Page 90 of Chain Me

“He's trying to draw us out,” Dmitri observes. “Make us respond emotionally instead of strategically.”

“Well, it's working,” Alexi mutters, wincing as he shifts in his chair. “I want to put a bullet in his skull.”

Nikolai's gaze shifts back to me, and I see the question in his eyes before he voices it. “This escalation is because you took his daughter, Erik. Igor sees this as a declaration of war.”

The weight of that statement settles over me like a lead blanket. Seven people dead because I couldn't walk away from Katarina. Because I chose her over everything else.

“He started this when he tried to force her into that marriage,” I say, my voice harder than steel. “I just finished it.”

“The question is,” Sofia says, her tone carefully neutral, “what comes next?”

“Igor will only back down if we return Katarina,” I say, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “That's what he really wants.”

The silence stretches across the room like a taut wire.

“Over my dead body,” I add quickly before anyone can agree with that assessment.

Alexi shifts forward, his good arm bracing against the table. “There might be another angle here.”

“Speak,” Nikolai commands.

“Marriage,” Alexi says simply. “Erik marries Katarina. That gives Igor a new alliance.”

The room goes dead quiet. Sofia's eyebrows shoot up. Dmitri stops his casual drumming against his chair. Even Nikolai's mask slips for a fleeting moment.

“You want me to marry her?” I ask, though my heart hammers against my ribs.

“Think about it,” Alexi continues, warming to his idea. “Igor wanted to marry her off for a power advantage anyway. This way, he gets an alliance with us instead of the Petrovs. Stronger family, better positioning.”

“The man just blew up three of our locations,” Dmitri points out dryly. “You think he's going to welcome Erik with open arms?”

“It would be uneasy at first,” Alexi admits. “But Igor's a businessman above everything else. He understands profit and loss. Right now, he will be hemorrhaging resources. A marriage alliance stops the bleeding.”

I stare at my youngest brother, trying to process what he's suggesting. Marriage. To Katarina. The woman I just confessed my love to.

“It's not the worst idea,” Sofia says slowly. “From a strategic standpoint.”

“Strategic standpoint,” I repeat, testing the words. “What about what Katarina wants?”

“She chose you over Petrov,” Alexi reminds me. “Hell, she chose you over her own father. That has to count for something.”

Nikolai drums his fingers against the table, his expression calculating. “It would legitimize your claim to her. Make it harder for Igor to justify taking her back by force.”

“And if Igor refuses the alliance?” I ask.

“Then we're exactly where we are now,” Dmitri says with a shrug. “Except Katarina has legal protection as your wife.”

Wife.

The word echoes in my head, and something shifts deep in my chest. Something I never expected to feel.

I've always been the brother who'd never settle down. While Nikolai built his empire and Dmitri charmed his way through boardrooms, I stayed in the shadows. Alone. Comfortable in my solitude, never needing anyone beyond my family.

Marriage was something I watched happen to other people. Something that made men weak and distracted. Something that got in the way of the mission.

But sitting here, imagining Katarina as my wife...

“Erik?” Sofia's voice cuts through my thoughts.

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