Page 29 of Bound Vows (Empire City Syndicate #3)
Maya
Waking up in a hospital bed surrounded by enough armed guards to invade a small country makes me wonder if surviving assassination attempts comes with mandatory military escort services.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Andrei says from the chair beside my bed, and it looks like he hasn’t moved in days. Dark stubble covers his jaw, and his clothes are wrinkled beyond hope, but his eyes hold relief so profound it makes my throat close up. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been shot, dragged through a warehouse, and nearly drowned in the East River.” I try to sit up and regret the decision as fire spreads through my shoulder. “Though I suppose that’s accurate, considering recent events.”
“The doctor says you’re healing well, despite your best efforts to complicate the process.” He reaches for my uninjured hand and brings it to his lips. “The hypothermia was more dangerous than the gunshot, but your core temperature has stabilized.”
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Three days. You’ve drifted in and out, but this is the first time you’ve been coherent enough for conversation. Your brothers have taken shifts with my security team to ensure no unwelcome visitors disturb your recovery.”
“My brothers are working with your security team?” I blink at him in disbelief. “Did my near-death experience cause a miraculous personality transplant in the Mastroni family?”
Andrei leans forward and presses his forehead against mine. “When I dove into that river after you instead of letting you drown to save my family, it demonstrated commitment they weren’t expecting.”
“You told me you loved me.” The memory surfaces with startling clarity, and I watch his face for confirmation that the words weren’t fever dreams or drug-induced hallucinations. “You said it twice.”
To my shock, Andrei doesn’t flinch from the admission or try to downplay its significance. “I did, and I do. I love you, Maya. More than I ever thought possible.”
“Even though loving you nearly got me killed?”
“Anyone can love someone when it’s safe and easy. Loving someone enough to die for them, or kill for them, or choose them over promises made to the dead… that’s the kind of love that changes everything.”
Before I can respond to his declaration, the hospital room door opens to admit Max, who peeks his head in like he’s expecting trouble. My brother looks exhausted beyond sleep deprivation, and when he sees me sitting up and coherent, his shoulders visibly sag with relief.
“Finally,” Max breathes as he approaches my bed. “Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to watch your little sister get hauled out of the East River unconscious and bleeding?”
“Probably about as terrifying as getting kidnapped, forced into marriage, and hunted by homicidal Russian women.” I manage a weak smile. “I appreciate the concern.”
Max glances at Andrei before settling into the chair on my opposite side. “We need to discuss what happens next, Maya. We couldn’t find her body. Katarina’s still out there.”
“That woman is going to be the death of me,” I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose before I look between the two men and note how they’re eyeing each other with grudging respect. “I assume you’ve had time to compare notes while I was unconscious?”
“Your brother and I have reached a certain understanding about our mutual interests,” Andrei confirms. “Primarily, our shared investment in keeping you alive and eliminating threats to your safety.”
Max snorts but without his usual venom when discussing Andrei. “I still think you’re a dangerous bastard who kidnapped my sister and forced her into marriage. But you’re also a dangerous bastard who jumped into a freezing river to save her life.”
“How romantic,” I comment. “Nothing says family bonding like grudging acknowledgment of heroic gestures.”
“Whether I like it or not, you married this man, and he proved he’ll die before letting you come to harm. That earns respect, even from someone who wants to punch his face.”
Andrei’s mouth twitches upward at my brother’s backhanded compliment. “High praise from someone who spent weeks building coalitions to eliminate me.”
“I spent weeks building coalitions to rescue my sister from someone I thought was holding her against her will.” Max looks directly at me.
“Watching you fight beside him in that warehouse, seeing how you looked at him when you thought he might be dying… That changed my perspective on what kind of marriage this is.”
I cock my head and ask, “What kind of marriage do you think it is?”
“The kind where two people choose each other despite impossible circumstances and stay chosen even when it nearly kills them.” My brother reaches over and squeezes my good hand. “Where love matters more than logic or family loyalty or alliances.”
The admission from Max, who’s never been comfortable with emotional declarations, makes my eyes water with tears I blame on medication and blood loss. “You’re accepting him?”
“I’m accepting that you love him enough to take a bullet for him, and he loves you enough to dive into the East River in winter to pull you out.
” Max stands and moves toward the door. “Vincent wants to see you when you’re up for visitors.
He has things to say about alliance structures and territorial agreements that require your input. ”
After Max leaves, Andrei and I sit in comfortable silence while I digest the fundamental change in family dynamics.
