Page 63 of Marrying the Mobster
Pacing the bedroom, I grunt with frustration. I feel weak and helpless, unable to do anything to help my man. By keeping me ignorant about how things work in his world, he’s blinded me, tying my hands behind my back. It’s meant to protect me, but just now I can’t help resenting him for it. Sitting around and patiently waiting to find out what’s going on isn’t my style, and it’s driving me insane.
“Fuck this,” I mutter, reaching for my phone. I’m going to call up to Jaime and demand he tell me what’s happening and where Diego is. I’m owed that much at least.
Before I can dial, the phone starts ringing, displaying an unknown number. Diego had Jaime remove the encryption, allowing anyone to contact me and vice-versa. I usually ignore unfamiliar numbers, but the sick feeling in my gut tells me this is important. It has something to do with Diego.
I quickly answer, one hand pressed to my belly as I go still in the center of the room. “Hello?”
“Hello there,krasivyy,” purrs an accented voice from the other end. A voice that I recognize instantly.
“Viktor,” I whisper, dread chilling me to the bone. “What the fuck do you want?”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I find a video message has come through. Viktor remains silent; the message is from him. My hands shake as I open it and brace myself for what I might see.
The video is crystal clear and shows a huddle of dark-haired men marching up the stairs of an unfamiliar building. I pick Jovan out of the bunch first, his height and the swagger in his steps making him stand out. Beside him is Diego. I choke on the bile burning my throat when I realize that the two black lines zeroed in over the back of Diego’s head are the crosshairs of a scope. There’s literally a gun to his head and he has no idea. His pace is confident as the camera follows them to a set of double doors. He kicks them open, and his soldiers flow in behind him, guns raised.
“What did you do to him?” I demand, trying to steady my voice as I put the phone back to my ear. “If you hurt him, I swear to God—”
“Relax,dorogoy,” he murmurs. “I haven’t done anything to your husband … yet. Whether he gets to live is entirely up to you.”
It takes a minute for me to reply, my head spinning and my heart racing. I can hardly breathe with the image of Diego in those crosshairs burned into my mind. After taking a few breaths and steadying my trembling hands, I push away the emotions making me want to do irrational things—like search for one of Diego’s guns and go searching for Viktor. For one thing, I’m a terrible shot. For another, I have no idea where he is.
“What do you want?” I ask, my voice steadier now.
“It’s very simple,” Viktor says. “You are going to tell your husband’s security to stand down. I’m at the end of your driveway. When I pull up, you’re going to put the phone down and walk out—cool and collected. If you do something stupid, Diego’s dead. Got it?”
I calculate the benefits and the risks of going along with Viktor’s demand. The video could have been taken an hour ago, or it could be a live feed. Diego might be locked up somewhere, being beaten and tortured by Yezhov thugs. He might be dead already.
“Don’t you dare hang up this phone!” he screams, sensing my hesitation. “The second this line goes silent, your husband’s a dead man! Do you hear me, Elena? Stay on the phone and do what I said, right-fucking-now.”
I flinch at the explosion of his voice in my ear, anxiety spiking through me. What the hell am I supposed to do? Jaime’s two floors above me, and even if I managed to get up there before Viktor suspects what I’m doing, I can’t talk to him without being overheard. Muting the phone will deaden the background noise and Viktor will take that as defiance.
“How do I know he isn’t already dead?” I fire back. “Or that this isn’t a set-up? The second I step foot out those doors, you’ll probably kill me, too.”
Viktor lets out a harsh, humorless laugh. “That’s the risk you’re going to have to take if you really love Diego as you’ve claimed. What’s it going to be? Take a gamble with your husband’s life, or follow my orders?”
Do I really have a choice? If Diego’s in trouble and I can save him, I have to try. If he’s already dead, then it doesn’t matter because I won’t want to live without him. I doubt I’d even put up a fight if Viktor tries to kill me. I’ve been living on the edge of life and death for months now, so it’s unsurprising to feel so apathetic about marching to my own demise. Either way, I’m screwed and so is Diego.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
“You’re making the right decision,dorogoy,” Viktor replies. “Now, get moving.”
Leaving the room with casual strides is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do … especially when I pass Marcella on the stairs. My entire body goes stiff, and the words to warn her what’s happening burn in my throat. But if I’m blind and helpless, Marcella is even more so. Diego would be furious if I involved her in this, and I wouldn’t blame him. His sister is young and has a bright future ahead of her. She’s set to graduate this coming spring. I won’t do anything to jeopardize that.
“Hey, hon,” she chirps at the sight of me. “Going somewhere?”
I force a smile and point at my phone. “Business call. I’m tired of being cooped up in the house, so I’m going to take this out by the pool.”
She returns my smile and moves on past me. “Enjoy. See you later for our movie night?Fifty Shades Darkeris on the menu and I’m soooo ready for some more of that sexy-as-fuck Christian.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
We go our separate ways and when I hit the first floor, I hang a left and head to the control room. Nicolas is at the desk, a collection of monitors showing him different camera feeds. He gives me a confused look, but then fixes his face into a smile as he comes to his feet. The difference in how they treat me now that I’m Diego’s wife is a complete change from when I was his prisoner.
“Something I can do for you,señora?”
I glance at the feed showing our endless driveway. If Viktor is really there, he’s been careful to park outside the camera’s range.
“Yes,” I reply, leaning against the door frame. “Radio whoever is patrolling the grounds and tell them to stand down. A car’s approaching and they’re to let it through, no questions asked.”
