Page 11 of The Brutal Arrangement (The Ivanov Syndicate #2)

LUCY

K aterina wasn’t giving me much time to process that my life was changing. She didn’t put a prolonged wait on this mandate that I leave the Kozlov house to marry some man she didn’t want.

Selling myself to an arranged Mafia marriage was so out there, so far-fetched of an idea that all night long, I was stuck in twisting dreams and nightmares that made no sense.

I was surprised I’d slept at all, but in the aftermath of how shocked I was and the consequent adrenaline crash after she’d chased me, it seemed that my body had simply given up and I’d fallen asleep.

Early in the morning, I got up and dreaded the possibility that I might be making a mistake. I had no clue what to expect in this deal with Katerina, and it was a losing battle to assume I’d be “okay”.

Was anything ever “okay” in this world of criminals?

I wanted to believe that whatever happened, it would all be worth it for my mother’s care. Deep down, though, I was terrified. Katerina hadn’t given me any details last night. After we shook hands, she said she’d hurry to get all the details ready.

The unknowns freaked me out, though, so as I got dressed in my uniform and left my room, I intended to find her and fill in some of the gaps. I refused to walk into this contract marriage completely blind. I needed to brace myself for what would come.

At the sound of Joann in the kitchen, I backed away down the hallway to avoid encountering her.

She was too perceptive. Too sharp and observant.

One look at me, and she’d know I was freaking out.

Katerina hadn’t outright told me to keep this deal of swapping brides to myself, but I highly doubted she wanted another soul to know.

If she did, she would’ve brought Joann in on it.

Avoiding my supervisor, I retreated all the way down the hallway until I could reroute toward another staircase that would take me up to Katerina’s room.

As soon as I neared her bedroom door, it opened and she stepped out. “Oh, good. It’s you.” She returned to her private room and waved for me to hurry and follow her inside.

“He’s gone.”

I blinked, lost already. I’d come here ready to demand information and she was starting off out of nowhere with it. “Who?”

“My uncle. I set it up so he’d be gone for most of the day and night.”

“Okay…” I was too restless to sit, but standing felt weird too. This whole situation was so awkward that I felt untethered and lost, adrift and unsure where I’d end up.

“That way, he won’t know it’s not me going to marry him. Once you ride over there, I’ll go to one of the other buildings and lie low. Anton should be away for several days.”

“Is that how long you think this will take?” I wasn’t forgetting that very critical detail—that this marriage would be short-term and I could bank on divorcing soon.

“I… I don’t know.” She furrowed her brow, looking less confident than before. “It’s hard to say how long you have to be over there and deal with this, but I hope it won’t take more than a week.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see if she was fudging on the truth. “I need to know more about this. Who he is? What’s so wrong with him that someone has to be forced to marry him?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know which one it is, which brother.”

I gawked. “You don’t know the man I’m getting stuck with?”

Shushing me, she glanced at the closed door behind me.

“Not so loud. No. I don’t know. There are three brothers.

Well, four. But only three are options. And there’s nothing, uh, wrong , with them.

” Softening her expression a little, she almost smiled.

“I realize this is different from what you’re used to.

You’re just a normal citizen, an outsider to us in the Mafia, but please, don’t let any stereotypes freak you out. ”

Too late.

“The brothers in this family are strong men, and I’ve known this family for a long time. They are, and they always have been, decent.”

I crossed my arms. “Decent criminals?”

She sighed. “It’s hard to explain.”

I wasn’t interested in any theories about honor among thieves or so-called decent criminals. The next thing I knew, she’d try to convince me some sweet and good-hearted murderers were out there too.

Regardless of what she wanted to say, I couldn’t believe her or take her word for it.

She hadn’t earned much of my trust other than showing me how quickly she’d defend me from handsy guards.

The only thing I wanted to trust her on was that this marriage wouldn’t last long and that she’d cover for my mother’s care.

“And it’s just a contract marriage,” she added, as if that would sweeten the deal. “I’m sure they’ll just set you up in a room and leave you be for the most part, since they’ve got bigger things going on at the moment.”

“Wait. Do these people know what you look like?” What if they realize we’ve swapped and they’re pissed that they were duped?

