Page 43 of Bought By the Bratva

They would most likely be coming from behind me, so I kept an eye in that direction. I couldn’t be discovered or followed. As I moved, I scolded myself for taking such a risk. Look what happened. I placed myself into this mess. I felt like slapping myself or walking up to one of the trees and banging my head against it.

Yet, if someone had to see that, I would most likely end up in a mental institute. It was bad enough that I was walking around and arguing with myself. After what felt like miles and miles, I saw a bus stop. Running up to it, I looked for a schedule. I couldn’t see one, so I sat for a moment, hoping one would pitch soon.

After a while, I got up and looked up and down the long stretch of road. There were no vehicles and no buses. Throwing my hands into the air, I screamed out loud. “Come on, really. I need a bus.”

Turning, I noticed the payphone on the other side of the bus stop. It was half hidden behind a tree and in the shadows, making it harder to spot. Rushing over, I looked at the coins I had in my pocket. It should be enough to make a quick call, I thought as I popped them into the slot.

The phone rang and rang. I was about to give up when Pavel’s voice came across the line. “Yes, hello.”

“Pavel,” I whispered, looking back in the direction I came from.

“Nadia?” he questioned loudly.

“Yes, I need to get out. I’ve been made. I ran away, but someone must come get me before they find me,” I added, feeling scared and cold.

“Okay, okay, where are you?” he asked.

Once I gave him the bus stop number, he hung up. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long. My cousins drove pretty fast. Hiding behind the bus stop waiting, my heart still felt heavy. His words kept playing on repeat in my mind.

I waited just over an hour for my cousins. My heart was heavy, and my head ached from all the crying. But as they pulled up, I was slightly relieved in a way to be going home.

Chapter 23 - Abram

What have I done? What did I get myself into? I knew I had to either kill her or let her go, but I couldn’t do either. Rubbing my head, I tried to think straight but couldn’t. Staring at my phone screen, I knew I had to make the call. But what was I going to say to him?

I had been sitting with my phone in hand for about half an hour and still had no words. Dialing Alexandr, I knew that I had to rip off the band-aid and get it done.

It was getting late, but at least it wasn’t completely dark outside yet. Listening to the ringing, I wanted to smash my head into the wall. How could I have allowed her to creep into my heart?

“Yes, Abram,” I heard Alexandr saying. For a moment, it sounded like he was miles away. Shaking my head, I looked at the phone, half dumbfounded. “Abram, are you there? What’s wrong?” Alexandr added as I didn’t reply.

“Sorry,” I breathed out into the phone. “I have messed up.” I could hear the pain in my voice as I spoke. I didn’t want him to know how I felt, but I couldn’t keep it down any longer.

When he spoke again, Alexandr’s tone was calm and slightly softer than usual. “Abram, it’s fine. Tell me what happened, and we will take it from there.”

“Nadia sent details on some of our operations to her family,” I replied flatly.

This time, there was a hint of irritation in his tone. “Information that she got where Abram?”

“Alexandr, I messed up. I left some fake intel for her to find…,” taking a deep breath, I continued. “There was a sheetmixed up with it that had actual intel,” I huffed, swallowing hard.

“Okay, I think I understand now. You know what you need to do. If you can’t, let me know and…,” his words trailed off as I interrupted.

“No, I will handle it. Don’t send anyone.”

There was a long pause before he spoke again. “Okay, you do what needs to be done. Please send me the sheet so I can move what needs to be moved. Abram, we’ll talk in the morning.”

Nodding, I killed the line as I felt my throat thickening and my eyes burning. Standing from my desk, I slammed my fists into it as I chastised myself. ‘How could you fall for a woman like that? You knew who and what she was! Now you have no other options.’ I sent the copy to Alexandr as I stepped out of my office.

Heading back to her room, I decided I would keep her locked up. I would never be able to hurt her. But without a phone or any contact with anyone, she would eventually have to give us everything on them. I would lock her up in one of the internal rooms downstairs.

I had never used them, but Alexandr insisted I add at least two. They were windowless and isolated for sound and signal. One was an office of sorts for protection. It held a special phone which we all shared.

The other one was a bedroom with a small bathroom. There was a door between the two, but I would ensure it was locked. As I approached her room, I noticed the door was open. Storming in, I felt the blood drain from my face.

Nadia was gone. The room was empty, and so were the closets. “No!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. It didn’t take my guards seconds to storm in.

“Boss?” one of them asked as they stopped in the doorway.

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