Page 47 of The Bratva's Sold Bride

Oh, and the lack of freedom. That, too.

On the other hand, what would I do when I got free of all this? As I lay bacon strips in a sizzling pan, I looked down at my ring, sparkling bright enough to blind me. I could sell it for a pretty penny, and I knew how to go about getting fake IDs to start over, but even the best false identity didn’t guarantee my tenacious husband would never find me.

What would I do for a job if I ever found a safe enough place to settle down? I had always planned on severing my association with the Fokins in a way that didn’t have anyone chasing me. Dima was definitely going to chase me, and not stop until I was found.

Could I really settle down for a long time in any one spot? If I could meet that normal guy with a normal job and he wanted to be with me, I’d be putting his life at risk, too. The thought of being with someone else, even if it meant living out the life I wanted, made me frown down at the bacon, on the verge of burning, as I got lost in my thoughts.

I couldn’t imagine being attracted to any other man now, so Dima had ruined that for me too.

With the breakfast complete, I piled it all onto a plate, but by then I was too bitter to want to bring it up to him. Once again, reality had crashed down on me. I sat down and pulled it close, but I had no appetite. When Dima wandered into the kitchen, an hour had passed. The food was ice cold as I continued to sit there staring at it, completely ignoring it as I wondered about a future that didn’t seem to hold much hope.

“What’s this?” Dima asked from the doorway, concern in his voice.

He didn’t sound hungover, or like he was incapacitated at all. I didn’t look up or answer him. I couldn’t. It was like I was frozen in uncertainty, not knowing what I wanted, not knowing what I was supposed to be fighting for.

To my shock, Dima covered the length of the room and pulled me into his arms, tenderly holding me to his chest. I could hear his steady heartbeat, and the soothing rhythm made me close my eyes to block out everything but the strength he seemed to be infusing into me.

“Everything’s going to be all right,” he said, as if he read every thought in my head. “I’m going to make things just the way you want them to be.”

Wait a damn minute? Did he remember last night? And he was still making this promise instead of telling me everyreason why it just wasn’t possible? None of it mattered as long as he was holding me like that. I wrapped my arms around his waist, letting him hold onto me and feeling myself begin to relax. To believe him. To think he meant it when he said we could have a normal life.

I tipped up my chin to see if the truth was also in his eyes, and as he smiled down at me, his phone buzzed in his pocket. The smile faded, and he sighed, taking it out and reading the message.

“We can talk more later on tonight,” he said, dropping a kiss on top of my head. “Right now, I have to take care of a few things.”

“Of course you do.” I shoved away, stalking out the back door.

Holding my breath, I sat by the pool and waited. He didn’t come out, and when I went inside and looked out the front windows, I saw that his car was gone. Business always came first. The Bratva was always the most important thing. It was foolish to have a shred of hope for anything else.

Chapter 28 - Dimitry

A few days went by with Olivia moping around, but only when she thought I wasn’t watching her. She was quiet but not outright, giving me the silent treatment. She smiled when I caught her eye, but the smiles were forced. She was back to being the perfect little employee, with nothing to complain about, but not at all herself. Not the real woman I’d come to know, who could be fiery, stomp out of rooms, and stick up for herself.

I didn’t want a perfect employee; I wanted my stubborn wife.

Something seemed to break in her, and I needed to figure out how to fix it and make her whole again. I had to be able to give her what she truly wanted, and if I was going to do that, I had to tie up a lot of loose ends.

Leaving the Bratva wasn’t an option. I was loyal to my family to the day I died, but if it meant Olivia returning from the land of zombies, I could pull back. It wouldn’t mean too much of a shift in how we lived, especially if she wanted to continue living down here. I had plenty of businesses on the up and up, or at least paid their dues to the government, including a very upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills. That alone could support us in a lavish lifestyle.

Every last one of my legit businesses was tied up at least a little bit with my family, though, and that would take some careful unraveling. Not to mention my brothers going ballistic when they found out I no longer wanted to participate in turf wars.

Could it be done at all? Was it worth trying? The answer was a resounding yes. For Olivia, I’d try anything. I’d never goagainst my family, but she was the most important person in my life now. Nothing else mattered.

With the final paperwork about to be signed on my first real estate venture down here, I was no longer waffling. It was going to go full steam ahead, and I was going to jump on the adjacent acreage as soon as possible for future expansion. All I needed to do was meet up with the contractor and the farmer who owned the surrounding land, and that was due to happen today.

This resort was going to take a lot of work, and way more bribes and favors than any ordinary businessman could pull off, but at least I had a tentative plan to start the normal life Olivia craved. As soon as everything was official and underway, I’d tell her. Maybe then her smiles would reach her eyes again.

On my way out, I found Olivia in the garden, speaking with the head gardener. Her Spanish had improved by leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time. I was proud of her tenacity to study so hard, but not shocked since I always knew she was brilliant.

“I have a meeting this morning. Would you like to go into town with me?” I asked her, thinking it might perk her up.

“Sure,” she said listlessly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

I tried not to bristle and forced myself not to remind her that she wasn’t my damn assistant. It was a miracle she wasn’t calling me sir in that polite, professional tone. Although, I might not hate being called that during certain circumstances, this wasn’t one of them.

“Just have a nice time,” I said.

With a nod, she hurried to get changed, coming down in a pretty sundress I remembered helping her choose during one of those golden moments when everything seemed great. I wanted to think she picked it today because she remembered too, but she probably just pulled the first thing she put her hand on in the closet.

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