Page 42 of Claimed in Sin
"Tell me it's not true." It isn't often I'm at the end of this side of my cousin, but twice in less than a month is enough for a lifetime. "Tell me you did not ignore my orders and move before the six-week period I gave you?"
I walk to the window and pull the curtain aside with two fingers. The rain is coming down harder now. I press my shoulder against the wall and let the cold from the glass seep through my shirt.
"It's done," I say. When the line goes quiet, I know he's pissed. I know what he told me, and I ignored it. But I had a good reason, and I would do the same thing over again if I had to. I'm not one for defying orders, and I don't look at this like a defiance. I just negotiated the timeline a little.
"I gave you specific instructions, and you moved ahead of them. Do you understand what happens if Orlov's men find out it was us? Can you even fathom the war you could have just started?"
I don't try to defend my actions because I know everything he's saying is true. But Roman has to let his anger burn off a bit before he can think rationally, and the only way to do that is to let him vent. He goes on for another full minute with reasons my killing Orlov was a bad idea, but it felt like the perfect timing to me.
After he made that death threat on Marina's life, it may even look like it was Sergei who did this. There was no better timing, and if he had to make the choice I'd been forced into, he'd have done the same thing. I just won't tell him I made the choice to move before I heard about Maksim's plan for Marina.
"He threatened to kill her, Ro," I say when he finally calms down enough to let me speak. "Like a mercy killing or something... I couldn't let that happen, and you know it."
He huffs, and I picture him scowling in a rage, but now he's thinking, at least. If Sergei stood back and let Orlov kill his only daughter, would Maksim have honored the alliance? No doubt... The man wanted to be cut into all Belova operations anyway. He didn't ever care about Marina. She was the icing on the cake.
"You should've called me," he growls, then I hear him sipping something, probably vodka.
"I know."
"You should've called me and told me about the threat and let me make the decision." It had to have been Yegor or Radimir who told him. I know how they talk and they're Roman'spersonal security. I merely borrowed them because they can be trusted. It was bound to get back to him, anyway.
"And you'd have made the same choice," I say. "I just pushed that timing up to preserve a life... What's done is done, and there's no taking it back. But I did what you ordered. The alliance won't move forward now. We just have to play our cards right so Belova doesn't find a new family to buddy up to." I turn from the window and walk a slow circuit around the room, rolling my neck to loosen the tension.
"Alright," Roman says. "Well, you seem to be the one with all the plans. What do we do next, then? You have this all figured out." I don't like the sarcastic tone he's using, but I'm not letting him get me down. I haven't really thought this through much because I was so focused on getting Marina to choose me and keeping her safe from Maksim. But he’s right to be skeptical.
We have to play every card right. Sergei will hear about Maksim soon enough, and when that happens, he'll look for someone to blame. While he won't be looking at us directly, he will be looking for a way to maneuver around us. And if he finds out I'm the reason Maksim was so furious with his daughter, there will be hell to pay, murder accusation or not.
I sit on the edge of the bed and lean forward with my elbows on my knees, staring at the floor. I've been turning it over in my head for days and I'm not sure how to take the next step.
"Orlov's gone, which means the alliance between him and Sergei is dead. That leaves a gap. Belova needs a new partner, and he needs one fast because the territory Orlov was helping him hold is exposed now and the Yekaterinburg crews are going to test it the second they smell an opening."
"Yeah, I know this. Tell me something new."
He's still angry because I've made a mess he thinks I can't clean up, but thoughts are starting to form. "If I tell Marina who I really am now, maybe she'll see the wisdom in being with me. We can offer her father the stability he needs for his organization and the resources and manpower to preserve what he has."
Roman chuckles. "You told me three weeks ago that he'd never go for that. It's why you felt the need to go after Orlov."
"Yeah," I say, shaking my head. "Just listen... Back then, Sergei had his alliance in place. There was no way he'd go for us. But if he sees that his options are dead in the water, he'll have no other choice?—"
"And Marina sweetens the pot for you..." Roman says.
Standing, I pace back to the window and look out to see the rain has lessened but the night is still swallowing all the light. "Yeah, I get the girl. But the point is if his daughter is with us, he will trust us more. It's why men make arranged marriages anyway, right?"
Roman thinks for a second and then says, "You make it sound clean."
"It's messy as fuck and I know it..." I hear a cough from the other room and remember that Marina is waiting for me. I don't want to leave her for too long because she's already shown how uncertain she can be. Just springing this house on her was a shock. I've been taking her to that safe house so long, she didn’t know what to think. I have a lot of explaining to do.
"Do you?"
"Ro, we're too deep to back out. The hit's done and it can't be undone, and if we sit on our hands and wait, Belova's gonna start asking questions. If Sergei thinks we had anything to do with Orlov's death, alignment goes off the table permanently. We'll never get close to him. The window to move is now, before his people start digging."
"Handle it," he says. "But I am not cleaning up messes with this."
When he hangs up, I sigh and lock my phone. I can't believe he's still letting me take control of this operation, even with the risks I've been taking. It shows just how much trust he has in me, and I can't let his trust be badly placed. I have to pull this off. Which means I have to be real with Marina, tonight or tomorrow, and I have to convince her that being with me means safety for her and her family.
I shove my phone into my pocket and run a hand through my hair, moving back into the hallway. Everything I've said to her has been one hundred percent the truth. I love her, more than anyone in my whole life, and while I've omitted a few facts about who I am and what I do for a living, I haven't directly lied to her. And I hope she understands that.
When I walk into the living room, she lifts her head to look at me. She's been crying again, though I don't think it's because she was eavesdropping. She looks heartbroken and I hate that for her.
