Page 56 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

He found me. Regardless of what it took, he tracked me down and found me.

He didn’t choose the easier option by giving up on me. On us.

From the urgency in his dark eyes and the way he kept his gun trained on Matvey, I could tell that he wanted me back more than anything.

Even if it didn’t solve everything, it was enough to keep that hope alive within my heart.

“Put the gun down,” Alex warned, voice stern and unwavering.

Matvey sighed from behind me. “This is tiring. We both know it won’t be that easy.”

My husband’s expression didn’t shift at all. Instead, he focused his quiet fury on Matvey. “What do you want?”

Through his grip on my shoulder, I felt the slightest shift in his grasp—as if a flicker of interest settled within him. “I want many things, Novikov. But most of all, I want you to know how it feels…how it feels to constantly be overshadowed regardless of what you do for yourself and your family. I want you to take the back seat for once.”

Even if he concealed his expression as much as possible, I could practically feel Alex’s increasing anger from where he stood.

“Imitation will never get you the results you want,” he muttered in return, gaze cold. “You can try and take everything I have, but you will never really take my place.”

Matvey's hand clenched tighter against my shoulder. He was rigid with anger then. “You’ve always been an arrogant, egotistical prick…but you might be surprised, Novikov. You simply haven’t tapped into the benefits of your position properly. Starting with this one…”

Alex’s gaze barely, quickly, flickered down to me. For a moment, as our eyes met, I could feel every ounce of remorse he had within his system. I could feel his silent apology and the desire he had to save me. To make things right.

More than anything, I wanted to tell him I forgave him, and that I had faith. I wanted him to know that even if I hated him before, that couldn’t be farther from the truth now. I loved him, and I just wanted the chance to try again.

His gaze settled back on Matvey again, and his jaw clenched. “She has nothing to do with this feud of yours. Your problem is with me, not Lara. Let her go and we can end this.”

He laughed bitterly in return. “You think that would do anything to help me? The goal is to take things away, not givethem back. Regardless of her associations, she became a part of this the moment you flaunted her around as your little wife. She became your perfect weakness, which is why I don’t plan on letting her go, Alexander.”

A vein appeared beneath Alex's skin as the tension lingered in his system, and I could tell he was barely restraining himself.

“Every last thing you’ve ever cared about will be mine, regardless of how hard you try to keep it all,” Matvey taunted, sounding far too satisfied with himself.

It was unmistakable how he let everything go straight to his head. Clearly, his envy surrounding Alex and his success ran deeper than anyone could address here and now, and in whatever way he could, Matvey wanted to mirror that success as his own.

He seemed perfectly convinced that taking everything from Alex would solve everything and win him the favor of every notorious crime family in the city. Even if it sounded counterproductive to focus so completely on destroying Alex, the kingpin was hell-bent on it, and the very idea seemed to blind him.

His need to take everything meant him planning on hijacking me and tearing me away from Alex. He meant to break us apart completely, and the thought alone was enough to make me feel like I was moments away from breaking.

After coming to terms with being Alex’s wife, the idea of not being together made me feel sick.

“I have a better idea, that will keep her alive, at least,” Matvey began, using a tone that sounded all too sure. “Instead of me letting her go, you can let us both go. You keep your gunsto yourselves and let us leave this place without shooting. That way, she won’t end up riddled with bullets.”

I hated even the mention of it, and I could tell that Alex did, too.

Not giving in, he maintained his aim on Matvey and kept his voice even with confidence. “You’re not taking her anywhere. I won’t allow it.”

My heart squeezed at his words, beyond grateful that he wouldn’t let him follow through with it. But I couldn’t ignore the pistol still pressed against the back of my head.

Matvey sighed. “Now what, Novikov? Would you rather I make this easier on everyone and blow her head off myself?”

I flinched at the implication, trying to mask my fear as best as I could despite how I was slowly beginning to crack from the overwhelming fear. But as I returned my eyes to Alex, he gave me a reassuring look that almost told me to not worry. That he had a plan.

Then his gaze lifted somewhere beyond me and Matvey. With that silent signal, a safety clicked off somewhere behind us, and I caught the alarmed breath that came from Rurik behind us.

“Matvey…please,” he mumbled, voice sounding shaky.

The slightest bit of sharpness returned to Alex’s eyes, and in that moment, hope swelled within my chest. “You might have my wife, but we have your brothers. The other one’s around here somewhere, isn’t he?”

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