These are his men. This whole thing was planned. Vadim let me go knowing they'd be waiting. It's sickening, and it’s even scarier now that I know what sort of man he really is. Way more terrifying than Petr. He wasn't lying when he said he's here in Serbia to kill a man.
Vadim walks closer and the men part to let him through. When he reaches me, he tilts my chin up with one finger. I jerk away from his touch, but he just drops his hand.
"I'm going to make this very simple," Vadim says. "You are going to marry me to help me stay in this country and finish my job, or you are going to regret saying no." A shudder runs across my skin and makes my stomach turn. I think I'm going to throw up.
"I won't help you kill someone." I can't keep the disgust out of my voice.
"I'm not asking you to pull the trigger." Vadim pulls out another cigarette and lights it. "I'm asking you to sign some paperwork and keep your mouth shut."
"No, I won't do it. I have morals…" Tears stream down my cheeks and I speak through gritted teeth.
"Then my friends here will make sure you can't say anything to anyone" —Vadim takes a drag and exhales smoke— "ever."
Say yes or die. Those are my only options.
And they're not good options at all.
I'm not a killer, and I don't want to be married to one. Hell, I don't want to be married at all. If I get married, I want it to be because I love the man, not because he held a gun to my head. And how sickening that he wants to pay me to do this, and with what blood money?
But then I think about Dusan's debts hanging over my head and how his creditors keep coming to look for me. I can't keep paying for my brother's sins the rest of my life. When I miss a payment or I'm late by a day, they tack on interest and penalties. I'll be paying these men for the rest of my life because my brother skipped town and left me to deal with it.
"I have no intention of harming you," Vadim continues, now with a much gentler voice. I could almost believe he's sincere if his thugs didn't hover so close with bared teeth ready to tear me to shreds. "And an annulment in our future will alleviate the marriage. You'll be better off because of it."
"How long?" My voice sounds hollow, maybe because my soul feels like I'm being gutted. Without a choice, what am I left to do? If I run, they'll find me. If I try to hide, they'll search for me. And if I outright refuse, they'll kill me.
"Six months, maybe." Vadim flicks ash onto the ground. "Long enough for me to finish my work here."
"And then what?" I need to hear him spell it out because if the ending isn't clear, how will I endure? What if he just kills me when this is over anyway?
"And then you go back to your life with enough money to start over somewhere else." Vadim watches me carefully. "Or stay here and continue living in your shitty house with your shitty job…" He shrugs so casually, it infuriates me. The high horse he sits on could collapse so easily. All I'd have to do is go to the police. But then what if he found out and came after me for that? Surely, he'd kill me. It's what he does for a living. He'd have no qualms about murdering someone who double-crossed him.
And I get the feeling Vadim is deadly serious about harming me if I say no or if I open my mouth to anyone. The cold way he's looking at me leaves no room for doubt.
"I need time," I say. "Twenty-four hours to get my affairs at home in order."
"Fourteen hours." Vadim checks his watch. "Meet me at the registrar's office tomorrow morning at ten."
"That's not enough time." I'm already shaking my head, backing away. He can't truly expect me to drop everything and marry him. I have to work tomorrow, and who would cover my shift? Besides, the amount of liquor it's going to take to shut my body down so I can sleep… I won’t be awake until noon.
"Fourteen hours is more than enough." Vadim narrows his eyes on me and sucks a long drag from his cigarette. "You don't have that many affairs to order."
He's right and I hate him for knowing it. My entire life can be packed in a few hours because I don't own anything worth keeping.
"Fine." I spit the bitter word out with a hateful tone. "Fourteen hours."
Vadim pulls a card from his pocket and holds it out to me. I take it with shaking hands and see an address printed in neat letters.
"Don't be late," Vadim says.
Vadim nods at his men, and they step aside to let me pass. I walk toward the mouth of the alley on legs that feel like they might give out at any moment, and I reach the street only to glance back and see Vadim still standing there watching me with smoke curling around his face.
What the hell will I do now? This can't be happening to me.
7
VADIM
Icheck my watch for the third time in five minutes and see it's nine fifty-eight. Danica has two minutes to show up or I'll have to send someone to drag her here, and I'd rather not make a scene in a government building. That tends to draw a bit more attention than I'm hoping for today.
