the house and called for his brother.

I have never, in all my entire twenty-four years of living, been that shocked before. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that Ivan's brother is none other than my ex-boyfriend. I have no idea what forces are at play right now. But not only are they cruel, they're also fucking sadistic.

With a sigh, I fall down onto the four-poster bed in the large room. I stare upward, wishing I was in my own room. With the stars painted on the top. It was comforting. It felt like home. This room feels anything but. I know I have to get used to it, though.

If this was happening to any other man but Ivan Volkov, I would have said he'd give up. That he would take it as a loss and move on to some other woman who hasn't had affiliations with his brother in the past. But I'm starting to know Ivan pretty well, and one thing I'm sure of is that he doesn't back down when he wants something. Everything else be damned.

It's still pretty cruel, though. I don't know about the dynamics of his relationship with his brother, but I do know that things are about to get pretty fucking murky.

My phone rings, distracting me from my thoughts. When I grab it, I'm utterly unsurprised to find my sister's name flashing across the screen. I consider ignoring the call but that's probably the worst thing I could do, considering the circumstances.

"Hey, sorella ," I greet her, trying to sound as upbeat as possible.

Which was probably a mistake.

"Why do you sound so happy? What has he done to you?" she asks suspiciously.

"He hasn't done anything," I say in a normal voice. At least not anything I didn't want him to. "I promise, Rory. He has been a perfect gentleman."

"Oh, please. I doubt the man has any idea what that even entails," Aurora states. "Are you okay, though?"

"I'm fine. Nothing has happened to me in the few hours since I've been here."

"And nothing is going to happen to you," she says assuringly. "Listen, so I've been talking with Nico and I think we can come up with a plan to get you out of there. There's a port outside the city and the Russians don't have a stronghold there. All we have to do is get you there and then you can leave the country."

I smirk, feeling really bad for my brother-in-law. My sister is awful at letting things go. And I just know she's giving him a hard time over this.

"Rory, I hate traveling on boats. I get seasick, remember?"

"You'll live. Or at the very least you won't have to spend the rest of your life married to that man," she retorts fiercely.

I sigh. "Aurora, you seriously need to let this go. I can take care of myself."

"That's not your job. I'm your older sister. I'll take care of you," she insists.

"I'm a grown woman, Rory. I can make my own choices. You don't have to take care of me anymore. I love you to bits, but you've got other people that need you now. You've got little Ale. We all have a responsibility to take care of him. That means making sure nothing happens to his daddy or any of his daddy's men. Honestly, marrying Ivan isn't the worst thing that could happen to me."

"You're talking about him familiarly again," Aurora mutters, fixating on that one thing. "Seriously, I don't get how you can be so calm about all this. You don't know this man!"

I shut my eyes briefly. I need to tell her the truth. And I will. Just not over the phone.

"Just please trust that I know what I'm doing, Rory. Please."

She's silent for a couple of seconds, probably thinking it over. Then she groans.

"I hate this so much."

"I know."

"But I also love you to bits and I know you're a fucking badass," she says, making me smile. "Be safe, Luce."

"I will. Love you, Rory. And give Ale dozens of kisses from me."

"Okay. Bye, sorella ," she says on a laugh.

She hangs up the call and I huff out a relieved breath. After finishing my smoothie, I curl up under the blanket on the bed and close my eyes. It isn't too long before I'm fast asleep, hoping tomorrow will be better.