Chapter Eight: The Choice

Jafer's POV

I watched her turn to me, confusion and shock clouding her face. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the marriage certificate, and handed it to her along with a pen.

She stared down at the paper in her hands and the pen resting on top of it, then back up at me.

“What? I mean, why?" the words sounded as if they had been dragged out of her.

I stood beside the bed. "I gave your father a chance to save your life. He chose the ledger instead."

I watched her expression change.

"Since he has made his decision, I have to make mine. I need a way into a Circle and your family name can get me closer than a dozen men with guns ever could. So, Nadya Kuzmin, since your family has decided you are worth less than a book, you will become my wife. And in return for the life I spared, you will help me get what I want.”

I explained it as quickly as I could, but it still did not help. Her eyes only grew wider. Then she shook her head, her tangled curls moving against the pillow.

“I-I don't think… my grandfather is already dead. He..."

"How about I just kill you?" I cut her off mostly to make her stop talking.

I needed her signature on that paper as soon as possible so I could return to my revenge, and every minute I spent standing in a hospital room was a minute wasted.

Her face changed.

"I was not expecting to open my eyes after I passed out. I was disappointed to see that I am still alive." she said plainly without a tremor, and I could not believe what I had just heard.

"You want to die?" I stared at her.

She lifted her eyes to mine. "Is that not what you wanted?"

"I wanted that ledger." I emphasized. "Now that I see your father is going to be a pain in the ass, killing you will not make him cough up what I need. So I have to find another route."

I watched the words land.

Her eyes began to fill and the tears gathered along the rims until they were ready to fall. My jaw tightened and my patience went thin. Why does she cry every time?

She looked down at her hands. "I-I cannot just sign my name to being married to you when..."

"You have two choices." I did not raise my voice. "Die for a family that does not give a damn about you, or marry me and become the wife of the Mafia King of Russia, powerful enough to fight them.”

"Fight my family?" Her head came up as if that was the only thing she heard from what I said. "They may have rejected me, but I will not..."

"Now, you listen to me, little doctor." I leaned in and held her jaw, turning her face so that she could not look anywhere but at me.

"Your family wanted you dead. You'll make them wish they had. An eye for an eye. A tooth, for another. A taste of their own poison. Got it?”

She bit down on her lip and her fist tightened in the bedspread, knuckles pale against the white sheet. My eyes followed the movement of her mouth before they settled on her blue eyes.

"Please," she whispered. "I want to think about it.”

How cocky. She was lying in a hospital bed I paid for and she was demanding that I wait.

A smirk pulled at my mouth.

I let go of her jaw and my thumb brushed the side of her face before I could think about it. She looked thin. Her curly hair was a mess of tangles, and her skin had a gray cast to it.

"Whatever. The wedding is tomorrow. One of my men will bring you to my house so you can prepare."

Her eyes widened at that. "Wait, tomorrow? No, you cannot do this. I do not..."

"I can. And I already did."

I set the marriage certificate on the table beside her bed and stepped back.

This had to work.

Her father was still a made man, even if he no longer held a seat in the Golden Circle. His family had a representative inside the organization, and that was my way in.

The representative stood between me and the people I had spent fifteen years hunting. As long as he remained in place, every move I make and every question I asked would reach the wrong ears.

His death would change that.

As Nadya's husband, the organization would be forced to make me the new representative while I get a window to represent my family as well.

I walked out of the room without saying anything else. In the corridor, I took out my phone and dialed Aleks, my right-hand man. He picked up on the second ring.

"I am heading to the quarters. Come with me, and have someone take care of my office work. I need to announce my wedding.”

I ended the call and marched toward my car.