Savage Tracker by Maggie Cole

31

Obrecht

Several Months Later

"Is this too much?"Selena bites her lip. She glances at the quote and pulls on her hair.

"Baby girl, we have more money between us than we'll ever spend. Whatever you want, we'll do," I reply.

She sets the papers down and taps her fingers on the table. Lines form on her forehead. She opens her mouth then closes it.

I lean closer to her. "Want to tell me what's causing you this much stress?"

She takes a moment to gather her thoughts. "The day you proposed to me, I would have married you then, with no one around. Now we have a hundred people invited. To get the venues we wanted, we had to set our date a few months from now. I wanted to be married by now, and it just seems to get more complicated."

I rise, take her hand and pull her up, and go to the couch. I sit and tug her onto my lap. "Do you want to cancel everything?"

"What?"

"If this isn't what you want, we'll cancel it all. We can elope anywhere in the world. Just say the word, and we'll go today," I tell her.

She shakes her head. "I want your family there."

"Do you want to change the venue? We can find somewhere else."

"We already have deposits down."

"So what? I'll marry you any day, anywhere. If this isn't what you want, we need to change it."

She releases an anxious breath. Stress is all over her face. Her distress is avoidable, but she needs to be honest with me. "Selena, is what we're planning what you want?"

Tears fill her eyes.

Blood pounds between my ears. The last thing on earth I want is her not having the day she wants, especially after hearing how she married Jack in a room full of strangers and had no control over anything. I tighten my arms around her. "What's going on?"

She squeezes her eyes shut. Her chest shakes. "The nightmares keep getting worse. Whenever someone calls me Ms. Christian or I see it on the wedding quotes, I feel like I can't breathe. I want what we're planning, but it seems so far away."

"We've got two months, my dorogaya. It'll go fast," I try to reassure her.

"I should have changed my name after I divorced, but everything was overwhelming. There was so much paperwork. I still don't understand it all. But every time someone calls me Ms. Christian, I want to scream, "'I'm Obrecht's, not Jack's,'" she admits and wipes her face.

I kiss her head and cradle her close to my chest. "Who's the most important person you want at the wedding?"

She looks up. There's no hesitation. "Your mom."

Since they met, my mom and Selena are together a lot. They formed a bond right away. In some ways, my mom is like a second mother to Selena. I know how much it hurts her that her family cut her off. I secretly reached out to them, but they still want nothing to do with her even though Jack is out of the picture. Her father and brothers claim once you're out, you're out. I give her a quick kiss then pull my phone out. I dial my mother and put it on speaker.

"Who are you calling?" Selena asks.

"My mom."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

It rings twice. My mother chirps, "Good morning, Obrecht."

"Good morning. You're on speaker with Selena and me," I disclose.

"Hi, Selena."

"Hi, Svetlana."

I stroke Selena's hair. "Mom, do you know where we can get a wedding dress today?"

Selena scrunches her face in confusion.

"What's wrong with Selena's dress?" my mother asks.

"It's not ready. We need one today. And can you and Stefano clear your schedules tomorrow?" I ask.

"Obrecht, are you eloping?" my mother asks.

Selena gapes at me.

"Yep. We're still going to have the wedding we're planning, but we're getting married tomorrow."

"Where?" my mother asks.

Selena sits up straighter. She stares at me in question.

I admit, "I'm not sure yet. I need to figure it out. Can you take Selena to get a wedding dress today?"

"Of course. Selena, what time do you want to go?"

Selena recovers. She clears her throat. "Umm... I can be ready in an hour. Does that work?"

Excitement fills my mother's voice. "Sure."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll have my driver pick you up and then swing by and get Selena," I tell her.

"Okay. See you soon."

"Bye," Selena replies, and I hang up. She tilts her head. "We're going to get married twice?"

I nod. "Yep. I don't have a problem professing my lifelong devotion to you twice, do you?"

She smiles. "No."

