“I already set a reminder to get tickets when they go on sale,” Aleksi said instantly, but his smile disappeared as hestudied me. Pushing himself upright, he placed his hand on my arm. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I— No.” The words came tumbling out. Alek had a way of getting me to spill my secrets without even trying. “I…I know I wasn’t supposed to take part in the chase tonight, but I wanted to prove myself.”
His green eyes widened. “You were there?”
“Yes…” I stared at him. “Were you?” It was unexpected, but not at the same time. Alek wasn’t under the same social constraints as the rest of us, and if he decided he wanted to do something, I had no doubt he’d just go ahead and do it.
“Uh.” He scrubbed his hand through his tousled chestnut hair, messing it up even further. “I was around. Incognito.”
I smiled. “This is why you’re my best friend. Our brains work the same. I was incognito too. Did anyone catch you?”
“What makes you think I was the one being chased?” Squeezing my arm gently, he continued. “But we’re not talking about me. What happened?”
Burying my face in my hands, I groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Nova.”
“Ugh. Fine. Jay caught me.”
There was a long silence, and when I lowered my hands, I found Aleksi staring at me with his mouth open. He blinked a few times and then cleared his throat. “Jayesh Attwood? That Jay?”
“Do you know another Jay?”
“Uh, no. Not personally. Fuck. So, what happened?”
“He…he kissed me,” I whispered.
“Fuck,” Aleksi breathed. “Oh,fuck. That was?—”
“My first kiss. Yes. A kiss I didn’t even want. Jay’s?—”
Shifting closer, Aleksi slid his arm around my waist. “You didn’t want it? If he forced you into anything, Nov…”
I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder. “The truth is, I didn’t want to want it. Ican’twant it. He’s—well, you know how he antagonises me. How much he clearly hates me. He’s a dickhead who lives to make my life hell, and anyway, the whole thing is irrelevant because I’m getting engaged to Anton Volkov.”
“It’s so fucked up that you have to do that. You’re not in the mafia.” His fist thumped on the mattress. “I hate that you have no choice.”
“I know. But we need this deal, and when the two families are merged, we’ll control a huge swathe of territory. And there’s the fact that the Volkov Syndicate is affiliated with the Kozenki Bratva. It’ll strengthen our position, and we need that badly. You know there are people gunning for us. Your dad, for one.”
“Yeah.” He exhaled heavily. “It doesn’t mean I like it. Fuck, Nov, I wish I wasn’t going to Alstone College in September. Who’s gonna look out for you?”
“I can handle myself. Promise. My brother will look out for me too. You know he will. And we’re still going to keep in touch all the time.”
A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. Climbing to his feet, he crossed the room to my desk, picking up my sketchbook. “I know you can handle yourself. It’s just so fucking unfair. You should be free to choose who you want to be with.”
I watched him carefully turning the pages, his finger pausing to trace over some of my drawings. Swallowing around the sudden lump in my throat, I nodded. “I know. But it might not be for forever.”
Aleksi’s mouth twisted. Gently placing my sketchbook down, he leaned back against my desk, shoving his handsinto his pockets. His gaze dropped to the floor. “What does your brother think about all of this? Is he expected to marry too?”
“Um…” I thought back to the moments after we’d been called into my father’s study for a “meeting” and he’d laid out the terms of his upcoming trade deal.
“Youwilldo this, Nova. This is a deal we’ve been working towards for years, and you are well aware the Kozenki Bratva does not usually allow outsiders close to their inner circle. This is the only way they will agree to go ahead. A binding marriage contract and an heir with both Thorpe and Volkov blood.”
I stared at the hard lines of my father’s face, despair coursing through my body. “Please. There has to be another way.”
“There is not. If you try to go against it, Nova, you will not like the consequences.” His gaze flicked to my twin’s, and his voice dropped, low and threatening. “Either of you. Or your little friends, for that matter. Remember who has the true power here.”
Ryker’s fists clenched at his sides. “This isn’t fair. Can’t I?—”
