Page 104 of The Pakhans’ Curvy Prize

"Which brings us back to the merger," Alex says. "We're more vulnerable separately. Together, we're a unified front. Whoever's orchestrating this is counting on us staying divided."

I push off the desk and start pacing. The room feels too small suddenly, the walls closing in. "So we accelerate the timeline and call a formal captain meeting tomorrow. Make it official."

Nick's eyes narrow thoughtfully. "That's a significant move. Once we announce the consolidation to the captains, there's no walking it back. We're committing publicly."

"Exactly," Alex says. "Which is why it works. It shows strength, not weakness. It tells whoever's behind this that their strategy failed. Instead of dividing us, they pushed us together faster."

"The captains will have concerns," I point out. "Territory redistribution, command structure, profit sharing. We've been negotiating those details for months."

"Then we finalize the details tonight," Nick says flatly. "We present them with a completed plan, not a proposal. No room for debate or hesitation."

Alex nods slowly. "Agreed. A unified command structure sends a clear message to every organization in the city. We're not three separate families anymore. We're one."

"Agreed," I say.

"Agreed," Nick echoes.

The decision settles over us like a weight. This isn't just business anymore. This is preparation for war. Someone declared it the moment they hit Nick's warehouse and took Sharon. Now we're responding in kind.

"We tell the captains everything," I continue. "They need to understand what we're up against."

"And Marla?" Alex asks quietly.

The question hangs in the air. We all know what he's really asking. What do we tell our men about the woman living in my mother-in-law building? The woman all three of us are sleeping with? The woman who's somehow become the center of this entire fucked-up situation?

"We tell them she's under our protection," Nick says finally. "That's all they need to know."

"They're going to ask questions," I point out.

"Let them ask." Nick's voice is cold and final. "Anyone who has a problem with it can take it up with me personally."

The meeting breaks up shortly after. Alex heads back to the main house to coordinate security rotations. Nick makes calls to his captains, setting up tomorrow's meeting. I stay in the office, staring at the maps and documents spread across the desk without really seeing them.

Hours pass. The house grows quiet as everyone settles in for the night. My mother retires to one of the bedrooms. Sharon and Marla are in the master bedroom together, neither wanting to be alone. Alex and Nick are somewhere in the main house, probably still working.

I step outside into the cold night air. The temperature has dropped significantly since sunset, cold enough that my breath comes out in thick clouds. The property is dark except for the security lights positioned around the perimeter and the soft glow coming from Marla's bedroom window in the mother-in-law building. Somewhere in the distance, an owl calls out, the sound carrying across the frozen ground.

This whole situation is fucked. A month ago, I was focused on business, the merger negotiations, and maintaining my organization's territory and reputation. Then Marla walked into the Ivory Wolf looking for a one-night stand, and everything went sideways.

I should regret it. I should wish I'd never approached her that first night, or followed her back to her cottage. It would be easier that way. Cleaner.

But I don't regret it. Not even a little.

The truth I've been avoiding for weeks settles over me like the cold night air, impossible to ignore anymore.

My feelings for Marla aren't just physical. They haven't been for a while now, if I'm being honest with myself. Somewhere between that first night and now, between the laughter and the fear and the quiet moments tangled together in bed, something shifted.

The way she laughed that night we danced to Russian music in her cottage with genuine, unguarded laughter that made her whole face light up. The way she looks at me sometimes, like she sees past the violence and the danger to something worth caring about. How she held Sharon when her friend was terrified, offering comfort despite her own fear. The vulnerability in her eyes when she admitted she'd never felt safe before.

Those moments changed something fundamental inside me.

I'm in love with her.

The realization should terrify me. But standing here in the darkness, watching the light from her window, I can't bring myself to care about any of that. The fear is there, sharp and real, but it's drowned out by something stronger.

I'm in love with Marla Paddington. I'm almost certain Nick and Alex are too.

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