Chapter 3

The moment he stepped into the parlor of his brother’s house and saw her, the world tilted on its axis. She was beautiful. Her clothing was ripped and covered in mud. Her blonde hair was matted against her porcelain skin, which was also dusted in filth, but through the grime her beauty shined through, stopping him in his tracks.

“Matias?” Cristian’s voice cut through the trance this stranger had put me in.

“Who are you?” Matias stepped into the living room as he questioned the woman. “Cristian. Has she told you anything?”

He looked at the woman as he folded his arms across his chest. “Nope. She said she would only talk to you.”

Matias stepped in front of her and sat on the table. He propped his forearms on his thighs and leaned in to look her in the eyes.

“Are you going to answer the question?”

She held his gaze and swallowed. “I need your help.”

“Why would I help you?”

“You’re Matias Silva, are you not?”

“Yes, but you knew that already.”

“I’m in trouble and have nowhere to go. You’re the only person who can help me.”

“Tell me your name.”

“Look…” She fidgeted with her hands resting in her lap. “I’m in danger and I need your help.”

“Why should I help you? You won’t even tell us who you are.” Matias stood and walked across the room. He pressed his hand against the large window and stared out into the yard. “I’ve got enough problems to deal with. I don’t need yours.”

His brother cleared his throat. “Matias, what do you want us to do with her?”

Matias dropped his hand and turned toward them. His brother stood nearby, waiting for his response. “Take her into town and leave her at the bus station.”

“No!” she cried out as she stood to her feet. “He’ll find me. Please help me.”

Matias walked over to her, stopping just before her. His eyes scanned her body, searching for something. “Tell me your name.”

“Not until you agree to help me.” She held her chin up in defiance.

“You might know my name, but you don’t know me. I can’t be forced into doing anything. Take her.” Matias nodded toward Pedro, one of his men leaning against the wall.

The woman let out a squeal when Pedro wrapped his hand around her arm. “Stop! Please. You don’t understand!” Pedro tugged her toward the door, but she fought against him. “I’m as good as dead if you toss me out that door.”

“Then tell me who you are!” Matias bellowed, his voice echoing through the room.

She panted as she tried to free herself from Pedro’s hand. “Katya. My name is Katya.”

“Let her go.” Matias caught her as she stumbled free from Pedro’s grasp. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?.” He pushed Katya to the couch and sat beside her. “Now, why do you need my help?”

“My father sold me to a man here in Chile. He is forcing me to marry him. He’s delusional if he thought I would go through with it, but I was being held prisoner here until I came to my senses.”

“Who held you captive?” Cristian asked her.

“Jorge Peru.”

“Fuck.” He ran his hand down his face. “That moron is really starting to piss me off.”

“You know him?” Katya’s eyes were wide as she waited for his reply.

“You could say that. His father owns the wineries here in Chile.”

“Well, he can’t take them over until he marries.”

“So, your father sold you to him? What is in it for him?” Matias furrowed his brow, concern marring his face.

“My father is a powerful man in the states. He is always trying to take things that will make him even more powerful. Jorge promised him a way to gain that clout.”

“What did he promise him? Wine?” Cristian let out a chuckle as he spoke.

“No.” Katya swallowed. “He promised him…” She couldn’t say it. What would these men do to her when they learned who she really was?

“Well? Don’t leave us hanging. What did Jorge promise your father?”

“Lithium,” Katya whispered under her breath.

“What did you say?” Matias tilted his head, unsure of what he heard.

“He promised my father lithium.”

“Holy shit.” Cristian began pacing the floor. “Jorge was the fucker behind the theft. Who is your father?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Matias grabbed her arm and stood, tugging her to her feet. “Tell me who he is.”

“No.”

“Pedro,” Matias growled, shoving her toward his man. “Take her to my car. We’ll lock her up in my guest room. She isn’t going anywhere until she tells us who her father is.”

