DANIEL VOLKOV

This was insaaane. This was totally NUTS.

I just plucked Tomasso Rossi's daughter right out of his home, right in front of his eyes and all his people.

Haha!

In the helicopter, Charlotte and Andrei were glaring at me. I could hardly sit still. Could hardly contain my grin.

Meanwhile, Tomasso's offspring was hyperventilating. Hands tied. Mouth gagged. Ponytail ruined, dark pieces fallen over her eyes. Black makeup running down her cheeks.

I would've felt horrible, except I didn't.

An hour of awkward silence later, we descended in the middle of a dense pine forest and found our hidden black townhouse. The only place we called home. Out of sight and safe.

I jumped to inhale that fresh crisp scent of the earth. Fill my lungs with much needed relief—

"Daniel, what should we do?!" Grigor and Artiom—my main soldiers bolted over to take orders. "What do you need, boss?"

Behind me, Charlotte was trying to drag the Rossi wild animal into the house. Even tied up, she was putting up a good fight.

"Take her to the guest room," I said to the guys. "Don't go inside. Don't go near her. If anyone touches her, I will put a bullet in them. No questions asked. Do you understand?"

They stammered to reply.

"Use your words."

"Don't worry, no one will go near her. I promise!" Artiom straightened his back.

"Me too!" Grigor smiled nervously. "One hundred percent, I swear on my life."

"Good. Now go."

Andrei gritted his teeth, marching with me into the house.

Inside, Irina, our amazing house chef—and more accurately, the angry mother hen—stopped me.

"Daniel Volkov..." She put her hands on her hips. If I wasn't her boss, she'd throw a slipper at my head. "Did you really kidnap that poor girl? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Where do I begin?" I sighed, following Andrei upstairs. "I'm a sick, deranged monster. Oh, can you please get her some water? She's probably thirsty from screaming. Not that I mind making a woman scream, just in a different context."

"Dick." Andrei muttered over his shoulder.

"Hey, I heard that—"

"Should I get her something to eat?" Irina asked, struggling to keep up as we rushed down the hallway.

"Obviously—but nothing too fancy. We need her to feel like a prisoner. Not a five-star hotel guest."

"Um, okay—"

"And make sure to tell everyone that it was love at first sight, alright? I'm in love. Totally in love." I jumped ahead of Andrei and opened the office door right as he was reaching for it.

It hit Niko, my dumb best friend, who was hiding behind it. He groaned, holding the left side of his face in pain.

"I hope you get a black eye." I strolled in. "We need some evidence that they have hurt you."

Andrei shut the door behind us, and the room turned dead silent as my words settled over.

Niko forgot about his bruising eye and broke into an amazed smile. "It worked?"

I shrugged. "Of course, it did. I'm a geni—"

"HOLY SHIT! Yes! We did it!"

Meanwhile Andrei tugged the neckline of his shirt with itching anxiety. Then Charlotte stormed in, heaving like an electrocuted cat, and melted on the floor.

"I can't breathe..."

"Why is Niko the only one happy?" I asked.

"We almost died out there," Andrei snapped. "If that girl didn't step up, we'd all be dead!"

"I told you not to come." I moved behind my desk and spread out the thirteen contract drafts I had been working on, organizing them in order. "We have to move fast. Charlotte, you know what to do. I want everyone who is important to know about the wedding. Tell them it was a foolish love at first sight. The more people know it's official, the harder it will be to break it off."

"I'm bringing everyone to guard the house," Andrei said. He was already dialing on the phone. "You better hope there isn't a massacre tonight."

"And you." I glanced at Niko.

"Give it to me, baby." He grinned, stepping closer. "Tell me. What do you need?"

"Stay in your room."

His smile vanished. "Aw, man. No! For how long?"

"However long it takes for a fake bullet wound to heal. You should look like you're struggling for a while. Make it convincing."

"But—"

Someone screamed down the hall. Tomasso's daughter didn't seem to like her new room. We shared a collective look that meant 'what do we do about that?' but no one had any ideas. So we pretended to not hear anything.

It was past two in the morning. We were proofreading the marriage proposal for the millionth time. There couldn't be any mistakes. It had to be perfect. Everyone's life depended on it.

And we would've been done by now if someone wasn't destroying all the furniture in her room.

"For the love of God, do something!" Charlotte rubbed her temples. "I'm going to kill her!"

More glass shattered.

"Volkov! Stop being a piece of shit! I'm not afraid of you! Come talk to me right now or I swear you will regret it!"

"Well, damn." Niko smirked at me.

I shook my head. "She's a migraine."

Charlotte shot me a glare. "She's terrified. You should go say something to her."