The Mastroni organization and the Volkov empire, brought together by forced marriage and solidified by genuine love, represent a partnership that could reshape organized crime throughout the Northeast.
“Your brother respects strength above everything else,” Andrei observes. “Proving that our marriage serves your interests rather than just mine changed his approach to our relationship.”
“My brother respects loyalty above everything else. When you chose to save me over keeping promises to your late wife, you demonstrated the kind of loyalty he understands.” I adjust my position in the bed and wince as the movement pulls at my stitches.
“I’m curious about what Vincent wants to discuss regarding alliance structures. ”
As if on cue, Vincent appears in the doorway and heads for my bedside.
“You look better than the last time I saw you,” Vincent notes as he drops into the chair Max vacated. “Though that’s not saying much.”
“Thank you for the rescue operation. I’m still unclear on how you tracked me to the warehouse so quickly.”
“Like we said, we’ve been monitoring your movements since the wedding, along with anyone who might pose a threat to your safety.
When you left the mountain safe house alone and drove directly to an abandoned warehouse in Queens, it raised some red flags.
” Vincent glances at Andrei. “Plus, your husband’s security team contacted us when they woke up from being drugged and found you both missing. ”
“Teamwork between the families. How unprecedented.”
“But effective. Which brings me to the proposal I wanted to discuss with both of you. Max and I believe combining the Mastroni and Volkov organizations would create the most powerful crime family on the Eastern seaboard.”
“A merger,” I clarify.
“A marriage of resources, territories, and expertise that builds on the personal alliance you’ve already created.
Your husband brings international connections, advanced security capabilities, and revenue streams we’ve never accessed.
We bring established territorial control, our political connections, and generational relationships with other Italian families. ”
I look at Andrei, who’s staring at the bedsheets, deep in thought. “What would that look like in practical terms?” I ask.
“Joint operations, shared intelligence, coordinated territorial expansion, and unified responses to external threats,” Vincent explains. “Instead of two medium-sized organizations competing for market share, we become one large organization that dominates everything.”
“With Maya serving as the bridge between leadership structures,” Andrei adds. “Her connections to both families make her uniquely positioned to facilitate cooperation and resolve conflicts.”
“Assuming I survive long enough to facilitate anything. Katarina’s still out there, and her obsession with eliminating me isn’t going to disappear just because she failed.”
Vincent and Andrei exchange a look that tells me they’ve already discussed this problem. “About that,” Vincent begins. “We have some ideas for resolving the Katarina situation.”
“What kind of ideas?”
“We’re going to move out of the city,” Andrei replies. “The state, even. Get you out of harm’s way until this can be dealt with.”
“Absolutely not.” I push myself upright despite the pain in my shoulder. “I will not spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for a deranged woman to take another shot at me. I won’t hide while other people handle threats that exist because of my marriage.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I suggest we end this properly. Set a trap Katarina can’t resist, with enough backup to ensure she doesn’t escape.” I look between my husband and my brother-in-law. “But this time, we control every variable. No more improvisation, and no more lucky breaks for the opposition.”
“Maya…” Andrei begins.
“No arguments. Katarina tried to kill me once and nearly succeeded. She murdered your first wife and spent eight years positioning herself to replace her. This ends with her, Andrei. One way or another.”
Dr. Morrison enters just then with my discharge paperwork, interrupting our strategy session with medical updates and recovery instructions.
The bullet did significant muscle damage that will require physical therapy, and the hypothermia stressed my system in ways that need monitoring.
But overall, I’m healing well enough to leave the hospital tomorrow.
“Two weeks of limited activity,” Dr. Morrison instructs as he reviews my chart. “No heavy lifting, no strenuous exercise, and no activities that might aggravate the shoulder wound.”
“What about activities that might involve eliminating homicidal stalkers?” I ask innocently.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that and remind you that you still haven’t recovered from ‘falling’ through a window, Maya.” He closes my chart and gives me a stern look. “Rest, physical therapy, and gradual return to normal activities.”
After Dr. Morrison leaves, Andrei stands and begins pacing the small hospital room. “If we’re doing this, we do it right. Complete surveillance, overwhelming tactical advantage, and multiple extraction routes in case things go wrong.”
“We’re doing this,” I confirm. “But first, help me get dressed. If I’m going to plan the downfall of a deranged crime boss, I want to do it wearing real clothes.”