Page 19

Chapter Nineteen

Aiden

“W ell that was fun,” Finn says, sitting up once everyone else is gone.

“Shut up,” I snap.

“Touchy.”

“Obviously. It’s because of you that I now have to leave New York.”

“You did that yourself when you fucked the girl.”

I punch Finn again for good measure. “You brought us into this mess when you killed Ivan.”

“Who?”

“Don’t make me punch you again. I swear to fucking god.”

He raises his hands in surrender. “Ok, ok. Mabe you’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t have killed Ivan. But don’t deny it. It was fun.”

“It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t fun seeing the pain on Elena’s face.”

His swollen eyes manage to widen. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“What the fuck did you think? That I was just saving her life because it was fun?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbles. “I wasn’t sure. But now I see that you actually care for her. Huh. I wonder what that’s like. All the women I’ve met have been nothing but good for fucking.”

“You sick bastard,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Now we need to leave and get out of the city.”

“We have a house in Boston we can go to.”

I hesitate.

“What?” Finn asks flatly.

“I sort of pissed off the Irish mob.”

“That’s right. You killed Patrick. I heard about it but I wasn’t sure if it was true until your little girlfriend said she killed Connor. She has more fight in her than I realized.”

“Where do you propose we go?”

Finn groans as he stands up. We both took a good beating today. “Anywhere we want. The world is our palm tree. As long as we’re together, right?”

I scowl. “I’m not happy about this. In fact, I’m fucking pissed about all of this. I don’t want us to work together anymore, Finn. Once we leave New York, we’re going our separate ways.”

“Why? We only have each other. Might as well continue to work together.”

“Because I’m pissed at you.”

He waves a dismissive hand. “Oh, you’ll get over that.”

“Mom,” I realize. “We have to say goodbye to Mom. She’ll wonder where we are if we don’t.”

“Shit. You’re right. She’s not going to be happy that she’ll never see us again.”

“Don’t be smart,” I mutter. “Let’s just say our goodbyes and get out of this fucking city.” The sooner I’m gone, the sooner I can push Elena from my mind and pretend that I never fell in love with her in the first place.

And I never told her. It would have hurt too much to say it and I wanted to spare her that.

But now, I regret it. I should have fucking told her.

E

lena

My mother picked out my wedding dress and it shows.

It’s too princess-like for me. Too large and poofy. It practically dwarfs me in fabric but it’s what my mom chose and I didn’t get a say. Not when the wedding came upon us so fast.

It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m marrying a man I don’t love for the sake of the man I do love. If marrying Viktor keeps Aiden alive, I’ll do it, even though my heart is breaking with every step I take towards the church.

A large Russian orthodox church swells above me as I get out of the car. It’s late morning. The few guests that Erik could get to come have already arrived. This is a rushed wedding but it will make Viktor happy. That’s all that really matters.

My mom grips my arm, as if preventing me from running away, as we walk into the church. My heart is turning numb. It’s a little ironic that when I first met Aiden, he was filled with numbness but then he came alive the longer we were together.

Now it’s my turn to turn numb. It’s the only way I can preserve my heart for Aiden.

Anya and Nadia wait in the entrance foyer of the church.

“We wanted to see how you were doing,” Anya says, glancing at my mom. “Can we have a minute to talk with her?”

She sniffs. “This is my daughter. I’m walking her down the aisle.”

“And we understand but we just want a moment to talk.”

When my mom refuses to leave, Anya says, “Viktoriya, leave. I outrank you. So go.”

With a glare in Anya’s direction, my mom heads back outside. “Tell me when you’re ready. But don’t keep Viktor waiting too long. A great man like him doesn’t deserve this.”

Anya shuts the door behind my mother. “God, she’s annoying. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“You look beautiful,” Nadia says.

“Thank you. But I didn’t choose this dress. My mom did.”

“What happened last night?” Anya asks, cutting through the pleasantries. “Erik told me a little. You and Aiden?”

“I thought you were just going to say goodbye,” Nadia says.

Anya gives her sister a kind smile. “You’re still so innocent sometimes. Elena obviously went there to be with Aiden. So what exactly happened? We won’t judge.”

“You can’t tell Viktor,” I say.

“We won’t. What happened?”

“Aiden and I had sex,” I whisper. “But then Dante and Erik found us. They let Aiden live if he left the city. Finn showed up and they fought but Erik and Dante agreed not to kill Finn if he left with Aiden.”

“God, that sounds so messy. I’m so sorry.”

Nadia’s doe eyes widen. “So, you don’t even get to be with Aiden. You have to marry Viktor.”

“I do. That’s why I’m here. To do my duty. If I marry Viktor, Aiden can live. Viktor cannot know I was with Aiden. He might lose it if he knew.”

