Page 98 of Mountain Mens' Curvy Obsession

Anya

Everything happened so fast from the moment we landed.

I couldn’t do anything, not even look around for a phone. Flanked by Sokolov goons and led by Leo himself, I was taken to a black SUV just off the tarmac of what I think is a private runway and taken into the city.

“I thought you’d want to keep me somewhere secluded and out of anyone’s reach,” I tell Leo. “Not the middle of New York City.”

We step into a house in my old neighborhood. But not just any house. It’smyhouse. My parents’ house. The old Asimov mansion, now empty and gathering dust. It’s been two years since I set foot in these rooms. Two years since I last sat in this chair in my father’s study.

“I wanted you home. This is home for you, isn’t it?” Leo asks, taking a seat behind my father’s desk. “I admit, I haven’t done a great job with the upkeep of this place. But I’ve found you, at last, so I’ll do a better job of managing your legacy.”

“None of this is yours,” I tell Leo. “It was my father’s. Legally, it all belongs to me.”

“We both know the law doesn’t reach where I go,” he sneers.

All I can do is stare at him: a stranger with cold eyes and a wicked smile. His heart is made of stone, and he’s only capable of evil. I still can’t believe I was almost married to this monster, and it hurts me on a deeper level to think that he might get away with everything he’s done.

“That’s the problem with you second-generation Bratva princes. You think you’re untouchable. You think the laws don’t apply to you,” I say, stalling and getting as much information out of him as possible while I orchestrate my escape. It feels like the reasonable, life-saving thing to do. “You don’t own this house, Leo. I do.”

“We’re going to be married, Anya, so everything of yours becomes mine. Furthermore, since you’ve been away, I’ve been running your family businesses. You’re turning a bigger profit, too,” he says with the confidence of a Wall Street wolf. “Your father never had the balls to exploit the full potential of his ventures. Your brother was too busy being the self-righteous prick that he was, and he couldn’t see what the Asimov name could yield either. You’re lucky to have me, Anya. I’m taking your family’s name to the next level.”

“You murdered my family. You tried to murder me!”

“I was angry and hurt,” he says and sighs deeply.

I think he truly believes these tales he’s trying to spin for me. This psychopathic delusion is genuinely horrifying, yet my best option for survival is to try to understand his reasoning. The more he talks, however, the more I remember.

“But when I realized you were still alive, I took it as a sign from the universe that you were truly meant for me. I’ve been searching for you ever since.”

“Leo, this isn’t right. I never wanted to marry you. All my father did was respect my wishes, for once. He gave you a generous cut of his businesses, too. Why couldn’t you just take that and retain your dignity?”

“My dignity?” Leo snaps, the rage burning blue in his eyes. “You dare speak to me of dignity after everything you did? Leading me on, making me think we were going to be married?”

I can’t help but scoff. “I’m sorry, Leo, but I don’t remember it that way.”

“It seems you don’t remember a lot these days.”

“Wow, Breonna really gave you everything you wanted, didn’t she?” The sting of her betrayal still smarts.

“Oh, she had a lot to tell me.” Leo chuckles dryly. “But worry not, all is forgiven. Come tomorrow evening, you and I will face the other families and set everything straight. We’ll announce that our wedding is going ahead as planned, and I will make a formal apology to you. You will accept, let me put a ring on your finger, and then you will sit the fuck down and do your wifely duties.”

“So, that’s what this is all about,” I say. “You muscling in on Asimov territory, first by aggression and bloodshed, and now sealing the deal by coercing me into marriage to win the support of any other Bratva families that might still be on the fence about your moves.”

The Hayes brothers and I discussed this. I remember it being the primary driver behind Leo’s determination to find me. But there’s a lot I still don’t know—I need this monster to fill in the blanks for me, one way or another.

“You were always too smart for your own good. A little on the chubby side, but it did make you prettier than most girls,” he says.

“Oh, right. I’m fat. I should be thankful you settled for me because nobody else would take me,” I spit, prompting a scowl out of him. “Yes, I’ve heard that garbage enough times already. And it’s just that. Garbage. We both know I’m way out of your league.”

He laughs, but it’s strained. “I do admire the spunk. That blow to the head brought out the fighter in you, eh? Good. I’ll enjoy our wedding night even more then.”

“You continue to underestimate me, Leo. It will be your undoing.”

“Oh? Yet here you sit at my mercy. I could still finish what I started at Dalton, if you insist.”

“Where’s my grandmother? You would’ve gloated about killing her the moment you saw me again. You didn’t,” I shoot back. “She made it out of Chappaqua alive, didn’t she?”

“Zoya Asimova won’t be an issue, not while I have you right where I want you,” he says. His phone pings, and he checks it. I notice the slight frown, but he quickly hides it before he looks at me again and smiles. “You should make yourself comfortable, Anya. And you should thank me while you’re at it. I brought you home, after all.”

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