What I hadn't expected was how gorgeous she’d be, or how close her lips were to mine when I leaned in. As a tall guy, it was hard to find a woman I didn't have to bend over to chatwith. She was the perfect height. And when she shot me a defiant glare…her eyes looked like frost…just beautiful.
Get it together, Avit. I scolded myself internally.
This wasn't about love; it's about making a statement to Jasper and Sienna. That crossing us was unacceptable, and there were hefty consequences that came with it. I just hoped that Sienna's life meant something to him.
I hadn’t fired Jasper, though. The idiot would lie low for a while, then go back to stealing and selling to his clients. That much I was sure of.
But if I were being honest with myself, there was another reason I took Jasper's deal. I wanted to marry her. My decision wasn’t just about leverage or making a statement. It was about ensuring her well-being.
I knew better than anyone that marriage would ward off any chance of Jasper trying to get Sienna back and giving her to someone else.
I glanced at her again.
Right now, it probably feels like the worst thing that could’ve happened to her. I knew she wouldn’t have signed if I hadn’t threatened Jasper. But soon enough, she’d see that she’d never want for anything again. That might take a while, though, since she thought I was a monster.
She was too smart to be dragged down by his lifestyle. I was sure she knew more about the things her father was into than she was letting on, but I still felt her pain when the truth hit her. It was like watching a knife twist in her chest. Her face drained of color, her body stumbled back, and I knew that moment would haunt her. Maybe because I was the one who delivered the news, a part of her pain felt like my fault, too.
I sighed inwardly.
Jasper didn't deserve a daughter like Sienna. With a bright future in IT ahead of her, being tied to Jasper could send her down roads she might never recover from. And when his supply chain inevitably ran dry, he wouldn’t be able to protect her from the fallout.
I felt disgusted at myself, at the fact that I forced her hand. I’d never agreed with my brothers’ forced marriages. Hell, I even chewed them out a few months ago for marrying their women out of selfish reasons, out of need.
But this…this was different. This wasn’t about my selfish needs. Sienna needed someone in her corner, someone to stand by her side. Even if she didn’t choose me, I silently vowed to be there for her.
My fingers curled into balls on my lap.
I’ve always believed women had the right to choose who they wanted to be with. That’s what we taught our sisters, and here I was, doing the exact opposite. After everything the women in our family had been through, I knew they’d be furious. Hell, I was a little pissed at myself, too.
Still, I blamed Jasper for all of this. If it weren’t for him, Sienna and I wouldn’t have been forced into a marriage. The man’s a conniving snake, and he’d been suffocating her for years. Anyone could see it from the few reactions she had tonight. But to offer her up, someone as innocent as she was, to a Bratva man? It was unforgivable.
Luckily for Sienna, unlike most Bratva men, I didn't mistreat women and wanted the best for them.
Still, I wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of Jasper. He was supposed to be there for Sienna, but it ended upthe other way around; she had to be there for him, coddle him, be strong for him. But who the hell was there for her? Whose shoulder did she cry on?
Knowing the kind of man Jasper was, I decided that since he couldn’t do shit for his daughter, I would. I’d protect her and keep her safe. I'd be her shoulder.
I knew how close I’d come to becoming an alcoholic myself, but my brothers pulled me back. That wasn’t a road I wanted to keep going down. I could’ve been the one to fuck up my family because of my addiction. If I had, it wouldn’t just have wrecked our Safin faction, it would’ve put our allies like the Rykovs at risk, too. One wrong deal, one bad night, and I could’ve endangered everyone. Hell, it was because I started drinking and losing focus that little shitweasel got away with what he did for so long.
I fucked up because of my drinking, and I felt every bit as irresponsible as my father said I was. Now, whenever I woke from a nightmare of our last conversation, or when the urge for a drink hit, I went for a run or hit the gym instead.
“Mr. Safin, we’re here,” Wexler’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I nodded, pushed open my door, and stepped out. Wexler did the same, circling around to open Sienna’s door while I made my way toward the house. The other guards exited their vehicles as well. I was lucky enough to find a place with an annex at the back that could comfortably hold six guards at a time.
The house wasn’t as grand as my brothers’ estates; I bought it on a whim that afternoon. It was a two-story house with a red brick exterior and a wraparound porch. There were five bedrooms, including a master, with one full bathroomdownstairs, another upstairs. It had an open-concept kitchen and dining area, a large living room, and an office.
I unlocked the front door and stepped into the foyer, waiting as Sienna and Wexler followed. She walked past me silently, her hood still up, eyes red-rimmed from crying. Wexler lingered beside me.
“Do you need anything else, Mr. Safin?” he asked.
“Have the men rotate in groups of three. And make sure the cameras and monitors are up and running by noon tomorrow. Don’t connect it to Timur’s network yet. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Wexler gave a curt nod and left, closing the door behind him.
I didn't want the security system in Timur's yet because I didn’t want my siblings to know what I had done. If they met Sienna, they’d ask too many questions, and all roads would lead back to my mistakes. I couldn’t have them knowing about that, not until I knew who Jasper was working with. We had barely come out of the last three years alive. I didn’t want them worrying about this mess too; they needed a break, especially Lev, Jaroslav, and Marten, who had been at the forefront of the fight.
