Page 7 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

She didn’t know it yet, but I had the feeling she’d be able to see past the small blip of how all of this went down eventually. At least, that was my hope.

Not afraid to meet my eyes, Lara gritted her teeth and shook herself out of my hold, glaring up at me like a wild animal refusing to cooperate. She looked prepared to rip my throat out.

That fire burning within her caught my interest immediately, and I cocked a brow at her, snickering to myself as I took the slightest step back. It wasn’t hard to believe she would have that nature about her, yet it intrigued me still.

“Rein that anger in, sweetheart. I’m not interested in fighting tonight.”

Her lip curled at me in disgust. “Shut up.”

I chuckled again, tilting my head slightly as I tucked my hands in my pockets. “You really are a Levov, huh? I bet you got that anger from your brothers.”

Lara continued to glare at me, bristling at the mention of her family. Surely, she had been hoping to see them instead of me. But alas, the tides shifted in my favor, and they wouldn’t have any idea of my involvement yet.

I could practically taste victory over her family already, given the perfect position I found myself in. There was nomistaking how the odds were stacked in my favor, and I wasn’t prepared to waste it.

Beyond that, I wasn’t going to give up my chance to have Lara Levov as my own, regardless of how much she seemed to hate me already.

While I would’ve preferred her cooperation, I couldn’t exactly blame her. She had been in a human auction, and I won her. According to the sale, I pretty much owned her, and while it was a tempting, scandalous thought, I still hated the idea of purchasing anyone—especially in that hellhole. I wasn’t one to frequent those kinds of events for a reason.

The sooner I got her out of there, and the sooner I didn’t have to come back again, the better.

After a moment, she forced out an irritated breath but still maintained that eye contact I was becoming quite fond of already. Her tone was bitter. “How did you bid so much on me anyway? And why?”

Looking down at her with that smug grin on my face, I shrugged. “I have my means…which you don’t need to worry about. Not to mention, you’re something of an investment for me.”

“Obviously, if you were able to outbid everyone else…but those were high numbers being thrown around for just anyone to accept.”

I chuckled before my expression revealed my slight disdain. “I’m not entirely pleased about that money going straight to the Gromovs, but they were the ones who captured you, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Lara’s brows knit together slightly. “Gromovs?”

Narrowing my eyes at her with an amused edge, I hummed. “A rival family of mine…but they’re not important.Right now, you only need to be relieved that I spared you from the other freaks who tried to bid on you.”

She seemed to consider my words, even if only for a quick moment before she remembered herself and wore that scowl again. It was amusing to watch how every thought moved through her eyes, whether she knew it or not.

“You were one of those freaks, too. Given the outcome, I’d say you might be the worst of them,” she muttered, giving me no respite from her evident distrust and hate for me.

If only she knew the truth of it…but I didn’t feel like wasting my breath.

I snickered instead and gestured for my men to roll in. “Oh, you have no idea.”

Lara was visibly angry still, surely at a loss for what was going on and how she would try to free herself from the situation. But given the high cost of her and how sought after she had been, I wasn’t going to let her slip from me, and I certainly wasn’t about to give anyone the chance to take her.

I stepped out of the small holding room and allowed two of them to swoop in and grab her. It wasn’t the most difficult thing for them, given how her wrists were still zip-tied, to hoist her up to her feet. Glancing over my shoulder, I watched, making sure they didn’t hurt her or use excessive force.

However, as they guided her out of the cell-like room with the others flanking us as we began down the hall, she wasted no time before she began struggling.

Lara wriggled and tried to pull away, but with firm hands, they kept her steady and ushered her forward. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the vague trouble she was giving them, even if I would’ve liked to see her cooperate more. She was feistier than I expected, and while that would likely come back to bite me in theass eventually, it was entertaining for the time being. I was glad to know she wasn’t dull.

The further we moved through the building, taking the back halls and corridors, a more serious air descended upon me as we left. Two guards walked ahead of me, two were on Lara behind me, and another trailed behind our small group just to be absolutely safe.

I didn’t want anyone thinking they could pull a fast one on me, or assume I’d leave us open to be attacked. I did my best to remain vigilant and keep my eyes peeled.

She was precious cargo, after all.

Even if her fighting was fruitless, Lara continued struggling anyway, especially as the exit neared. I could hear her grumbling to herself as she tried to pull her arms free, only for the guards to straighten her out again.

“Let go of me,” she muttered, voice tense with both fear and anger. “This is insane, and you know it.”

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