Chapter 37

Maksim~

A s soon as Lochlan Murphy had finished removing the bullet from Katja's leg, I'd gotten her out of there and had brought her to my home. Of course, we had thanked the O'Briens, and after assuring Declan that the situation was over, we had parted ways, hoping to never have to deal with each other again. Granted, we always had business to attend to, but that was a relationship that we were all used to.

At any rate, once we'd gotten to my home, I had taken Katja directly to my room, and though Lochlan had advised against taking her home without an IV to replenish her fluids, he'd given me a list of things to help her recover from the blood loss, and Avgust had also called Dr. Seaport to meet us at my house. Though I'd never had a non-member of the bratva come to my home in the country, Katja was the exception to all my rules.

After Dr. Seaport had checked her over, he had assured me that she'd be fine and that there was a reason why Lochlan Murphy had a reputation for being one of the best doctors in the state. Nonetheless, I still made him look over the aftercare instructions and check Katja out for himself. Once we were all satisfied that she was out of the woods, Dr. Seaport had gone on his way, and I'd made the phone call to the Tremaine Group, informing them that Katja would be submitting her resignation later today, and I had also called Artur to let him know what was going on. Thankfully, no one from Katja's work had called the police or her grandfather to locate her when she hadn't shown up for work.

Dr. Seaport had also taken two vials of her blood, though he really hadn't wanted to. With as much blood as she'd lost, taking more blood hadn't been the wisest thing to do, but since she'd bitten Nikel's dick hard enough to draw blood, it was important that she get tested for any diseases that Nikel could have contracted.

Akim had also been here to greet us when we had arrived, and while Dr. Seaport had been tending to Katja, Avgust had been telling Akim everything that had happened. Though it was finally all over, the lack of closure was still bothersome. I'd had so many questions for Nikel Ovchinnikov, but given the choice between closure and Katja's life, I was more than glad that she'd been able to save herself. Besides, we already knew most of why he'd come here, so I wasn't sure how much more we would have learned, but still.

"What did The O'Brien mean when he said that he wasn't sure what you guys kept doing wrong?"

I'd just entered the bedroom from walking Akim out, and while I'd been expecting Katja to be asleep from exhaustion, she was sitting up in my bed, Naslediye curled up beside her like she no longer belonged to me. While I should take exception, they both looked perfect lying in my bed together.

Since Katja was going to be my wife, I saw no sense in shielding her from the life that I led. "Nikel came to Port Townsend five years ago, and he immediately started causing problems for all of us, though they were small problems at the time," I told her. "And though unrelated, it seems as if…as if we had not been quick enough to handle matters on our own."

Her brows furrowed over her tired eyes. "What's that mean?"

"The underground world is run differently than the postcards of America that you usually see. Unlike us, people usually delved in gossip for entertainment reasons. However, we keep our ear to the streets because knowing everything about our enemies is vital for survival." Needing to touch her, I finally walked over, then sat on the side of the bed, my hand reaching out to rub her uninjured leg. "Five years ago, Nero Sartori wiped out the Schulz organization because they kidnapped his wife. However, not before Kasen Sartori shot and killed the guy that set her up. A year after that, Savina Provenza was caught up in a murder scandal-"

"I remember that," she quickly rushed out. "It was all over the news. She killed Congressman Oliver's son."

I nodded. "The rumor was that he had been abusive during their courtship, but before Aurelio could take care of it for her, Mrs. Provenza took matters into her own hands and killed him herself. Then, after that, Declan O'Brien met his wife, Keavy, and she is…unconventional to say the least. It is reputed that she has a penchant for killing people, and she is the one that took out most of Nikel's gang."

Katja's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

I nodded again, still rubbing her good leg. "Then you have Noah Murphy's wife, Shea. Someone tried to kill her, and for someone not of this life, she adapted rather well. She ended up killing two men while trying to save herself, and Noah had not been lying when he'd said that his wife was not above killing him."

Katja shook her head in disbelief. "This is all so…so…wow."

"Then we have Samara Kotov," I went on. "Much like you, she got kidnapped by one of Nikel's associates, and much like you, she had to kill him to save herself. That is how we knew of the cabin that the O'Briens have. Lochlan had patched up Samara after she had managed to kill Louie Manziel."

Katja looked at me for a confused second before saying, "I still don't understand what that has to do with what Declan O'Brien said."

I let out a heavy sigh before telling her the emasculating truth. "As men, it is our duty to protect the women in our lives. For all our money and power in these streets, each one of us has failed to do that. You women have had to save yourselves, and that is a bitter pill to swallow for men like us. When The O'Brien questioned what we kept doing wrong, it was because we keep failing to protect the most important women in our lives."

After a while, she just gave me a quiet nod, her hand reaching out to pet Naslediye. "I can't believe that you have a cat."

"I think it is more that she has me," I admitted. "Cats are very regal, and Naslediye is no different."

"What does her name mean?"

"Legacy," I answered. "I named her Legacy."

Though not a surprise, Katja finally said what was really on her mind. "I'm not going to marry you, Maksim."

"I love you, Katja," I told her seriously.

"I don't care," she replied just as seriously.

"You cannot sit there and tell me that you feel nothing for me, Katja," I told her. "I would never believe it."

"That's the thing about people and feelings," she said. "If the feeling is strong enough, you'll allow it to make excuses for you. If the feeling is strong enough, you'll ignore common sense just to achieve the outcome that will make you feel better, though not necessarily what is best for you. If I only cared about my feelings for you, then this would be easy enough. However, I refuse to be that girl, Maksim."

"Which girl?" I asked, though I was pretty sure which type of female that she was referring to.

"You humiliated me in a way that cannot be undone," she said, her voice sounding a lot stronger than it should be, considering. "Since the moment that I met you, I've been a puppet on your many strings, and that doesn't feel like love, Maksim. In fact, that feels a lot like me just trying to find some light during some of the darkest days of my life, so can I even trust that my feelings for you are real? You manipulated me so expertly that I don't even know what it is that I feel for you."

Doing my best to not disregard her valid feelings and just lay down the law, I said, "You cannot believe that your life can just go back to normal after this, Katja. Even if you could get your job back-"

"What?" she choked out.

"I have already notified your work that you will be submitting your resignation later this evening," I informed her, and I knew that I hadn't done myself any favors when her jaw ticked in annoyance. "Again, you cannot go back to the life that you had before this, Katja."

Stubbornly, she said, "I can move. If my association with you is a problem, then I can move."

"You could," I agreed. "However, do you really think that I will allow that? C'mon, baby."

Instead of facing the truth, she said, "I'm tired, Maksim."

"I will grant you that you need rest, but you cannot avoid this conversation forever, Katja," I said, breaking the news to her. "Sooner or later, we will have to find some middle ground. There is also your grandfather to consider."

She immediately tensed up. "What do you mean?"

"I have already spoken with Artur, and I plan on speaking with your grandfather later this evening about our relationship and what will be expected going forward."

"You're not even listening to me," she practically spat. "What in the hell is wrong with you?"

"I am in love for the first time in my life," I told her. "That is what is wrong with me."

Doing her best to let out a calming breath, if I were a better man, I'd take mercy on her. However, I was in love with someone that didn't love me back, and that made all the difference in the world. While I was confident that Katja cared for me, it was going to take a miracle for her to ever love me, and I knew this.

I knew this.

Still, it made no difference.