Free Novak by Suzanne Steele Page A

and you use me. If you were anyone else, I would have already put you six feet under. Do you think that I can just allow you to steal from me? Your boldness intrigues me, but I could never permit you to steal my name and use it for your financial gain. You crossed a line when you fucked me over. You owe me and your name is what I require in exchange for your thievery.
    “Why, Carl? Why marriage?”
    “A name for a name, a life for a life—you have stolen my name, I require yours. You have stolen my life and penned it for the world to see; I now require the remainder of yours to be spent with me.”
    My stare is an intense, cold blue, as lifeless and as cold as a block of arctic ice. I’m sure my gaze alone makes her feel as if she has just been smacked in the face. Now is not the time to be splitting hairs; she knows I am a man who is dead serious and deadly dangerous. She never could have known she would be dealing with a killer when she stole my diary but it is too late… She has written my story for the world to view as voyeuristic members of society who don’t have the nerve to live life as dangerously as I do. They are able to live vicariously through the pages of the book that holds my forbidden story—the story of a ruthless man who was bred for Bratva, and will die in his loyalty to Bratva.
    She hangs her head and mumbles, “Why marriage, Sir? Why something so drastic?” Perhaps she thinks her submissive attitude will grant her the mercy she so desperately wants. She doesn’t deserve my mercy, only my judgment. She will pay by giving me the rest of her life through marriage—a binding contract ensuring her silence.
    “I require marriage for the simple reason, Katrina, that a wife can’t testify against her husband.”
    It all makes sense to her now. If she thought I held power over her before, I will literally own her ass now. I’m doing exactly what I said I would do. I’m staking claim and ownership of her…I am a man of my word and, in my world, my word is now the law she is being forced to live by.
    She has learned this day that I’m not a man to make idle threats. No, I say what I mean and I damn sure mean what I say.
    Today, I make my little, trouble making vixen mine. My ownership of her goes far beyond the bedroom now. I own her body and soul and where I come from, the simple contract of marriage gives a man rights. I may even take her back to the motherland of Russia. Yes, perhaps I will do that. A man in my home country holds all rights over his wife and children. Perhaps it is time for me to settle down and start a family.
    In Russia, my cousin, Glazov and I hold all power. There will be no chance of an escape for her there. I would be informed of her attempt to flee before she ever boarded a plane. I’m looking forward to having her under my complete domination. Life is good…
     

     

Katrina

Chapter Eighteen
    I stand before the preacher, staring at his collar, and answering that yes, I will take this man to be my husband.
    I can only guess that he couldn’t resist when he leaned into my ear and whispered, “Till death do us part.”
    I now belong to a mobster. Never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen Novak going this far in order to get his way. Every day it seems his hold on me grows stronger. I can’t believe all of this started over a diary. Who could have guessed that stealing a diary and writing a book would, or could, possibly lead to all of this drama?
    Has it been worth it? Part of me wants to scream out an emphatic “no” in answer to that question, but there is also a part of me that is undeniably excited about this new journey I’m about to embark on. As unpredictable and as dangerous as this man is, I feel more alive than I have ever felt.
    There is a part of me that is glad Novak is taking me.
    You see, it leaves him making the decisions so there is no guilt, no shame, and no regrets on my part. It leaves the responsibility on his shoulders and not mine. I