“Yes and no. It’s been a while, and we do look similar.”

Unease built right back up again.

“But I’m confident they’ll just set you aside.”

“Set me aside,” I said, deadpan, as I bit the inside of my cheek. “Like I’m a thing .”

“There are different expectations in our families.”

“Hold on.” I was still stuck on envisioning arriving at some new place and being sent to a room. For what? Why? What would I do? “You think they’ll dismiss me?”

She nodded.

“And that’s it?”

“Probably.”

My eyes popped open wider as a more alarming thought hit me.

When she said I’d need to take her place and marry some guy in another family, I took it literally.

As in I’d show up and go through with the ceremony.

People didn’t actually consider sex between a husband and wife as an act of marriage anymore.

Right? Consummating this marriage hadn’t entered my mind until now.

But now that I was trying to picture myself being dismissed as a newlywed and kept in some room…

“Oh, my God.” I stepped back, horrified. I hated myself for not seeing quite this big of a picture.

“What?” She scowled.

“I’m… You expect me to sleep with him?” My heart thundered faster at the idea of being forced into… that with someone I didn’t even know.

“No. Wait. No?” She shook her head as if worrying that she was scaring me off again. “No. I highly doubt it. We’re not that archaic. Some families insist on doing things old-fashioned like that, but the Ivanovs were never— No. You won’t have to worry about that.”

“I don’t know about this anymore…” Going through a marriage just to divorce later wasn’t that bad.

But agreeing to be fucked as a wife? That was too much.

Too far. I wanted my mom to be cared for, but this was selling myself .

This was giving away my virginity in the worst way possible. And I couldn’t stomach it.

“They won’t,” she said, lacking the confident tone I’d come to associate with her.

“No. Listen, Lucy. They’ve got to be counting on this marriage arrangement being a trick from my uncle, so they’ll be cautious with you there.

I’m certain they’ll receive you and go through this only long enough until they can figure out what my uncle is up to.

They have to know this is a game. They’ll play it to their best interests. ”

A game .

That was what my life was worth now.

She wasn’t comforting me. “And… what is your uncle up to?”

So much for not getting involved, huh?

All I wanted was to get out of this. To have my mom covered and to never have to see these people again. Once this was all done, I could go work somewhere normal.

“That remains to be determined. And that is why I can’t go to their house and marry one of the brothers.

This is why I need this favor from you. I need to be here to try to figure out once and for all what my uncle is plotting and…

” She heaved out a deep exhale. “I realize I’m asking a lot, but please, just trust me on this. ”

I refused to. “The only thing I want to trust is that you’ll cover my mother’s expenses. In total.”

She nodded quickly. “I will. I won’t break my promise.”

“That is the only reason I’m risking myself like this.” I didn’t relent on my glare.

“I understand. I do. I really do, and I won’t let you down.”

I wanted to believe her, but the mere fact that she was using my mother as blackmail, or as a lure to get my cooperation, tainted my ability to trust her.

“I’m going to finalize the details today. I’ll set up a driver and I’ll ride with you there. I’ll be with you as much as I can be every step of the way. But it might be best for you to visit your mom while you can.”

I’d been looking forward to a day off to visit her. The chance to go see her hadn’t come up yet, so I appreciated that.

“When you’re there, I can’t tell if they’d allow you to visit.”

“I’ll be locked up and imprisoned as a Mafia wife?” I asked dryly. There were too many technicalities to get used to. This was so out of the norm for me, but I had to try to manage for the sake of my mother.

“Not imprisoned… but they’ll be cautious of what you say and do.”

“No shit. Especially when they realize I’m not you.”

She shook her head. “No. I think they’ll see it as another move in this game my uncle is playing with them. I’m certain they’ll wait and see.”

I looked away, needing a moment to try to let all of this sink in. It was just too much to digest, and every time I replayed what I knew, I grew uneasy all over again. Doubts would flog me. I’d worry that this sounded too good to be true, a complete removal of my debts and woes.

“Go ahead and take the day to see your mother. Then tonight, I’ll ride with you.”

Without any argument, I took her up on that. I was sure she’d smooth it out with Joann. Changing out of my uniform, I saw a text from Katerina that said a driver would be waiting for me out front.