Page 7 of Bratva Prince
Dangerous.
Perhaps, he could give Mr. Bad Boy Viking God a run for his money. Not that I wanted to think about him… Or my father, for that matter. I’d come to Greece to escape. This was my last chance at freedom before my life would completely fall apart.
And by that, I meant, before my father would marry me off to the highest bidder who could further his career.
I was trapped.
He reminded me of that on an almost daily basis, throwing out subtle threats of what could happen if I strayed too far. Of the power he held to destroy anything I’d try to make of my life if it wasn’t on the path he wanted me to take.
It was why I’d kept Rolan a secret. We both feared what would happen if my father knew of our relationship. Rolan worried that my father would have him killed, but my concern lay elsewhere. I believed my father would start with destroying Rolan’s reputation. On the surface, it doesn’t sound too bad. A hindrance, but manageable.
But nothing my father did to cross someone was manageable. He would absolutely demolish Rolan’s future, then go after everyone else that Rolan held close, tormenting him. If he deemed Rolan worthy of mercy, he would put an end to his suffering by execution.
And he would get away with it because he was on good terms with the law enforcement and prosecution in our town.
What was the point of living a life alone? If everyone I grew close with would eventually be punished for simply existing in my life, then why even take the risk?
That was why I had to marry whomever my father chose for me. It wasn’t because I was afraid to defy him. He knew how I felt about this marriage. But to me, the risk wasn’t worth it if it meant hurting everyone I loved.
I’d imagined running away, telling my father he could go to hell in a handbasket and leave that stupid mansion for good. It was a truly sweet vision. A tempting one. But then I thought of Viktor. Of Daria and Rolan—who I didn’t want to throttle at the time—and my mother, and any other potential friend or lover.
Everyone I loved would face punishment for my actions, and that wasn’t worth my freedom. Not if it meant their suffering.
I’d been so caught up in my own thoughts, I hadn’t even paid attention to anything Viktor said to the guy. He’d invited us to sit with him and the people he was with and we did. Viktor had been a social butterfly while I was the dull moth of the group, wrapped up in my own mind. What I did contribute to the conversation wasn’t much.
“So, Willow,” he said, turning on his side to face me, propped up on his elbow. “Any plans for tonight?”
Fortunately, Viktor was distracted by his conversation with the silent, hulking Russian who was sitting next to the asshole asking me out. Otherwise, Viktor would have probably jumped at the opportunity to go out tonight with this guy.
“Viktor and I are going out to celebrate our second night in Greece,” I answered, speaking the truth, though I implied that Viktor and I were a couple.
Okay, maybe I outright lied and told him we were, but I didn’t want some guy at the beach hitting on me. I hoped the lie would deter him, but apparently, it had not.
“What a shame,” he said, his gaze on the tides. “I was hoping we could get to know each other a little better. Maybe I could take you out to dinner.”
“Get to know me?” I asked, my tone incredulous and offended. “Let’s start with you. I don’t even know your name, and you want to take me out.”
“Ivan. My name is Ivan.”
“Okay.Ivan—you have a lot of gall asking me out when my boyfriend, nofiancé,” I added for an extra touch, “is sitting right here.”
My voice rose, and I should have stopped there, but I didn’t. I continued, taking out my frustration with Rolan and my father, on this stranger.
“How dare you treat us as if we aren’t even worth the respect? And what about those two, huh?” I gestured toward the two women beside him, though I was speaking in Russian, so they stared at me with a quizzical expression, unsure what I was pointing to them for. “Are you just going to ditch them, or go out with me for a bit and come back to them after?”
By now, everyone in the group watched me, a mixture of reactions. The women were confused by the entire scene, but Ivan had one eyebrow cocked, the amusement on his face as present as ever. His friend, though, was watching me with an intensity that I couldn’t read.
“Listen here Mr. Bad-Boy Viking,” I said, shoving my pointed finger into his bare chest. I couldn’t believe I’d used my nickname for him out loud, but my mouth was taking off faster than my brain could stop it.
“I know your type. I can see the wealth oozing off of you. Wouldn’t doubt it for a minute if your yacht was parked around the corner. Or did you fly in on your private jet? You think you can just get whatever you want, whenever you want, but you won’t get me. Not with two other women hanging on your arms and the no-doubt countless illegitimate children you have all over the world.”
His eyes narrowed with that last comment, and his amused smirk morphed into a scowl. Guess I struck a chord.
When he spoke, his voice was deeper, darker, and he had an even tone that showed his control. He kept from lashing out when attacked and that was both impressive and alarming. This man was cunning, there was no doubt about that.
“Pretty bold of you to make such assumptions. You were accurate about the yacht; I’ll give you that one. But illegitimate children? Even I think that was a step too far, Ms. Willow. Don’t you think?”
He stared at me, challenging me to say more. But I was done biting my tongue. I’d held everything in for far too long, and I wasn’t about to let this man who I’d never even met run all over me.
