Chapter 8

"If you're done text fucking your girlfriend, we have a problem we need to discuss." I glare at Viktor. He's leaning against the desk tapping away on his phone with that lovesick expression in his eyes. It's nauseating how easily my cousins are led around by their dicks.

"Don't call her that," he snaps.

"What am I supposed to call her? She still hasn't agreed to marry you, so she's not your wife or your fiancée. She's your girlfriend."

He scowls at me. Nothing pisses him off more than referring to Marlena as his girlfriend. She'll marry him, I'm sure of it, but she's putting him through his paces first.

Why not just drag her down the aisle and be done with it? I'll never understand how much he gives in to her.

"He's trying to anger you. Why do you fall for it every fucking time?" Andrei shoves Viktor's shoulder as he passes him, taking his seat on the couch. "What's the problem, Sergei? Is it with your grandmother's estate?"

"No. I have that matter settled. It's the?—"

"Settled?" Viktor puts his phone away. "How did you settle it? Are you married?"

It brings him too much joy that I have to marry to get control of my grandmother's businesses—companies that should have gone to my mother anyway had her family not turned their backs on her.

Cut off from her parents and siblings because of her choice in marriage, instead of marrying the man her father handpicked for her to solidify his own financial interests, she married against his wishes into a family he despised.

"Not yet." I frown. "Saturday morning."

"Tomorrow?" Andrei's eyebrows shoot up. "And who is the bride?"

"Her name is Coraline Christenson. We'll marry on Saturday."

"Coraline?" Viktor puts his hand up. "The girl from the country club?" A knowing grin spreads across his lips.

"It's a business arrangement. As soon as the estates are all settled, we'll end the marriage."

"You're going to get a divorce?" Viktor accuses. "Petrovs do not divorce."

I glare at him. "It's a business arrangement. That's all."

"A business arrangement," Viktor scoffs. "Do you hear what he's saying?" He slaps Andrei's shoulder.

"I hear him just fine." Andrei stares at me. "Have you slept with her?"

"Are you that old-fashioned?" I shoot at him. "If I've fucked her, I have to marry her?"

"If you consummate the marriage, yes." His voice hardens.

He's not wrong. Long-standing traditions aren't meant to be broken, and this is one that the Petrov family has taken seriously for generations. No divorce. Separations happen. Living in different countries has been known to happen, but the marriage remains intact.

"We are not back home, Andrei. Neither of you are even with Russian women. Why keep such an outdated tradition going?"

"Has he lost his mind?" Viktor folds his arms over his chest. "Who you marry doesn't matter. You know this."

I clench my jaw. We've veered from the topic at hand. "I'll worry about that. What we all need to be worried about now is we may have a rat in our ranks."

"What are you talking about?" Viktor moves to the armchair and takes a seat.

"Coraline overheard a detective at the coffee shop she goes to talking about having someone who is willing to talk to him about our family. Leskov was also mentioned," I explain.

"Does she know this cop?" Andrei asks.

"No. She overheard him, that's all."

"It could be anyone." Viktor frowns.

"Is there anyone close to this that is having issues? Complaining about shit or having financial trouble? Drugs? Something like that?" Andrei paces, thinking out loud.

"Not that I'm aware of, but I don't pay attention to that shit. Who can we trust completely that would be able to poke around without letting the rat know we're on to him?" My phone vibrates against my chest.

"Igor would never betray us," Viktor states firmly and I nod.

"Igor's not in Chicago right now. He had a problem back home he needed to deal with. He won't be back for a while," Andrei tells us.

My phone goes off again. This time a call comes through.

I pull it out and swipe it to life and walk several steps away from my cousins.

"What is it?" I answer.

"Sergei. You wanted the Tempo taken in, right?" Yogi asks. "The yellow Tempo?"

"Yes. What's the problem?" I can already sense what the problem is. I haven't heard anything from Cora since I texted her an hour ago.

"It's not here." Yogi yells at someone around him. "It's not in the parking garage or on the street anywhere. The keys are gone from the box in the garage."

I clench my teeth.

The woman just cannot stay where I put her.

"I think I know where it is. I'll let you know when you can pick it up." I end the call and tap on Cora's number.

It rings once, then goes to voicemail.

She declined me.

"Trouble?" Viktor asks with amusement dripping from his voice.

"Nothing that can't be handled." I told her specifically not to leave the house until I was able to get my men with her. Which would be this afternoon, if she hadn't just blatantly disobeyed me.

Again.

"Hmm. Handled firmly, right?" Viktor pokes. He's mocking my advice I gave him with Marlena.

I tuck my phone back into my jacket. Turning to Andrei, I ignore Viktor's attempt to piss me off.

He doesn't need to; Cora is doing a great job of getting under my skin all on her own.

"Do we have anyone on the force that can get us information?" I ask.

"We do. I'll put a call in this afternoon and get back to you once I hear," Andrei says.

"Good. I have to go." I'll check her apartment first.

There's no reason for her to go back there yet, but she might have forgotten something. She'd better be there. If I have to chase her all over Chicago, there's going to be hell to pay.

"Wait. When did you say you were having this ceremony?" Viktor asks, no more levity in his voice. "We should be there."

"No."

"Sergei. We should be there," Andrei repeats.

"It's a fifteen-minute ceremony with a judge in my living room. There is no need for anyone to be there," I argue.

Viktor looks up from his phone with a smile.

"She understands what she's getting into?" Andrei pushes. "That this isn't a quick marriage? That divorce is not an option once she takes your name?"

"She knows what she needs to know." I'm not going to explain this again. We'll marry. The estates will turn over to me, and then I'll figure out what to do with her.

Getting that business in my name is the priority. No matter the cost.

The Kustov family will not get a penny of it. They turned their backs on my mother, broke her heart.

Rejected by her own family.

It's time they pay for it.

"Let me know what you find out about the cop." I leave them frowning at me. They don't understand what it's like to have someone turn their back on them.

I quicken my step. Cora wouldn't have backed out of our agreement like this. She wouldn't have left.

She needs the money I offered.

She won't just leave that on the table.

She'll be back.

And I'll give her one chance to explain why she feels the need to be so damn disobedient before I teach her a lesson about how things are going to go from now on.