Page 34 of The Bratva Enforcer and His Virgin Bride

And a small contact book he once showed me.

If anything ever happens to me, call this number.

I found the book that night with shaking hands and dialed the number exactly the way he taught me to.

Alec answered. My father’s younger brother. The uncle I had never met. He came for me before morning and left my father’s body behind in that apartment.

I never went back.

Not once.

Alec became my guardian after that. Strict. Protective. Always watching.

He told me my father worked for dangerous people.

He told me never to speak about him openly.

Never tell anyone who you’re related to.

Never attract attention.

I followed those rules for sixteen years.

So, who the hell is Karl Jonathan?

And what does he know about my father?

I force myself back into the present.

Back into the penthouse.

Back into the cold, gray eyes fixed on me.

“Like I said,” I reply carefully, “I don’t know any Karl Jonathan. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He nods once, like my answer changes nothing.

“That’s okay,” he says. “But you are surrounded by danger, Sofia. Marriage to the Rusnaks can offer protection you never imagined.”

I’m on my feet instantly again.

“Rusnaks?” I repeat sharply. “You’re a Rusnak?”

For the first time tonight, something cautious enters his expression.

“Sounds like you’re personally familiar with the Rusnaks.”

I laugh. Because this entire conversation feels insane.

“I should’ve known someone this delusional and controlling was a Rusnak,” I snap. “Do you all have written oaths to marry women by force or something?”

His eyes narrow. “What do you know about that?”

“Everything,” I fire back immediately. “My best friend is Valeria Petrova. Now Rusnak.”

Recognition flickers briefly across his face.

Then he nods once.