Page 62 of The Bratva's Sold Bride

“You’re going to pay for this,” I said, my voice coming out much weaker than I would have liked.

“Look at you acting all brave,” he taunted. “Why don’t you try to get yourself out of those ropes? I’ll video your struggle and send it to Dimitry.”

I had been about to do just that in the hope that he wasn’t any good at tying knots, but when he made good on his threat and aimed his phone at me, I lay still, not about to give him the satisfaction.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I’m only cashing in on your father’s debt, and getting some much-deserved revenge along with it.”

Oh God, my father never paid him. Dima was right all along to be worried. I hoisted myself to a sitting position and glared at him, at the same time bracing myself for another blow.

He raised his phone and smiled. “Good girl, he’ll love how hard you tried to save yourself.”

I ignored that, because it was too scary to dwell on. Instead, I concentrated on the nonsense he spewed. “What revenge are you talking about? The only time the Fokins ever came after you was in retaliation.”

Was I defending Dima? Yes, I was. Anyone was better than that lowlife, but Dima was worth thousands of men like Rurik, no matter that he was a Bratva king and had some shady dealings.

“It’s cute, and a bit sad that you think that’s true,” he answered, his eyes losing the slightest bit of light in them as he stared at me, unblinking.

He really was like a snake. “I can’t wait to watch Dima rip your throat out,” I spat.

Maybe I shouldn’t have gone so far, because if I had thought he looked scary before, his face would have turned downright terrifying.

“Well, he’d have to find me to be able to do that, wouldn’t he?” he asked, voice eerily calm. “If I could keep my little sister hidden for eight years, I can keep you out of sight just as easily. Dimitry will never find you once we get to our final destination. If you behave, I might keep you alive. I’m sure you’re good at some things.” His soulless eyes trailed up and down the length of me. “I’m sure I can find a use for you. And if you don’t behave, I’ll send your body parts one at a time to your husband, until there’s nothing left of you.”

To keep from throwing up from the sheer horror of his very real threats, I opened my mouth to scream at the top of my lungs. That wiped the smile off his face, and he jumped forward, wrapping his hands around my throat and squeezing until everything went dark again.

Chapter 38 - Dimitry

Hours passed like days as I waited for any news from Josef about a possible location based on the picture Kuzmin sent me. The rage from my helplessness was destroying me, shredding every nerve. I couldn’t sit still, but had nowhere to go. All my focus was on thoughts of finding Olivia, terror at what she might have been going through, making it hard to breathe.

If Rurik laid another finger on her, he’d never know another moment without pain. When I caught up to him, I fully meant to end him once and for all, but it wasn’t going to be quick or easy for that scumbag.

If I caught up to him. Because it had been fucking hours, and there was still no word. I barely noticed the growl I let out as I stormed from one side of the library to the other, where we’d set up a base. I had three of my security team who understood the intricacies of tracing data, and they were keeping tabs with Josef, who worked in LA.

“Why haven’t we heard anything?” I shouted, slamming my hand onto the nearest table. A cup of pens rattled, and several petals fell off of the flower arrangement in the middle. Olivia had put that there.

Every morning, she went around the garden that was flourishing in part to her hard work, and picked bunches of fragrant blooms to brighten up the house. Seeing the petals flutter down to lie in sad little piles nearly wrenched my heart out of my chest.

What if…

“Calm down,” Ivan said, shocked at the rising level of my anger. His tone was anything but calming, since he was upset himself.

As of now, we believed that Zoey was in danger as well, and that both women had been snagged off the street. Maybe they thought Olivia’s guard had just dozed off and took advantage of a rare moment to do something silly and innocent without supervision, never suspecting that someone had drugged him. Andre was beating himself up about it, and since he was one of the guys who was good with computers, he was hunched over a screen, tapping wildly at a keyboard.

I wanted to believe I could trust him, Josef, or any of the men who had worked for me for so long, but why was it taking so long to find anything out? All I could do was speculate. About what was happening to Olivia, about who was on my side. It was driving me insane.

My phone sat on a desk, wired up to recording devices, and it went off, set at the highest volume so we wouldn’t miss a thing. I was next to it in a shot, waiting to see what came through. Ivan hovered over my shoulder, swallowing audibly with nerves. He had it bad for Zoey. Maybe he wouldn’t admit it when I was so distraught over Olivia, but he was on edge and probably kicking himself for being so friendly to her in the first place.

That was a danger in our line of business. Anyone we cared about could become a target.

“It’s a video,” I said. My voice sounded strange to my ears, like it was coming from down a long hallway.

“Don’t watch it,” Ivan said. “It’s already being forwarded to Josef. Just let him do his job.”

Yeah, like I could do that. “What if he’s finally making his demands?”

I clicked play, and the same scene as the picture filled the small screen. The tacky bedspread, the bare walls, the plainheadboard. And my wife, with such terror in her eyes that I nearly crushed the phone. She was still tied up, but sitting, and the champ that she was, she was telling whoever was filming her to basically fuck off. That I’d hunt him to the ends of the earth and rip his throat out.

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