“Our lips are sealed,” Anya says. “I know how to keep a secret. And I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“You think Viktor would hurt me?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really know him well enough. I just know that he didn’t even invite his sister to this. Not like at his wedding to Nadia. I think he’s worried something might happen again.”

“So, I don’t even get to meet her.” I remember Nadia’s wedding to Viktor over a year ago and seeing a pretty brown-haired girl in the pews that looked similar to Viktor but I never met her. Viktor is still a stranger to me.

“You’ll meet her when you move in with Viktor,” Anya says.

“I guess.” My sigh sounds more dramatic than I feel because the only thing I feel is numb. “Off to do my duty, I guess.”

“I’m so sorry, Elena,” Nadia says. “If I never married Dante, I would be married to Viktor right now and you would never be in this position.”

I squeeze her hand. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know this would happen. And besides, it was my father who agreed to the deal but he’s not even here for me to be mad at.”

The two sisters give me a big hug before letting me go.

“We’ll be inside, giving you strength,” Anya says.

“We’re always here for you.”

“Thank you,” I say. “But I guess it’s time.”

They hurry into the church and I catch a glimpse of the guests – just a few of Erik and Viktor’s men and their wives. Not even Inessa is here. After what happened at my birthday, her father doesn’t want to take any chances by bringing Inessa to another Bratva function.

So, I don’t have my father or my best friend here. I’m on my own.

I don’t bother telling my mom I’m ready. I push open the church doors and decide to walk down the aisle myself.

Aiden

Fiona Murphy takes one look at me and Finn and motions us inside without a word. Still not speaking, she grabs a towel and soaks it in warm water before pressing it to Finn’s face.

“Seriously, boys. What have you gotten up to?”

We take our respective seats at the kitchen table.

“Just the usual, Ma,” Finn says.

“Just the usual? Then why have I heard stories about you two?”

“What have you heard?” I ask, leaning back in my seat. After the fight Finn and I went through, my body is still sore, even though it’s the morning after.

“You boys know that I’m not as na?ve about what you do as you think. I know what you do. I know what you’ve done. I know after your father left that you started working for Patrick Sullivan.”

That’s the one thing she doesn’t know about me and Finn – that we killed our father and she never needs to know. But maybe she suspects.

“I heard the he died a few days ago. And I heard that it was because of you, Aiden.”

“Who told you?” I ask.

She crosses her arms and looks formidable with her scars and red hair. Our father left his mark on her but she’s never let that stop her in life. “Does that matter? You’re not denying it.”

“I’m not. I killed Patrick.”

“A friend of a friend told me. They used to know your father and I know they worked with Patrick. I asked him to keep an eye on you boys over the years and report back to me.”

“Who?” Finn demands.

“You don’t know him. It doesn’t matter who he is. But because of him, I know that you two are in hot water. And I know that the Irish mob is coming here to finish you boys off.”

Shit. I was hoping after Patrick and Connor’s deaths that that would be the end of it but no. Death has a way of following you. A way of catching up.

“And my friend also told me about the girl, Aiden. About how you were on the run with her. Apparently, she helped you kill some of Patrick’s men.”

“She killed Connor,” I admit. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m done with her. I have to move on.”

Her eyes soften. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about her.”

“It all happened so fast. I only just… fell in love.” I can feel Finn glaring at me but I keep my eyes on our mother. “I didn’t have time to tell you.”

“My sweet boy. When my friend told me about you and her, I wanted to meet her. But then he told me that she’s getting married to some Russian mobster this morning.”

“She is. She was never mine to begin with.”

Fiona cups my cheek and gives me a smile only a mother could – one filled with warmth and love. “I am sorry. But there’s something I need to tell you. My friend told me that because the girl killed Connor, the Irish are going after her.”

I sit up in my seat. “Are they going to attack Elena at her wedding?”

“I’m not sure where they’re going to do it, just that they’re going to do it. I thought you should know.”

I’m already getting out of my seat and heading to the door.

“Slow down,” Finn calls out. “Don’t go rushing off into danger. You’re only going to get yourself killed.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” I snap back.

He gets out of the chair with a groan. “You don’t even know if the Irish will attack Elena at her wedding. You don’t know anything. And if you barge into Elena’s wedding to save her, it will piss off Viktor and he’ll only kill you. And I… I don’t want to lose my brother.”

Finn’s admission catches me off guard. “If you didn’t want to lose me, then you never should have gone after Elena in the first place.”

“We can talk semantics all day long. But I’m not going to let you go stop her wedding. What if the Irish aren’t even there?”

“Then at least I’ll know Elena is safe.”

“You’re wasting your time,” Finn snarls.

“I love her.”

That draws Finn up short. “What?”

