Page 25 of The Bratva's Prisoner Bride

That only made it worse.

"So what, you suddenly want me to think you're the good guy?"

He really was giving me whiplash. It seemed impossible to try and keep up with him.

Ivan looked unimpressed by my words, and he shook his head before scrubbing a hand over his mouth. "I don't care whether you think I'm the good guy or not. It doesn't matter to me either way."

Even if the response was still somewhat biting, it was more tepid than I expected, like he was holding back.

I forced out a breath, unsure of how to tread. "And what about my phone? Do you care enough to give it back?"

He cocked a brow at that, studying me for another moment. "Alright, your phone...you'll get that back when you've earned it," he murmured, letting the corner of his lip pull slightly as he continued, "If you earn it, that is."

That smugness made me bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping and making things worse.

The gesture of him buying me luxury clothes was surprisingly, and suspiciously, nice. Even if I didn't think I owed him anything, I didn't want to blow it into an all-out fight.

Still, that irritation brewed within me all over again, only given the faintest relief when Ivan chuckled and left the room. At the very least, I didn't have to look at him while I stewed about how ridiculous it all was.

On my own in the living room once again, still not having a clear answer, I didn't know what to make of it, or how to feel about Ivan's vagueness.

He was both generous and an ass, and trying to figure him out was giving me a migraine.

Chapter 11 - Ivan

Despite my efforts to stay focused, my attention seemed to be in two places at once: In the squeaky-clean halls of a local distillery, as well as in my living room every time I glanced down at my phone to see where Daria was and what she was doing.

I wanted to give the owner my complete focus since the quality of the product we were hoping to produce was critical to whether we would strike a deal or not, but it felt like a tall order at that moment.

We went from room to room, looking over the facility to make sure it was up to snuff before we were brought to a private patio they had outback that overlooked the hills. The owner chatted us through several samples of tequila, whiskey, and vodka, among others, while they were brought out by his staff.

Given how enthusiastic he was about their products, it was evident he wanted to strike a deal more than anything. The samples were satisfactory, but they weren't the only distillery I planned to tour. Which meant he was going to have to work for that deal.

In between samples, I'd glance down at my phone, making sure Daria wasn't making moves to try anything she shouldn't.

Despite how passionate I was about the project, my heart just wasn't in it at the moment. In fact, Nikolai was a lot more receptive to the owner and his samples, while my responses were lackluster at best, and I hardly allowed my expression to reveal my thoughts.

When the owner gave us a moment, I felt Nikolai's eyes on me while I glanced down again.

"For someone who was excited about this, you seem uninterested," he said with a hint of amusement. "The guy issalivating so much to work with us. You could negotiate strongly in our favor...but I have the feeling you heard about half of the things he said."

He was right, but I didn't want to let him in on the truth of it.

As much as I wanted to fully commit myself to the tour and potential deal, I couldn't stop myself from checking the cameras around the house. If Daria was to pull a fast one on me, then I wanted to know as soon as possible so I could put her back in her place again.

Of course, the place was guarded and locked down, leaving very few opportunities for her to slip away. But for whatever reason, I couldn't shake the idea that she might at least try.

I knew I was being paranoid. She was only one woman against my staff, and she didn't have access to anything that might give her the upper hand. Still, I didn't trust her.

She gave me every reason to believe she was capable of deception, and I'd be damned if she managed to get away from me.

The thought alone was enough to make my blood boil.

She tricked me and my family once before, and I wasn't going to let that happen again.

Nikolai leaned back in his seat with a faint grin, amused by how avoidant I was being. "Your attention is elsewhere, it seems...what's distracting you?"

I huffed to myself, not wanting to get into it with him. Yet, I couldn't outright ignore his curiosity.

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