I was confused. "Whose side are you on?"

"The right side. Don't be an ass."

"Why would I make her feel better?"

She smacked her lips. "Okay, Daniel."

"What?"

"How do you plan for this to work if you're going to be a jerk? She has to believe that you like her, doesn't she? This isn't convincing."

"Okay, no one in this room has been in a relationship before, especially you. So I don't think you have any right to give me advice."

"No, why would you listen to anyone other than the sound of your own voice," Andrei said.

Alright. I hurt them. Obviously. I'd gone too far. None of them agreed with this plan when I told them. Now they were afraid, naturally.

"First of all, you guys are my family," I said, looking at each one. "I'd take a bullet for you in a heartbeat, you know that. And your opinion means a lot to me. So I'm sorry if I hurt you, that wasn't my intention. But I don't regret this. I'm done waiting. I'm done worrying if one of you won't come back every time you leave the house. He needs to be stopped. How much longer are we supposed to wait? Hm? If you have a better idea, I'm all ears."

Their faces softened.

Yes. We had tried every alternative to stop Tomasso.

He wasn't a business rival. We had an abundance of those. Alpha newbies who wanted to prove themselves, but didn't realize who was actually in charge. We took care of those. Easy. Hell, some people just wanted trouble. It wasn't our fault.

But Tomasso? With Tomasso, it was personal.

Something made of wood croaked and thumped on the floor, reverberating through the house.

"Was that the bed?" Andrei scowled, guessing which furniture was at her mercy.

"I don't care who is listening! Tell Volkov I want to talk to him!"

"Any advice?" I sighed, waving a dismissive hand in her direction. "The goal is to get on her good side, eventually."

"Don't be yourself." Niko leaned forward on his knees. "That's it."

Charlotte nodded. "Pretty much."

"That was very helpful, thank you."

"This is not fair!" Tomasso's daughter sounded defeated. "How would you feel if someone did this to you? Do you really not have a heart?"

"Alright, wish me luck." I pushed myself off the armchair before I could change my mind.

This was going to be interesting.

I raced down the dark corridor, towards Artiom guarding the door. The man had arms thick enough to bench press a truck. But he looked beyond relieved to see me. I put my hand on his shoulder, a reassurance to us both.

Then I opened the door and found her, fuming.

She stood tall, despite the emerald silk jumpsuit she wore that was now crumpled and damp from hours of fighting. The room itself was proof of her rage, with overturned furniture and scuff marks on the walls. Her feet were bare, studded heels discarded on the carpet. Black polish on her toes and long fingernails. 

I expected her to be hideous or obnoxious like her parents. But everything about her was captivating, from her golden smooth skin, to her sharp collarbones, to her sculpted jawline and full lips. A sensual, untamed force. Even her gaze was intense. Deep brown, fierce and unflinching, framed with long, dark lashes.

She slid her gaze down my body, then back to my eyes, raising an arched brow. "What's your end goal?"

"I'm sorry, is this a meeting? Because last time I checked, you are my prisoner. Not a business partner. So...I don't know, get a reality check?"

"I am no one's prisoner, especially not yours."

"Why not?"

"What is wrong with you?"

I shrugged. "You know, scientists are still working on a couple of theories. I'll keep you updated, though. It won't hurt to learn a little about the man you're marrying."

Her breath hitched. "I would rather die."

"Also an option."

She shook her head. "You're a...a fucking..."

"Handsome, sexy genius? Your charming captor? I know, you're a lucky woman."

"If you think I'll ever marry you—"

"What are you going to do? Let your family die? This is for their safety. Besides, you could do worse. Given who your parents are, I bet you are used to being with losers. It's all over your face."

"Is that so? You know what I see in yours?" She hissed, baring her teeth. "A sick maniac."

Interesting. "If I'm a sick maniac, then why aren't you more scared?"

"Of what? Of you?" She smiled and took a step closer. I caught a hint of her sweat and gentle perfume...strangely appealing. As she tipped her chin up, the deepest brown eyes locked on me. "You think you can threaten me? Fuck you. You're the one who should be scared."

My mouth crooked, fighting a grin. "Look, psycho. I understand this is all new to you, but I'm usually the one who makes the rules here—"

"Take me home! Right now! Or I swear—"

"You swear what?'

"Do you have any idea what my dad will do to you?"

I stiffened at her words and pivoted toward the door.. "To your beloved fiancé? Nothing."

"You delusional fuck! You're not my fiancé!"

There was nothing more alluring than a brave, resilient woman.

But not her.

I would never see her as anything more than my enemy's daughter.

A/N
Oh, Daniel. I don't know about that.
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