Page 28 of Hunted Bride

Max holds up his hands, palms out, in a gesture of surrender. “I barely know you,” he blurts out. Idiot.

“Whose fault is that?” Milena says indignantly. “Family is family, Max. You’ve known you were going to marry my sister for years. Yet you have never once attempted to get to know any of us. You acted as if Alisa were a burden instead of a gorgeous rising star that you were damn lucky to have as an arranged bride!”

He actually looks chastened. My brother. The eldest of five siblings, the one raised to believe he could do no wrong, that he would inherit control of the Orlov criminal empire without challenge.

Two days ago, he probably would have. Then Nik challenged him for dominance. Now, it’s my turn.

“I’m going to marry Milena,” I tell Max. His jaw drops. “If you want out of your arrangement with Alisa, I’d be fucking thrilled to take on the responsibility of ensuring the alliance between the Orlovs and the Morozovs endures permanently.” I hold Milena’s gaze while I say this.

“Were you going to ask me or simply order me to the altar?” she fumes.

“I’m not above forcing the issue if that’s what it takes.” I’ve had enough of her sass. I step closer, looming over her. “I told you. You’re mine. I’m not letting you go. Not now. Not ever.”

“Thank God,” Max mutters. “At least I’m not going to have to scrape pieces of you off the wall of a torture chamber. What the fuck were you thinking, Rion?”

“I was thinking I had to have her and I couldn’t because you were already engaged to Alisa. The families were never going to allow two matches when they could have used me to make an alliance elsewhere. You know Mamochka is a believer in arranged marriages. Hers turned out happily. She thinks parents know best for their children.”

“She’s out of her mind with grief,” Max grits out. “Mamochka’s order was all about forcing me to close the deal with Alisa. All the rest of you had to do was wait and let me handle it. Instead, Nik flies off the handle and kidnaps a stranger, you run off with Milena, who the fuck knows what Luka is up to, and now my bride is missing.” A groan tears out of him. He fists his hair, so that it stands wildly on end. “You kept it a secret from me that Alisa went to her sister for help. Did you not think it was relevant information?”

“I’ve been working that angle on my own. I didn’t hang you out to dry completely. I was protecting Mia.”

“Tell me everything you know about where she went,” Max grits out.

“Alisa drove south. Somewhere between here and Disneyland she disappeared. Haven’t found the car, haven’t found out who took her. You already know the answer to that question thanks to the ransom note.” I cross my arms over my chest defiantly. “Besides, what do you care? You never wanted Alisa anyway. You talk about marrying her as if she’s an annoying business matter. You order her around as if she’s your employee instead of your wife. You’ve been a dick to that woman since day one.”

His jaw tightens. Max turns on his heel and strides away.

I’m left alone with my little minx. Milena has found her glasses and put them on. She nudges her glasses up her nose.

“Were you serious about what you said?” she asks.

“Getting married? One hundred percent.” What if she says no to marrying me? I have the sensation that I’ve jumped off a cliff. I’m in a free fall, wondering if she’ll catch me with a yes. For once in my life, I can’t think of a joke. Blurting out what I want more than anything in the world paralyzes me.

“If you want to pop the question, you’re going to have to catch me first.” Milena has been edging toward the patio door. Now that my family has set up camp in Alisa’s house, I can’t keep the place locked up tight. She runs to it, slides it open, and tries to slam it in my face.

She’s fast.

I’m faster.

I wedge half of my body between the heavy door and the frame. A startled wheeze, like a broken accordion, comes out of me when it closes on my torso.

She takes off across the yard. Skirting the pool.

Familiar dark need surges up my spine. She can run. She can try to hide. I’ll catch her. I’ll find her. I’ll claim her every time.

Mia is mine. I’ll never let her go.

15

MILENA

I know I can’t outrun Rion. I’m not actually trying to. I just want to show him that our game is still on.

He needs to feel in control. Socially, he does it through humor. With me, he likes the chase. So let him run me down. When he catches me, we can have a discussion about our future. In private. Without Max glowering and stomping around like a fire-breathing dragon.

Alisa’s yard is manicured grass with ornamental privacy shrubs planted strategically to conceal the security perimeter. But there is a gate that leads out to the hillside. I saw it once when she invited me to her birthday party. Spent most of the brief time I stayed contemplating whether anyone would notice if I went over to it and sneaked out to avoid her movie friends.

Now I have my answer—no one would have realized I was missing. Not even my own sister. But that doesn’t matter anymore. One person is going to see exactly where I’m headed.