“I love her. And I’m going to make sure she’s ok. I’ll just be outside the church, watching to make sure nothing goes wrong. And then we can get out of town. That’s it. I’m going to do that. You can either come with me or stay here.”

“Go with him,” our mom says. “I want you boys to stay together.”

Finn groans. “I can’t say no to you, Ma.”

“Then don’t. Go with your brother.”

Finn slightly limps over to me. I really kicked the shit out of him last night. “Fine. Just this once. And then we’re leaving.”

“I thought you were hell bent on killing Elena. Now you want nothing to do with her.”

“Guess things change. You want to do this or not?”

“We’re doing this.”

Elena

Viktor stands at the end of the aisle looking handsome in his navy suit. If I didn’t love Aiden so much, I wouldn’t hate to marry Viktor. He’s just not Aiden.

I force myself to move on my own and am almost at the end with the doors behind me burst open and my mom enters, looking furious that I’m walking down the aisle on my own.

“Elena,” she hisses, hurrying after me. The few guests we have look amused and confused.

“I can do this on my own,” I tell her.

“No you can’t, A girl needs to be given away on her wedding day.” She links our arms together. “Now walk. And don’t make a fool out of me.”

With a sigh, I keep moving forward. At least when I’m married to Viktor, I won’t have to live with my mother anymore. As long as I can still paint and see Inessa, I can carve out my own slice of happiness. I can make this work.

We reach the end of the aisle.

The priest that stands behind Viktor speaks. “Who gives this woman away?”

“Her mother,” Viktoriya says with pride in her voice, as if she arranged all of this when she barely did anything.

She places my hand in Viktor’s, but as I walk up the steps to him, I stumble and he rights me.

“Careful,” he murmurs.

“Sorry.”

“It’s ok to be nervous.”

Why does he have to be nice too?

Everyone takes their seats as the priest begins the ceremony. I drown it out as I focus on Viktor’s face. I can do this. I can marry him. I can be happy with him.

Then the church doors burst open once more and four men I don’t recognize waltz on in. They’re all a little scruffy with leather jackets.

And they all have guns.

Viktor immediately shoves me behind him as the men walk down the aisle. Our guests begin to scream and run away.

“Don’t move,” one of them shouts. He has a large scar across his face. “We’re just here for the girl. No one else needs to get hurt.”

“What girl?” Viktor demands.

Scar Man points his gun right at me. “That girl.”

All I can do is squeak.

“Who do you work for?” Viktor asks. “Because you can tell them that you’re not getting her.”

“We used to work for Patrick Sullivan but he died. Then we briefly worked for Connor Byrne until she killed him. Now we want vengeance. Hand the girl over or every one of you will die.”

“How did you find us?” Viktor asks. I wonder what he’s doing and then it dawns on me – he’s stalling until someone can help. Both Erik and Dante have their own guns drawn but their focus is on protecting their wives.

“It wasn’t hard. Whispers of your wedding are all over our news circuits. So what’s it going to be?”

“You’re not getting her,” Viktor growls.

Scar Man shrugs. “Too bad.” He points his gun right at Viktor and pulls the trigger but Viktor dives out of the way, pulling me with him.

Commotion happens.

Erik and Dante fire at the men as they fire back. Men and women scream. I can barely focus on anything as Viktor presses his body into me to keep me safe.

And then the doors burst open again and to my shock, it’s Aiden and Finn.

They come with their guns drawn and shoot at the men. They manage to kill three out of four of them without any effort. The only one remaining is Scar Man.

He tries running for it but Aiden goes after him and lands a bullet to the man’s leg. He grunts as he falls.

Aiden pushes him to his back and points his gun at his head. “Are there more of you?”

“There are always more of us,” he laughs.

“He’s not going to give you anything,” Finn says.

“Fine.” Aiden pulls his trigger and kills the man dead.

The room becomes eerily quiet. Viktor gets off me, asking me if I’m ok as he helps me to my feet but my eyes are only on Aiden. He came.

He saved me again. Even though he’s putting his own life in danger.

I can’t hold back how I feel and I run right for Aiden and throw my arms around him. He hugs me back. Neither of us care if everyone in the church is watching us. It’s just him and me. Me and him.

“What is the meaning of this?” Viktor demands and everything comes back into focus. “Get your hands off her.” He rips me away from Aiden and shoves Aiden back.

To his credit, Aiden doesn’t attack Viktor. He knows he can’t.

“He just saved us,” I say. “He risked his own life to be here and he just saved us.”

“Why did you? And how did you know to come just in time?”

Aiden shares a look with Finn before turning back to Viktor. “We knew that the Irish mob was still pissed at what Elena and I did. I was out front watching to make sure nothing happened.”

“And it’s a good thing my brother was here,” Finn says, “Or you probably would have been killed.”

Viktor scoffs. “I was fine. I was handling it.”