“Lady,” Cristian said, getting in her face, “it’s better if you just tell us now. When we find out, it could mean life or death for you.”

“Not yet. I can’t—I need to know you’ll help me first. I’m not my father.”

Matias scoffed. “Help you? You just admitted that you are the daughter of the person responsible for taking what is ours. If you're not your father, then tell us who he is.”

Katya stilled. “You’ll kill me the moment I do.”

“No. I won’t. You’ve obviously been wronged by him. Stop protecting him, Katya. Tell us what we want to know, and I will swear my protection.”

Cristian gasped. “Brother. What are you doing?”

“Tell me, Katya. Who is your father?”

Pedro walked her to the door and opened it. He stepped through, pulling her behind him. Katya jerked against him, pausing in the open door.

“Dmitri Ivanov.”

Chapter 4

“Fuck!” Cristian tugged at his hair. “This is bad, Matty. Do you realize you just swore our protection to the leader of the Russian Mob’s daughter? The man we now know stole our fucking lithium.”

“Calm down.” Matias started toward the front door. “She could be useful to us.”

“This is fucked up, Brother. I’ll call Bastian. He needs to know what’s going on.”

Matias stilled, quirking a brow at his brother. “We need to be more worried about Jorge. When he finds out we have his bride to be, it will be a problem.”

“Fine.” Cristian pulled his phone out. “I’ll make some calls and see if there is any chatter among the locals. Jorge is an idiot to wage a war on us. What the fuck was he thinking?”

“I don’t know, but he will learn why fucking with the Silva family isn’t good business. Find out if Bastian wants to run a winery. When this is all said and done, they’ll belong to us.”

Matias pulled the door closed and took the steps down to his awaiting SUV. Pedro stood beside the car, watching the girl.

“Pedro.” Matias smiled as he walked past him. “I’ve got it from here. Meet me at my house and bring Benji with you. I’m going to need some modifications to my security system.”

“Yes, Sir.” Pedro trotted off toward his car, leaving Matias standing outside his SUV.

Katya was sitting in the passenger seat with her hands bound in front of her. Pedro must have secured them as a precaution.

Slipping into the driver’s seat, Matias leaned across the console and gripped the seatbelt beside her. Her body stiffened beneath the brush of his arm, causing him to chuckle.

“Relax. I’m just putting on your seatbelt, Princesa.”

Katya relaxed as she stared out the window. Chile was a beautiful sight to behold. The landscape was like something of a post card. She knew she was being held somewhere outside of Santiago, but never stepping foot outside of the states, she wasn’t sure where.

“Where are we going?” Katya asked, her eyes never leaving the terrain on the other side of the glass.

“My house.”

“From one prison to another,” she huffed, her eyes dropping to her bound hands.

“Think of it as protection.”

“Protection that involves being locked in a room?”

“Katya.” Matias gripped the wheel as he spoke. “You’re the daughter of a very ruthless man. A man who has a reach long enough to fuck with us here in Chile. I need to be certain this isn’t some trick to fuck us even more.”

“You think I’d willingly look like this, or that I’d allow my father to sell me off like a cow?” She cut her eyes toward him. “Jorge was going to…” her voice trailed off as she visibly shuttered. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. This prison can’t be any worse than the one I ran from.”

They pulled onto a gravel drive that led them to a massive estate. It was even larger than the one she fled from. The home looked like something out of Vogue magazine with its Mediterranean vibe.

“Wow. Your house is enormous. Do you live here with your wife?”

“I’m not married.” Matias pulled the Audi into the covered garage and cut off the engine. “Wait here.”

Katya watched as he rounded the vehicle and opened her door. “Let me help you.” He pressed the button to release the seatbelt and eased her to her feet beside him.

“You live here alone?” Katya looked around at the massive building.

“Yes. Mostly.” He smiled as he led her toward a door. “A few servants stay here, but otherwise it’s just me—and now you.”

“Great,” Katya mumbled.