"Good. Problem solved. Tomorrow you'll be Mrs. Ivanov. We'll still have everything we've planned and celebrate with the people we love."

She wraps her arms around my shoulders. Relief, love, and happiness swirl in her expression. "Did I tell you how much I love you?"

I put my hand to my ear. "You can tell me again."

She laughs. Her face turns serious. "I love you. More than I ever thought possible."

"That's good, baby girl. Now, do you want somewhere cold or tropical?"

She shakes her head. "I don't care. I just want to be yours."

I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You are mine. You've been mine since I laid eyes on you. And I'm yours."

She kisses me. It's sweet and loving and everything I craved for so long but didn't know I needed. She's my everything. When she ends the kiss, she says, "Do you want your brother there?"

I don't need to think about it. "Yeah. I'll ask him and Skylar to come. But no one else. We have our other day for everyone else."

She strokes the side of my head. "Good. That feels right to me."

I pat her ass. "You better get ready. Enjoy your day dress shopping. I think you're making my mom's dreams come true, picking out two dresses."

She laughs. "Your mom has good taste."

"She should. She's studied those magazines for years."

Selena playfully slaps my shoulder. Whenever I make comments about my mom and her wedding obsession, Selena sticks up for her. "Hey now!"

I chuckle. "Go get ready. I have planning to do."

She pecks me on the lips again. My girl is happy once again. Her joy is my mission. I hate these nightmares she has, and I cringe every time I hear or see Ms. Christian, too. She bounces off my lap and goes into our bedroom.

I call Adrian and invite him and Skylar and ask him to clear their schedules. I turn on my laptop and start researching where we can get married tomorrow. Vegas is an obvious choice, but I also research other places. Selena has a green card, but I'm unsure how weddings out of the country work.

Best if I limit it to the United States.

I need no residency or waiting period requirement.

Before Selena is done getting ready, I've applied for our marriage license, arranged for a private jet, and booked rooms at a resort for our party. I text my mom and Adrian.

Me: Can you clear several days from your schedules?

Adrian: Sure. How long?

Me: It depends on how long you want to stay.

Mom: Now that Stefano retired, we can do anything.

Adrian: Where are we going?

Me: Hawaii.

Adrian: Nice! I'm ready for the sun. Who else is coming?

Me: Just the six of us. Don't tell anyone else.

Adrian: Wow. Okay, Hawaii it is.

Mom: Good choice. Oh, the driver's here. I'm so excited!

I send them the travel plans.

Me: If you need to come back earlier, I can arrange the plane.

Adrian: Skylar and I are down for more time in the sun.

Mom: Us, too.

I take care of a few more logistical issues and shut my laptop.

Selena comes out of the room. She's wearing leggings, an oversized green sweater, and boots.

"You look hot," I tell her and steal a quick kiss.

She bats her eyes. "Glad you approve, future hubby."

I smirk. "Get a dress for the tropics."

She raises her eyebrows. "Where are we going?"

"Hawaii."

She gapes. "Really?"

"Yep. All set. We just need to show up."

She throws her arms around me. "You're the best! Thank you!"

The doorbell rings, signaling my mom is coming up. We meet her in the corridor. Her face is as bright as Selena's. I chuckle inside, thinking about my mom and how much she loves anything to do with a wedding. I hug her.

"Obrecht, what are you wearing?" she asks.

With all the planning, I forgot about my wedding attire. I turn to Selena. "What do you want me to wear?"

She beams. "Ohh. Something beachy!"

"Do you want us to handle it?" my mom asks.

"Please. Have at it. As long as we're married by sunset tomorrow night, I don't care what I wear." It's the truth. I'm secretly relieved we're doing this. Every day that goes by where Selena isn't my wife nags at me. I want her to have everything she wants and deserves, so I went along with all the other wedding plans. This lets us have our cake and eat it, too. "Plane leaves after dinner tonight, baby girl. Be back by five, okay?"

