"W-what do you mean?" I asked, staring at him in shock.
He stood up, leaving me on the porch still kneeling.
"I told you. I told you. Why didn't you listen?!" he shouted.
I got to my feet, my eyes darting to the window where I saw my father and brother watching.
"What are you talking about?"
"Why were you and Anderi trying to look for Liam?!"
I froze. How could he possibly know that? We hadn't even started searching for Liam yet.
"Don't act stupid now!" he said, pulling out his phone and shoving it in my face.
On the screen was a photo of his mother—her throat slit, the letter L carved into her wrist. My stomach twisted.
"Czar, I—"
"I don't want to hear it. We're leaving." He grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the car.
"Zariah!" my dad called from the porch.
"Get back in the house!" Czar yelled, pulling a gun and aiming it at him.
"Czar, no!" I screamed, jumping between the gun and my dad. "Don't. We can just go. Please."
He stared at me with those haunted eyes before lowering the weapon. "Get in the car."
I obeyed, glancing back at my horrified father as we drove away.
We got home in silence. Czar entered the house wordlessly. I followed him, desperate.
"Czar, please talk to me."
He spun on me. His eyes were lifeless. "I just can't lose you too, Zariah. I can't risk it."
"Czar, I—"
He grabbed me, kissing me hard and suddenly. I froze, but slowly melted into it, pouring all my emotions into the kiss—anger, fear, longing.
He pulled back, his gaze distant.
"You have no idea the hell you've just unleashed on us," he whispered before walking away.
~*~
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Arranged To Be|18+✔️
Romance(Mature Audiences)Zariah Jones just graduated college and was ready to start her dream job-until her father drops a bombshell: she's been promised in marriage to a man she's never met. But not just any man. Czar Kuzmich. Head of the Russian mafia. C...
