Free Protected by a Mobster: A Russian Mafia Romance (Volsky Mafia Book 1) by Jacee Macguire

know what you two are up to and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are not happy. And marriage is the least of your worries. Watch your fucking back. Run home to your master and let him know that too.”
    I watch in stunned silence as Dane sneers at Ruslan, but is careful not to allow that gaze to fall on the other men in the room. He looks me up and down in complete disgust and turns on his heel, marching like a sad child out of the office. The front door slams closed, rattling the windows in his wake. My breath hitches as Ruslan’s hand touches mine.
    Conversations pick up around the room in thick Russian accents and I wish I could understand what is being said. I’m at a loss here and it sucks. I’m a Russian mafia princess staying with a Russian mafia boss – a fucking hot one at that – and I can’t understand a damn word they say.
    “What’s wrong, Liliya?”
    “Nothing. Well… um… I was just thinking about how sad it is that I don’t speak Russian.”
    “That can be remedied.”
    “Yeah, I guess it can.”
    We never got around to shopping due to Dane’s visit. Ruslan spent the afternoon holed-up in his office with two other bosses and a few of their men. With war looming, and not knowing exactly what my father and Dane would do now, they had to try and get ahead of things. I hated that I was the centerpiece to a war I knew nothing about. If I returned home and married Dane, then three other families would fall because of my weakness and my brother’s death would be for nothing. But if I stayed here in Vegas with Ruslan, I had a chance of choosing what I wanted for myself. It seemed that a war between the five families would come no matter what I did. I was unprepared for this life. At least I now had choices of my own.
     

Chapter Twelve - Ruslan
    “I never lie to any man because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you are afraid.”
    -        John Gotti
     
    It had been hours since I last saw Liliya. What should have been a short meeting turned into an all-afternoon affair. Ivan Babkin, Abram Klepin, and I tossed around different ideas, trying our damndest to find a way around an all-out war. Bloodshed was inevitable; we all knew that. With Dane Duskin and Lyosha Markow banding together against us, we had to be careful. Thanks to Liliya, we weren’t sitting around with our heads up our asses waiting for them to take us down. We had a fighting chance. The odds were in our favor.
    The problem we kept running into was Liliya’s marriage contract and a way around it. If Dane married Liliya, then he would outrank all of us. He was a loose cannon and a total idiot. There wasn’t a single one of us willing to kneel before him. Fuck that!
    “Ruslan, there is one way we could get around the contract. It hasn’t been done in years, though. How far are you willing to go with this girl?” Abram asked as he drained his glass of Vodka.
    “I’ll take this as far as I need to. Why?”
    “Being that two men are interested in claiming the same woman, you could demand a fight to the death. Winner takes all. A fight like this supersedes any mafia contract. Is she worth your life?”
    “A fucking death-match to stop a marriage she doesn’t want? You have to be kidding me. Would the marriage still have to take place if I won?”
    “Oh yeah. The old ways leave nothing to chance. The marriage must take place after the fight… so if you do this, she will be yours permanently.”
    “I can’t make that decision on my own. I’ll talk with her and see how she feels about it. When I agreed to help her, I never thought it would lead to a death-match with a weasel like Dane.”
    “The prize is pretty damn nice, Ruslan. You could do a hell of a lot worse than a woman like that. Did you see the look on Dane’s face when she called him a pussy? That was something. He’ll never forget that. I know I won’t.”
    We all had a good laugh at Dane’s expense. Liliya was