Page 1 of The Bratva's Prisoner Bride

Chapter 1 - Ivan

Never in my life had I experienced such potent, blinding rage before. But at that moment, it was astronomical. So sky-high, I clenched my fist down at my side in an attempt to stay grounded. Every nerve-ending I possessed was on edge, hanging on by a thread like my barely contained restraint.

Dima and Olivia were safe, which mattered above all else. That fact should’ve quelled my lust to hit something. It should’ve been enough for me to watch as our guys hauled Rurik Kuzman off in cuffs to keep him locked up long enough to figure out what to do with him long-term.

Watching the bastard breathe the same air as us tipped my mental scale in favor of putting him down, but as much as I liked the idea of handling the task myself, I wasn’t in any state to make that kind of decision on my own.

At the very least, to cover my ass in the long run, I had to consult Aleks and the others. For the time being, he could enjoy being sealed away somewhere, eating scraps, and sleeping on the cold, hard ground if he was allowed to even do that.

Still, knowing all of that should’ve helped cool me down, but it didn’t.

Because, in reality, not that deep down beneath my skin, I knew he wasn’t the cause of my fury. He was a piece of it, yes, but he was so far from being the whole picture.

No…that image stood before me with her hands behind her back, pinned there by one of my guys who easily dwarfed her. The deceitful, conniving woman I once would’ve done anything for—the sweet little thing that had me impulsively acting like a completely different man.

With her brother out of the picture, leaving her to face the music in his absence, I knew immediately that she was the one who made my blood run so hot that it took every fiber of my being to hold back.

Daria Kuzman was the very source of my anger, and regardless of what I could potentially do with her, my mind was already long-set.

I was seeing red all the while I gazed at her, eyes raking the length of her body in a complete sweep. The faintest part of me nearly shook at the prospect of having her contained and in my control. Knowing she couldn’t get away in that moment even if she wanted to stir that previous longing I had for her—the uncontrollable lust I couldn’t temper regardless of how hard I tried to.

And yet, in that moment, the pure agony and seething rage of being lied to eclipsed that wrath of mine. It, in fact, could be controlled after all. At least enough to distract me from every reason I was attracted to her in the first place.

I was used to being lied to by shady people in the business…I could come back from being one-upped by a rival and brush it off after evening the score. But those circumstances were different.

She made me drop my defenses and stepped all over me—using my attraction to her as a means of disarming me and my family. It wasn’t something I could turn the other cheek to.

The slightest consolation came from the vague hint of fear gleaming in her eyes, and the way she looked up at me with a maelstrom of emotions. In one moment, she looked afraid of what I would do with her since the scheme of hers was completely unraveled, and in the next, she almost reflected my anger back at me.

It both amused and irritated me…she had no right to match my feelings. Not when she was the cause of it.

Even if a part of me still longed to know what her plump, pink lips felt like against mine, and regardless of how I wanted to ghost my thumbs across her freckled cheeks, I couldn’t escape the reminder of her deception with every second, my gaze lingered on her.

Another wave of frustration hit me, and I snarled under my breath to the guard, gripping her wrists behind her back, “Get her out of here.”

If I looked at her any longer, I knew I’d lose another piece of my resolve, and there was no telling what I might do if my deep-seated attraction to her collided with my fury.

At my words, a flash of panic raced through her features, and the moment she was pulled away from the scene and taken to one of our vehicles, it was like a switch had been flipped inside her.

She thrashed and pulled in a sore attempt to get away from that iron grip, only to find the tension pinching even tighter against her skin. Daria growled and shouted like a wildcat to be released, but at the very least, she was ignored by our employees.

Soon enough, she was stashed in the vehicle, cuffed to the back seat, and unable to break away, regardless of her struggle. Even as the door was shut, I could hear the residuals of her screeching that leaked from within the confined space.

Despite the tightness in my body, wound up still by the thought of Daria taking me for a fool while she played my family, I got behind the wheel in my own vehicle and led our small convoy to the hangar.

My knuckles were white while I drove, lashing at the thought of her pulling a fast one on all of us again and again. Icouldn’t quiet my mind despite knowing she could do nothing to keep up the charade anymore. She couldn’t cause more damage—not from within my clutches.

It was all a shame, and I couldn’t drop that notion.

I knew her as Zoey not that long ago…she had been so intriguing. She was a ray of sunshine I found myself keening for like a plant desperate for even a drop of her attention. She had me completely captivated by her flirty glances and words. In the moment, I had every reason to believe she wanted me like I wanted her.

She made me think of thoughts I never let enter my head before. She sent me into complete turmoil, making me question my past and everything I once believed about myself.

Zoey—Daria—had that power over me, and it both fascinated and terrified me before.

But all the while, I pulled her out of the back of the tinted SUV once we reached the hangar and lugged her behind me towards the jet; there was no use in fighting the bitterness that consumed me.

Regardless of the part of me that wanted to leave Daria behind and make her fend for herself, my rage couldn’t just let her go like that. So, she was coming back to San Diego with me no matter what she wanted.

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