Page 41 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

Before, he used to infuriate me, but despite my resistance, it seemed Alex had charmed me after all.

Chapter 21 - Alexander

There was a part of me that always doubted the efficacy of having someone important in my life—if having that connection would ever really solve my problems like so many people claim.

But I found myself becoming a believer more and more with each passing day, every day that I got to spend with Lara, discovering more about her and about us.

With her loyalty and faith in me, I felt like I could handle anything, as if my promises to her weighed no more than air itself on my shoulders, and before long, everything troubling us would cease to exist.

As sentimental and mushy as it sounded, I didn’t care. She made me want to make sacrifices and to do everything in my power to prove to her just how serious and invested I was.

I never wanted my wife to be able to say that I never tried, or that I never had her best interests at heart. I was more than ready to do whatever it took to prove that to her.

She was the only one I wanted, and she made everything feel worthwhile.

Driving to the trade we had scheduled that late afternoon, the radio played quietly while Damien sat in the passenger seat and watched the road ahead. With everything seeming to fall into place for me and Lara, I was feeling more optimistic, and I had more of a reason to smile.

Unfortunately, Damien took notice as he glanced over at me, chuckling. “What’s got you like this?”

Schooling my emotions, despite them being positive, I kept it cool as I drove through the city. “I’m just glad that things are going well.”

“With you and Lara?”

I nodded. “She can actually stand me now, so things are looking up.”

Damien chuckled as he leaned back in his seat. “Ah, I see. There’s no more trouble in paradise, then.”

“So far so good,” I hummed, pulling onto the right street that led to the outskirts of the city.

“So, you’re telling me it actually pays to have the same woman returning to your bed?” he asked, tone tinged with sarcasm.

“I know that’s a difficult concept for you, but yes, as a matter of fact, it is,” I said, confident in my statement. “It’s reliable. Comfortable. And surprisingly not as depressing.”

He snickered. “You sound soft, Alex.”

Shrugging him off, I kept going with a grin on my lips. “Not in the ways that count.”

Damien gave me a prolonged look before he let out a bark of laughter from in his seat, the sound drowning out the radio as I joined in, feeling more lighthearted than I had in a long time.

“I want you to never say that to me again,” he continued, amusement still in his voice.

I chuckled, pulling up to the secluded meeting place behind a few of our vehicles where they were parked and waiting at the docks, surrounding our flatbed truck. Some of the workers were busy loading the big steel bins full of product onto the truck while the security detail stood around and watched carefully as it unfolded.

Putting the SUV in park, I straightened myself out and reached for my pistol, ensuring it was loaded. “Alright, funny business aside…it’s time to be serious.”

Despite his grin, Damien cleared his throat and nodded, following my lead as he went to pop his door open. “Right.”

“This shipment is an important one, hence why we’re here to make sure it gets on the road safely. We can’t have anyone interfering,” I said, getting out of the vehicle as Damien nodded his understanding.

I put my pistol in my waistband and took another look around. The guys who noticed us nodded their acknowledgment in our direction before returning their vigilant eyes to the process unfolding ahead.

Even if we had witnessed more than enough trades and deals going down, it was still nerve-racking. At the very least, it kept us on edge until it was done and we had our product back at the warehouses.

Of course, our goods were never completely safe. Not when so many vultures were waiting for their chance to slip in and take advantage of the relatively slow loading situation, and not when our products were sitting almost like treasure under our roof.

Thankfully, we tended to be less of a target, since our operations weren’t quite as major as something the Levovs would undertake. For the most part, we were able to slip under the radar and count our blessings the cops weren’t sniffing around us. Although, given the amount of organized crime happening beneath the surface of everyday life, the police had their hands full already, and we didn’t need to worry about them too much.

We meandered around as the bins were moved, and when our supplier’s associate came out to greet us, we spent some time going over details and making sure the numbers added up as they should.

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