Now it’s just me, my brother, and the man I’m supposed to marry.
In the front seat, Luka is explaining the situation to Scottie in low, even tones. I catch pieces…family…leverage… our father—but my mind is spinning too fast to hold on to any of it.
“Kat?” Luka says softly in Russian. “You’re quiet.”
“I’m thinking,” I answer.
He nods and switches to English for Scottie. “I was telling him why this is the only option.”
Scottie turns slightly to look at me, brow furrowed. He’s trying to piece everything together—trying to understand the storm he willingly stepped into. Or I think it was willing. Unless my brother has some kind of leverage he’s holding over Scottie. It makes me curious why a good-looking, successful guy like Scottie would agree to marry a teammate's sister.
It's obvious that Scottie seems a little like a deer in headlights. And based on the fact that my brother seems to be just now filling Scottie in on the details of our family dynamics, I would say he was blindsided when I got off the jet.
What I really want to know is… why? Why is he agreeing to this?
It can’t just be because he’s a nice guy. No one is that nice.
And it can’t be because he and my brother are the best of friends. My brother’s not all that warm and fuzzy as it is. I’ve known him all my life, and I can barely stand him most days… though I do love him. But love is different. You can love someone and not particularly like them.
“So your father is forcing you into a marriage you don’t want,” he says slowly.
“Yes.”
“And if you go back, you have no way out.”
“Yes.”
“And marrying me keeps you here.”
“That’s what Luka believes,” I say, locking eyes with Luka in the rearview mirror for just a moment. I’m still not one hundred percent sure that his plan will work, but it’s the only option I have.
Scottie hesitates. “Is it true?”
There are softer versions of the truth I could offer him. Safer ones. But he deserves the real version, even if it terrifies him.
“My father is… well, let’s just say he has a lot of influence,” I tell him. “His influence reaches far beyond Russia. A marriage between Maxim Volkov and me would give him the political access and legitimacy he’s been desperate to reclaim. The climate in how mob families are allowed to conduct themselves is changing, and quickly.”
Scottie’s jaw tightens. “And you’re just supposed to let him use you to make this change.”
“I don’t get a choice.”
“That’s bullshit.”
A small breath escapes me—almost amusement. “Yes. It is.”
“So this,” he gestures loosely between us, “is about giving you a choice. Any choice.”
“Yes. I can’t be married to two men. If I’m married to you, Luka believes that our grandmother won’t allow my father to drag me back. It won’t look good for the family, and image is everything. Especially since they are supposed to be lying low.”
Silence settles again, heavier but clearer.
We’re nearly at the building when he speaks again. “Earlier, you said your dad disowned Luka. Why?”
Luka exhales through his nose, the sound clipped. “You want the full story?”
“I think I should have it,” Scottie says.
Luka’s voice stays calm, but I hear the tension beneath. “I was supposed to inherit everything. The power, the responsibilities, and all the expectations. There’s a path for the oldest son in our family, and it’s carved from blood.”
