Page 52 of Unwilling Bratva Bride

“Get out of here. Before you’re late and that Donovan person eludes your expert tracking.”

A solid spank on her ass made Adley jump, hissing as the pain played over the sore flesh.

“Be naked when I get home.”

“Ivan,” she eyed me, “I’m not staying in this room naked all day. If you want me naked, I think you’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.”

I glared playfully. “Barreling toward another spanking, sweetheart.”

“Oh, so that’s what does it? Hmm…”

Yanking Adley against me, I narrowed my eyes at her. “Don’t get any ideas, sweetheart. Unless you’re ready to accept the consequences.”

She blushed, and from down the stairs, I heard Abe’s voice call out. “Pull out or finish, fuckface!”

Adley flinched back from his words, and I rolled my eyes. “We’ll continue this later.”

As much as I wanted to stay, I really did have an Irishman to track, so I pulled her to my lips for a claiming kiss and then left her to get ready for the day.

Tracking people has always been equal parts interesting work and highly tedious. Right now, it was more annoying than ever because I had something I’d much rather be doing.

Or someone as the case was.

***

As far as long ass days went, this one had been top tier. My bones ached from perching on a roof across from Donovan’s warehouse, the only place he used for his most covert meetings.

Thankfully, the surveillance equipment had been effective, and I’d been able to listen in from a crumbling, dingy rooftop to an out-of-commission water tower nearby. Donovan had chosen a decent spot as far as security went. There were no other buildings around aside from the defunct tower that had been a severe risk to climb—both from falling injuries and tetanus.

“Ugh,” I groaned, coming up the stairs to my room.

Adley would be inside after a day of not doing much, and I envied that. Still, she was about to work for me a bit. We were going right back out, and I needed a date to improve my cover.

Pushing open the door, I found Adley wandering through the bathroom with a watering can. She paid attention to each ofthe many plants, letting the shower run a bit to get the ones near the balcony.

Huh. Well, I guess she wasn’t just sitting around.

I could also tell that she’d cleaned up the place a fair amount, and there was another sketch completed on her easel. This one depicted a woman lying in bed, some invisible figure tending to her and eliciting a look of bliss.

Recognizing the inspiration behind the image, I smiled. This one was certainly my favorite so far.

“Hey, you’re back.” Adley’s voice pulled my attention to the bathroom again, and I watched her walk over to the shower and turn it off.

“I am. But,” I took off my jacket, hanging it on a chair near my door along with the bag of clothes I’d picked up for Adley, “I’m not finished. And you’re coming with me.”

Her eyes flared wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

Stalking toward her, I started pulling my tee over my head. We both needed to change.

“Donovan will be at a boxing match. He doesn’t go to that kind of shit often. I know he’s meeting with someone there. I need you to come with me as arm candy.”

Adley scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “You can’t be serious. I’m not a mob-type person. What would I even do?”

Letting my shirt fall to the floor, I enjoyed how Adley couldn’t keep herself from eyeing my chest. Still, we didn’t have time for that, unfortunately.

“You don’t have to do much. I just need you to be there to keep eyes off me. If I walk in with you looking like a million bucks, the crowd will be less concerned about who I am.”

Her brows were still raised, and I could see the tension locked in her muscles from my position a few feet away. Adley was clearly freaked by the idea, but she didn’t have a choice. This was my best way in.

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