Page 7 of Protected Hearts

Quickly, he was guided to a study. A man dressed in a gray suit swung toward him, hands lifted to adjust his tie. Irritation flashed in his eyes.

“Who the hell is this?” he spoke to the guard in their own language.

At that moment, a door across the hallway opened. Oaks glanced over his shoulder and froze for a full heartbeat.

The woman from the street stood inside, stripped to her bra and panties, visibly shaking.

As she turned her head toward the door, she spotted him. Her eyes widened. Pink splotches rose into her too-pale cheeks.

Suddenly, a shorter woman walked back into the room she’d vacated, along with another female who could be a relative considering the similarities between them. The kidnapped woman bowed her head, breaking eye contact with Oaks, and the door shut.

Spinning back to the men, his plan shifted. He needed to work faster. He had no idea why that woman wasn’t wearing clothes or what the hell was really going on within these walls, but the clock was ticking for both of them.

The guard who’d led Oaks to the man in charge threaded his fingers together and flexed them. His knuckles popped. “She’s going to be a handful in bed, Vanya.”

Amusement rippled through Vanya’s eyes. “See that she’s ready on time.”

Oaks latched on to the name, and the mention of having her in bed was the key that unlocked all the doors.

Vanya was dressed in his wedding best.

In a bold move, Oaks stepped up to Vanya. Speaking to him in quiet tones excluded his thug underling from the discussion and pumped up his own importance.

Oaks told him about a shipment he had for him.

“Shipment of what?” he responded in return.

Oaks flicked his brows up and let them fall, in universal man code for “something too important to say out loud.”

Vanya eyed him. Oaks could see him leaning towardwantingto buy the bullshit he was selling, but the man wasn’t all in.

Running totally on gut instinct, Oaks dropped a name. “Yegor Egorov.”

He felt Vanya go still.

“You know him,” Oaks coaxed.

Vanya nodded.

Oaks moved in for the kill. “I want in on this deal. I’ll give you half a million dollars in crypto right now to fund your cause…if I can have her.” He jerked his head toward the closed door across the hall.

All was silent within.

Vanya’s eyes narrowed. “Half a million.”

He dipped his head in a single nod.

“For the woman.”

He nodded again. “Your friend here said she’s going to be a handful. I like paying for a taste of such things.” He dragged out the words with a quiet flair that he knew would bring Vanya one step closer to making the deal.

His gaze flicked to the closed door, and then back to Oaks. “All right. I’ll bite. On one condition.”

He waited for that condition.

“You have to marry her now to prove you’re legitimate.”

He held out his palm and shifted it toward his pocket. “Coin is more valuable than words, but I can prove I am who I say I am. Mind if I get my wallet? I’d like to prove I’m sincere.”

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