“Look.” Matias looked at her over his shoulder. “It won’t be like this forever. I just need to make sure you’re not a threat.”

“And what about Jorge? He’ll come for me, eventually.”

“I’m not worried about that piece of shit.” He pulled the door closed behind her and inched his body close to her as he whispered into her ear, “Now, Let’s get that beautiful body cleaned up.”

Chapter 5

“How’s the prisoner?” Bastian laughed as he plopped down into a vacant chair.

Matias growled as he tossed a folder at his brother. “Infuriating. She refuses to tell me anything about her or her family.”

“Can you blame her?” Cristian set his feet on the desk in front of Matias. “You’re holding her prisoner.”

“I need to be sure she isn’t a spy.”

Bastian grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’ve never known a spy to look like her.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“I think what our baby brother is trying to say, Matias,” Cristian rested his hands behind his head and grinned. “Is that your prisoner is hot as fuck!”

Matias closed his eyes as the vision of Katya assaulted his brain. His brothers weren’t wrong. She was fucking beautiful. “That doesn’t change the fact that she’s an Ivanov.”

“Can’t always help who you’re born to, Matty.”

“Yeah, I know, but I need to be sure.” He pushed Cristian’s feet off the desk. “Where are we on Jorge? It’s odd to me he hasn’t been looking for Katya.”

“I might know why that is.” Bastian leaned forward as he spoke, “His father died two days ago. Heart attack. Jorge is now the sole heir of the Peru Wineries. A marriage isn’t needed now.”

“Christ.” Cristian shook his head. “That motherfucker just tossed aside one of the most ruthless mobster’s daughter. Does he realize he has painted a target on himself?”

“Have you made any headway with any of our contacts in America?”

“Yes. Apparently, the Anastasi Syndicate is having some problems with the Russians.”

“This is bad.” Matias leaned back in his chair. “If the Russians are making a move on the Italians and stealing from us, they must have something big planned. We need to know how Jorge fits into this.”

Bastian stood and stretched. “I’ll drive down to wine country. I need to see what I’ll be running soon, anyway.”

“Take Pedro with you. I don’t trust that motherfucker.”

Bastian left Matias and Cristian alone in the room. “What about the girl, Matty? You can’t keep her locked up forever.”

“I know. Once we find out Jorge’s game in all this, I’ll let her go. Having her locked up is the only thing keeping her safe; we’re sitting blind.”

“Are you sure there isn’t something more behind keeping her locked up?”

“What are you implying?”

“I don’t know. You seem so tense when we talk about her. I worry she’s getting under your skin—and not in a good way.”

“I’ve got it under control, Cris.”

“If you say so, Brother. We need to get ahead of this.”

Knowing that they were dealing with the Russians worried Matias. Dmitri having his hands on the lithium meant nothing good would come to any of them. His phone vibrated across the desk, startling him. Cristian eyed his cell and glanced back to Matias.

He pressed the phone to his ear and barked, “Speak.”

“Boss,” Marco, one of his men, spoke. “We have another problem.”

“What is it?” Matias sat up straighter in his chair and pressed speaker. This alerted Cristian there was an issue, and he leaned in closer to listen.

“Rumor has it, Jorge is in deeper with Dmitri than we suspected. Dmitri was here a few hours ago. One of the guys saw him at the airport boarding a private jet.”

“Fuck! Call Bastian. He’s headed out to that fucker’s winery. Let him know what you learned. Bastian needs to be on his toes if he’s going to speak with that snake.”

“There’s something else,” Marco paused.

“Well? What is it?” Matias grunted.

“Dmitri was transporting something in a crate. The locals told me they believe there was a person stashed inside. Dmitri’s men were good at keeping enough distance between them, so it was hard to prove.”

“Shit. This is bad. Get some guys to ask more questions. We need to know what was inside that box.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Matias tossed the phone on the desk and stared at his brother. “It’s time Katya told me everything she knows.

“And if she doesn’t?”

“I’ll kill her myself.”