“Aiden saved our lives,” I say to Viktor.

“And I did too,” Finn snaps. I ignore him. The man who murdered my father is not worth my time.

Erik and Dante come over. “It’s good that you two helped,” Erik says. “But now you need to leave. We have a wedding to finish.”

I know as I look at Aiden I can’t actually go through with this wedding. Not when Aiden just saved my life for… I don’t even know the number – that’s how many times he’s done it.

“No,” I say. My one word is loud in the church.

“What did you say?” Viktor asks me.

I step away from him… and towards Aiden. “I can’t marry you. I don’t love you.”

Viktor’s brow furrows. “That’s never stopped anyone else from marrying. Arranged marriages are common in our world.”

“I can’t marry you because I love someone else.” I take Aiden’s hand in mine.

Viktor looks between us before he scoffs. “Him? You love him? The man who kidnapped you? Who murdered your father?”

“Finn did it. Not Aiden. Aiden has saved me countless times. I love him, Viktor. I’m sorry.”

He whirls around to face Erik and Dante. “Don’t tell me this is happening again. First, I lose one fiancée. Now another. Am I to be the laughingstock of the entire Bratva, Erik? I was fine living my life for myself until you” – he pokes Erik in the chest – “drew me out. You offered me Nadia’s hand in marriage so we could join forces. I agreed. But when she fell in love with this fucker” – he glares at Dante – “I lost her. So we arranged for me to marry Elena instead. It wasn’t the original deal but I was willing to settle for peace. For us to have the alliance we spoke of. And now I’m about to lose another fiancée? To another fucking Mafia man who kidnapped her?”

Erik doesn’t show any emotion. “I know that it’s wrong. Which is why Elena will marry you.”

“No,” I say with as much firmness as I can. “I love Aiden. He’s the one I want to marry.”

Shocked murmurs go through the crowd.

“I can’t believe this,” Viktor mutters.

“I am sorry,” I tell him. “I want to do my duty. I want to make everyone in this room happy but… I wont be happy. And do you really want a miserable wife, Viktor? Don’t you want a wife who wants to marry you?”

“It’s about love. It’s about making alliances.”

“My father is dead. So, do you really gain anything by marrying me? You and Erik can still be allies. You can still work together. You never even wanted a wife to begin with until Erik reached out to you.”

“My pride has been hurt,” Viktor says through clenched teeth. “This will not go unnoticed. I have been made a fool.”

“I fell in love. I am not sorry for that.”

For just a moment, Viktor’s eyes soften. “I know you can’t help your heart. And I do not begrudge you that. And it’s not you I’m upset with. It’s the false promises I was given by Erik and Dante.” He turns to them with a glare. “You two have fucked up. I will make you pay for this.”

“You can still marry Elena,” Erik tries again.

Anya places her hand on his chest. “Erik, stop. You can’t force Elena to marry him when she doesn’t love him.”

“I can try.”

“I’m not a virgin,” I blurt out. My mother looks mortified at my admission.

Viktor turns to me, stunned. “What?”

“Don’t kill Aiden. I went to him. I asked him to take me. I was not raped. I chose to be with him because I wanted him to have that part of me.”

“So you wouldn’t have to give it to me,” Viktor says in a soft voice before shaking his head. “I can’t fucking believe this.” He whips out his gun and points it at Aiden’s head. “You kidnapped my fiancée and then fucked her.”

Aiden doesn’t deny it. He doesn’t try to defend himself. He knew the risks by coming here.

Finn runs forward but Dante grabs him and holds him back.

I step in front of Aiden and into the line of Viktor’s gun. “Don’t kill him. If you pull that trigger, you’ll be shooting me too.”

“Elena, no,” Aiden says.

“Shush. I’m doing this to save your life.” I plead with my eyes when I look at Viktor. “Don’t do this.”

He wavers for a moment before dropping his arm and putting his gun away. “This will not stand,” he says to Erik and Dante. “You both fucked up. I told you, Erik, that it was never a good idea getting into bed with the fucking Mafia. They’ll always fuck you over.”

“We can still be allies,” Erik tries one more time.

But Viktor isn’t having it. “I am done. I have been made a fool twice now. All because you wanted an alliance. Well, I’m fine not having an alliance. I’m find going at things my own way. You’re going to regret this, Erik.”

“I never asked for Elena or Aiden to do this,” Erik says.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re the one who brought Dante into our lives. You’re the one who made an alliance with him. Dante is the one who brought these filthy fucking brothers into our lives. And I’m going to make you both pay.” He narrows his eyes at Aiden. “And you too. For fucking my fiancée. I am done. This is war.” He storms out of the church and no one stops him.

“What do we do now?” Anya asks Erik.

It’s a question no one knows how to answer.