Page 48 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

“Yes, we’re both safe,” Alex said with the slightest edge to his voice, aware that Ari’s concern was always for me and not both of us. “We were at the festival, but we got out. We’re driving now.”

“I’m fine, Ari,” I piped up, knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until he heard from me directly.

He let go of a breath from the other side. “Good. Those bastards are getting too bold. I told you to take care of it, Novikov.”

Alex kept his expression firm as he continued to drive, guiding us onto a quieter street, able to pick up more speed. “I’m working on it. Which is why I was hoping we could have a meeting.”

Even if he didn’t make a sound, I could feel Ari’s reluctance through the phone. “Alright. Get here as soon as you can. Lara can direct you to my place.”

A flicker of relief moved through Alex’s features, and he nodded to himself despite Ari not being able to see it. “We’ll be there.”

After saying goodbye and disconnecting the call, I did as Ari said and gave Alex directions to Ari’s house. Even if it was for a less-than-ideal reason, I was looking forward to going. His place always brought me a sense of comfort.

Aware of what needed to be done, and feeling somewhat at ease that Ari was willing to listen, the two of us sat in relative silence other than me telling him where to go until Alex pieced the rest together, and we eventually pulled up to the house.

Let in through the gates, we parked, got out, and headed inside. As we did so, I noticed the other vehicles in the driveway, aware that my other brothers were there as well.

Once inside, Ari and Vivian were already waiting for me, each of them pulling me in for a hug.

“You’re one more incident away from giving me a heart attack, you know,” Ari said, tone somewhat irritated yet laced with affection as he pulled away from the embrace and put a hand on my shoulder, looking down at me.

Managing a small smile for him, feeling more relaxed in their place, I let go of a breath. “Yeah, I know…it’s not intentional, at least.”

After giving me a faint, reassuring smile, he nodded as he took a step back and put an arm around Vivian’s waist. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“I have a driver arriving here soon to take you back home while we talk. It might take a while to go over everything,” Alexsaid, hand placed gently against my lower back. “You should get some rest.”

While I didn’t like the idea of being apart after the close call, I couldn’t deny how tired I was feeling from the adrenaline.

“At least let your other brothers see you’re alright before you go,” Ari said, gesturing to the living room.

I nodded, and the two of us followed as Ari led the way while Vivian broke off with a small wave before disappearing somewhere else in the house.

Sure enough, Ben, Lukyan, and Kir were sitting around, waiting in the living room. Ben looked up from his phone and stood first, pulling me in for a quick hug.

“For having little to do with this business, trouble sure follows you,” he murmured, giving me a similar look to Ari’s.

Lukyan and Kir did the same, with the latter giving my hair the slightest ruffle despite my grumbling.

“Maybe that’s a sign she’s ready to jump in with the rest of us,” he said with a fond grin before he crossed his arms over his chest.

I scoffed, adjusting my hair absently. “Hardly. The sooner this is over, the better.”

“That’s right. You are going to lay low while we get to the bottom of everything,” Ari said with an air of authority. “And you’re going to somehow turn off that magnet of yours.”

Despite feeling like I was vaguely being lectured even though I had done nothing to incite said chaos, I managed a small smile. “I’ll get started on that right away.”

Even if things were tense overall, given how close me and Alex had come to crossing paths with the Gromovs, there was acollective relief in the room, and seeing my brothers helped me feel reassured.

“Regardless, those bastards aren’t going to keep getting away with whatever they want,” Ari continued, expression turning more serious. “They’ve gotten in the way far too many times already.”

We all seemed to share the same sentiment, and before long, I felt the gentle stroke of Alex’s thumb against my lower back again. “The driver’s here.”

Nodding, I said my goodbyes to everyone, then the two of us headed for the front door.

There, Alex’s hand shifted to my waist as he turned me to face him, looking down at me with a faint smile. His opposite hand went to my cheek, caressing my skin with his thumb. “I’ll take care of things here and head out once we’re done. Make sure you get some sleep, alright?”

I mirrored his smile and leaned into his hand. “I’ll do my best.”

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