Page 50 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

Even if he was still agitated by it all, Ari seemed receptive, at least. “How so?”

“The first time I met you, we reached a truce for Lara’s sake, but nothing concrete beyond that. Now, I want to make it perfectly clear that I don’t want to be your opposition—especially not when it would crush her. I’ll admit, I originally bought Lara and married her to get the upper hand and to prove myself in this city, but that quickly changed. I never wanted to be your enemy—not really. At the start, I wanted an alliance between our families, but I assumed that wouldn’t be on the table, especially not with newcomers like me and my family.”

Interest flickered in Ari’s eyes then, putting on a knowing grin. “Ah, there it is. The truth of your intentions at last.” His gaze narrowed slightly as his seriousness returned. “And you were right to assume that. We have little need for alliances these days. But we don’t have all night, cut to the chase.”

Letting go of a breath, I continued, “All that aside, I’m proposing we don’t just avoid each other, but work together. Not only will coordinating put us both in a better position, but it will also make Lara happy—something we both want.”

Eyes still studying me closely, Ari seemed to chew on those words. After a moment, he hummed to himself. “As much as I don’t want to admit it, that’s at least one thing we agree upon.”

Nodding, aware that I at least had his consideration, I carried on with an even tone. “I’m well aware that the Gromovs wouldn’t even be an issue for you and your family if it weren’t for me, but I’m asking for your help in this. I have the background and information you need, and you have the resources and force I need. If we work together, we can reach a common goal and wipe them out before anyone else gets hurt.”

Ari stroked his chin absently, seemingly mulling it over. “And what can you tell me about the Gromovs, then? What are their intentions, and why are they even bothering with all this?”

“The head, Matvey, has been hell-bent on causing my downfall ever since I emerged on the scene when I was first starting out. We were vying for the same turf, and when I got it, he let that grudge fester. He’s been on my ass ever since, waiting for the chance to take it all from me,” I explained, feeling irritated just from thinking about it.

“When he sent his guys to attack our warehouse weeks ago, I took one hostage, and he spilled about Matvey wanting Lara for himself. He can’t help but want everything I have, andnow, he’s reaching farther than I’m willing to let him. I’ve been trying to handle the situation on my own, but I’m willing to accept that this might be bigger than myself. Seeing as we both want Lara to be safe and happy, it would be in everyone’s best interest to take care of this now. To put our forces together and stop them once and for all.”

Taking everything in wordlessly, Ari kept his eyes on only me, gaze hardening slightly at the mention of Lara and their intentions. Once I finished, he forced out a breath. “So, this Gromov head wants Lara…that’s a cheap shot at best. And something neither of us can allow.”

Hope fluttered in my chest at that, feeling as though I was closer than ever before to reaching a genuine middle ground with the Levovs.

“As much as I haven’t been all that fond of you, I’m not blind to Lara’s affections,” Ari admitted with at least some reluctance, eyeing me carefully. “I can tell that she has come around to you, and I’m not willing to take that from her. Additionally, the thought of anyone taking her again makes me feel ill. Even if I don’t like you all that much, I don’t like them more. Which puts us in a similar position.”

It wasn’t exactly as warm as I had been hoping, but with Ari, I had the feeling that was as good as it was going to get with him.

Before I could say anything else, a notification from my phone caught my attention, and I went to ignore it until another went off from within my pocket.

Ari lifted his chin in my direction. “Gonna answer that?”

While it seemed like the wrong thing to do at that moment, I sighed and pulled my phone out, quickly scanning the screen.

First was a message from my driver—a garbled mess of letters as if he had mashed his fingers on the screen before pressing send. The second was an alert from the system we used to keep track of our drivers, citing something about a vehicle being compromised.

My brows furrowed as I clicked on the second message, only for my phone to ring right after. Immediately answering it, I brought my phone to my ear. Before the agent could say anything, I demanded, “What happened?”

The woman on the other end was quick to respond with a sense of urgency. “The report claims the vehicle was involved in an accident. The driver is unresponsive. We’re sending a crew out now to evaluate the scene.”

My pulse roared in my ears. “My wife—what about her?”

There was a moment of hesitation from the other end. “I’m only seeing one body from the internal camera.”

Only one. With the driver unresponsive, it had to be his body.

As if everything around me had stopped all at once, I could only focus on that detail. Lara wasn’t there like she was supposed to be. Given the time the report was made, they wouldn’t have made it back to the house yet. My heart clenched as the pieces fell into place, and it felt like my worst nightmare was coming to fruition.

Remembering the agent was still on the phone, I managed to say back, “Get as many units out as you can immediately. I don’t care if they have to turn every building in this city upside down in the process—find her.”

With her confirmation, I hung up, feeling my hand trembling while I pulled my phone away from my ear. Overwhelmed with the thought of her missing, my entire body went numb.

“Novikov!”

Ari’s booming voice snapped me back to the present right when I registered his rough hand on my shoulder. Meeting his gaze, I found immediate panic and anger in his eyes. “What the hell happened?”

“Lara,” I mumbled, looking between them, finding the others looking just as concerned, all waiting for the details. I let go of a shaken breath. “There was an accident—the driver’s unconscious…they didn’t detect Lara there.”

As the words sank in, Ari’s eyes widened, and he let go of me, struggling just as much with the information. But his anger was quick to rush in. He looked at Lukyan.

“Can you get an exact location from the crash report?”

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