Page 50 of The Bratva's Sold Bride

“They’re an … interesting family,” I started, feeling a twinge of guilt for the massive way I was about to throw the Fokins under the bus.

The family that had been nothing but kind to me would have been hunting my father and me to the ends of the earth ifDima hadn’t paid the debt my father owed Aleks, though, so I guessed it was fair.

Zoey didn’t rise to the bait the way I wanted. “So, how did you and Dima meet and fall in love?”

Ugh, of all the things for her to be curious about, this nearly broke me. I wasn’t expecting the pang that hit as I struggled for a way to answer. If only I had a real story to tell. If only I weren’t really Dima’s prisoner, indebted to him for life. And also, if only he was actually the cruel monster I was about to make him out to be in order to free myself once and for all.

It wasn’t just my beloved mother’s dying wish. It was the life I’d been dreaming about for years that he stole from me.

So, I very slowly and subtly laid a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow and come to her own conclusions. Kind of the truth, because he was pretty controlling, and did make plenty of demands. I just twisted it a little bit to make it seem much worse.

Who would feel sorry for someone living in a luxurious mansion, even if she wasn’t there by her own free will? I had to embellish, conveniently leaving out the parts where he rode in on a white horse and saved me from exile in the wilds of Russia.

Thankfully, we changed topics to her hometown, which she was missing terribly, even though it was so beautiful and peaceful here.

“I’d never get anything done if I had to go to work every day, and I was involved with our church’s charity for the homeless, too, so that took up weekends.”

“It’ll all be worth it when the book is done,” I said.

She got a faraway look in her eyes like she wanted to believe it, but didn’t, and before she could answer, Dima stormed in, looking like a demon was after him. His hair stoodon end from scraping his fingers through it, and his face was pale with what looked like terror until his frantic gaze settled on me.

“Let’s go,” he said, covering the length of the coffee shop in a few quick strides. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “Now, immediately. No arguing.”

His eyes cut to every corner of the place, and I saw Andre standing at full attention outside, his hand resting on the place where his sidearm was hidden beneath his jacket. I pulled back a bit, exchanging a glance with Zoey, who was horrified, but trying to remain polite.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked, giving me a pointed look.

What the hell was going on? I was a bit frightened by whatever had Dima so on edge all of a sudden, but I managed to return Zoey’s look, trying to convey that this was what I had to go through on a regular basis.

“The best thing you can do to help is stay out of it,” Dima told her, adding to my case without even meaning to. “In fact, it might be wise to leave town.”

Zoey gasped. The poor girl was terrified. I understood that Dima was honestly warning her out of fear that anyone who wanted to harm us might come after her if they thought she was involved, but it came across as a threat.

That meant if Zoey wasn’t scared off completely, it came across even further that Dima was the monster in the situation. I had no choice but to be dragged off by him, but as we sped off toward home, I couldn’t help feeling a little bit guilty for what I led Olivia to believe.

More than anything, I wanted to get away and get my own life back, but painting Dima in that light went against my innatesense of fairness. I saw plenty of real monsters in my life. Hell, I was raised by one, and Dima wasn’t one of them.

At home, he gruffly told me to throw a few things in a bag. “We need to get somewhere else in a hurry.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

He only gave me a look that had me running to pack, and his refusal to answer infuriated me. Before I knew it, we were on the road again, and he kept ignoring my questions for the hour-long drive, which ended at a fancy, bustling resort hotel.

The huge, pink stucco building glistened in the sunlight and as he drove through the ritzy gates to the valet parking station, I nearly exploded.

“Is this some kind of a joke?” I asked, fully expecting we’d end up hiding out somewhere even more remote than the mansion in the jungle.

He handed off the keys to the valet and led me into the lobby, where we were surrounded by other guests and hotel workers.

“Someone might be targeting you,” he told me in a low voice. “Because of me.” He closed his eyes for a second, like he was in pain, and I noticed a new bruise on his jaw. “Staying in a place like this that has so many people seems like the safest thing right now.”

“What? Who’s targeting me?”

He shook his head, brushing off my questions. “It won’t take me long until I find out the depth of the threat, but I’m not taking any chances. We can load up their vacant rooms with my guys disguised as tourists, and the chances of anyone attacking us in such a populated area is lower than staying in the middle of nowhere.”

I was pissed. More pissed than when he demanded I pack up with no explanations. Once more, I was in danger. This was exactly why my mother never wanted me to marry into the Bratva. Enemies always targeted loved ones. Or, perceived loved ones in my case. Didn’t matter. I was married to Dima; that was all his rivals needed to know to come after me.

Also, my plan with Zoey was going well. I might have been able to convince her to help me get away within a few short weeks. Now my new ally might be gone if and when we returned to the village. I’d have to start all over again with a new plan.

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