Page 61 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

Grace didn’t deserve any of it, and the thought of her being terrified for her life had me ready to end every last Bruno in the country.

I never thought I’d ever find myself in my position, and I certainly never thought I’d ever be so desperate to get my wife back. What started as a sham developed into something genuine, and I’d be damned if something ever happened to her.

She became something precious to me, and I was always prepared to fight for what I treasured most.

Gritting my teeth, I muttered to Vik in the passenger seat, “Find anything yet?”

His laptop screen lit up his face as he scanned through as many articles and websites as he could. “As far as I can tell, they’ve been successful at keeping their name under wraps. There’s hardly anything about the Brunos. A few references about Sergio and the fronts he’s running, but nothing else.”

“I need something to work with—anything,” I mumbled, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. “How have we managed to find nearly nothing on these people?”

Before he could answer, Vik’s phone pinged, and he reached for it immediately. His face lit up. “Ah, there we go. Elias managed to do some digging.”

That piqued my interest with urgency. “What did he find?”

“Apparently Sergio Bruno has been making a name for himself in New York’s underbelly with the help of his son, Pietro. His wife died some years ago from cancer, but they also had a daughter together named Alessia—”

“There,” I interrupted him as the thought hit me. “That’s what we need. Alessia.”

Vik furrowed his brows. “What will that accomplish?”

Still seething, I wasn’t interested in debating. “We track Alessia down and grab her for ourselves. Pietro won’t want to risk his sister’s life, right? If we’re lucky, she won’t know much about her family’s dealings, and they’ll want to safeguard her innocence. We let them know we have the girl and propose a trade for Grace. While we’re there, we ambush them and put an end to this.”

While Vik seemed apprehensive still, he forced out a breath and continued typing. “I’ll check the databases and CCTV cameras for her movements.”

“Good. The sooner we find her, the better.”

Apparently, I was doing what I did best. Preparing to take someone else’s daughter.

Even if I didn’t want to bring any other innocent people into the mess between our families, I didn’t see any other choice. I needed to get Grace back, and as far as I was concerned, Pietro had taken the first move from the very beginning. It was my turn to exact our revenge.

After a moment of tense silence, Vik murmured, “Are you sure about this? You don’t want to just hit one of their warehouses and take care of it that way?”

I shook my head without even needing to consider it. “We don’t know enough about them to confidently locate their main warehouse. They might have more than one at this point, and we can’t risk hitting the wrong one. It would ruin any chance at using stealth to our advantage.”

While Vik still seemed apprehensive of nabbing the girl, he continued to scan the databases. With a final click, he inhaled sharply at the recognition. “I found her. Alessia’s not far from here, and she’s on foot. Three blocks ahead.”

“What luck,” I returned, glad for the stroke of convenience. I picked up the pace and cleared the distance between us until those three blocks were behind us.

“That’s her, on our right,” he said, pointing at the only girl walking down the sidewalk. Even better, there was next to no one nearby.

“You’re certain that’s her? I don’t want another Violet situation on our hands.”

He nodded. “I cross-checked with her file. It’s her.”

“Alright. I’ll pull up, and you grab her as fast as you can. Don’t hesitate, Vik. I’m counting on you,” I said, already moving into the other lane, approaching the sidewalk.

Surely aware of our limited time, Vik nodded once and moved the laptop out of the way. “Let’s get this over with.”

As I pulled up to the curb just ahead of her, Vik shoved the door open and rushed out. The girl looked up right as he put a hand against her mouth and told her not to say anything.

Fear immediately flooded her eyes, but Alessia didn’t fight. Instead, she fawned, questioning what was happening. Unable to resist his power over her, she was ushered into the back without the opportunity to be seen.

The moment they were inside, I wheeled away and heard Vik close the door.

She panicked from the back seat, unable to hide just how petrified she really was.

“What’s happening? Who are you?” She exclaimed, visibly trembling.

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