She rises on her tippy-toes and kisses me. "Got it!"

They leave, and I call Liam. The interference we're running on Jack finding out anything about Selena is complicated. He's got a lot of money. In some ways, I'm surprised he hasn't found her yet. Chicago is a big city but also small. We're cautious, but we aren't exactly hiding out. I'm trying to keep Selena living an everyday life not in fear but still protect her. However, it's getting harder.

Jack's company goes public in six weeks. The itch to finish him off makes my skin crawl. My dorogaya wakes up from night terrors almost daily and sometimes several times the same night. I don't think changing her name is the only thing that will stop them. Until he takes his last breath, I don't believe she'll have the peace she deserves. Since he's still looking for her, he's sending a clear signal he won't stop until he finds her, either. A few nights ago, the O'Malleys picked up another one of the men Jack hired to search for Selena.

"Obrecht," Liam answers.

"Did you find out anything?" I ask.

"Nothing new. Same as the others." The others were all instructed to pick Selena up and take her to Jack's.

I clench and unclench my fist. "I want more men on this."

Liam sighs. "We're already stretched unless you have new guys?"

My gut flips. He's right. With all the security we have on the Ivanov women, monitoring the war, and this situation with Jack, both our families are low on men. I'm in the middle of training two new trackers, but they aren't ready yet. I admit, "No. We don't."

"Six weeks. It's right around the corner," Liam says.

"Not soon enough."

"Same conversation as always. It's not going to change." He lowers his voice. "We're close to the goal. Stay focused. I promise, the moment the bell rings on the Exchange, I'll have him picked up and brought to you."

I hate every part of this agreement. I've got two guards on Selena at all times, but whenever she's not with me, I worry. "He better not get any closer, or I'm ending this."

"We're all on it. No one wants anything to happen. I need you to stay the course," Liam reiterates.

"Yeah, I know. I need to go." I hang up. It's pointless arguing.

I spend the rest of the day packing and making other arrangements for Hawaii. I start dinner and sit at the island. I review the new statements for Selena's accounts. We always go through them together, since I think it's important she understands what she owns. She doesn't like it, though, and has pretty much designated me her financial manager.

Selena comes back into the penthouse right before five. An excited expression fills her face. She's glowing, and nothing makes me happier.

"Cutting it close?" I tease.

She beams. "Sorry. There was a lot to figure out and do. What are you making? It smells good."

"I threw in one of the trays of lasagna you froze. I packed your suitcase, but it's open on the bed if you want to look it over and make sure I didn't miss anything."

She leans over the counter next to me. "You packed my bag?"

"Yep."

She ruffles my hair. "You're a keeper."

"I hope so since by this time tomorrow, you're stuck with me."

She pecks me on the cheek. "Wish granted, then."

We eat dinner, leave for the airport, and after the initial excitement dies down, all of us sleep until we arrive in Hawaii.

We get to the resort. After a quick check-in, the women separate from us. Matvey and Vlad stay close to them. Adrian, Stefano, and I spend a few hours at the pool. We have drinks and lunch. The wedding is at sunset. As it nears, I've never felt so calm.

My dorogaya, the sexiest woman in the world, the only person who truly gets me, is going to be mine forever.

I change into my linen slacks and white shirt. The wedding staff person puts a purple lei around my neck. I stand on the beach, with the ocean crashing around me, wondering how I ever lived before her.

Music starts. It's a traditional Hawaiian wedding song. My mom and Skylar appear and then I finally get to see her. My bride. My heart. My life.

She's breathtaking as always. A large white orchid is tucked in her long hair. Her white dress flutters in the breeze. The smile on her face makes my heart soar.

As we say our vows, no words have ever meant more to me. I made sure my vows were the same as hers. To love, honor, protect, and obey.

When the officiant says, "Please congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Obrecht Ivanov," I've never seen my dorogaya's face shine brighter.