Page 45 of Captivated By the Bratva

Over the last forty-nine hours, I'd wondered that countless times.

She ran, taking all the cash from my wallet. It added up to a significant sum, but it wasn’t enough to get her that far.

“You did what now?” Ivan asked.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead as I held my phone to my ear. He’d called me, and before I could stop myself, I admitted that I’d lost her. Making that confession was hard enough. Hearing his incredulous tone irked me.

“She ran. I was on the phone with Nik a couple of days ago?—”

“A couple of days ago?” He swore. “She’s been on the run for two days?”

“She’s been on the run for six years,” I spat back. That was the truth. Ever since Lev Avilov tried to make her his child bride, she had the mentality of being on the run and hiding. I couldn’tblame her, despite the old, trained idea that arranged marriages were the status quo.

“But right now. You last saw her two whole days ago?”

I winced at his incredulous tone. It implied his utter shock that I’d fucked up this badly. “Yeah. What a great impression I’m making, huh?”

“Oh, shut the fuck up with that bullshit. You’re just as qualified as the rest of us. More so, with all your techy shit.”

“Techy shit that I don’t have access to here.” I scowled as I walked down the sidewalk. It seemed like that was all I did now, searching for her. “And it wouldn’t have mattered. She had no credit cards. No phone. She took my cash and ran.”

“What about her tracker?”

I groaned, hating the deep regret that I hadn’t put one on her. “I never got around to using one on her.”

“Why not?”

Because I was too busy fucking her when I wasn’t keeping her safe.

Because I started to be an idiot and think that she could be trusted not to run from me.

I dismissed that thought. I refused to look at it that way. She wasn’t running from me, personally. She’d made it clear that she would continue to escape Lev’s reach. Until her last breath, that sexy woman would run as far and as fast as she could.

I was an extension of Lev, though, told to bring her home. So, in essence, she was running from me.

“Never mind,” Ivan said, grunting as though he questioned my flaw in decision making there. “Did you check all the car rentals?”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see. “Yes. She wouldn’t have gotten far, though. She didn’t have her ID or passport.”

“Hotels?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve searched all of them.” The grainy photo of her on my phone wasn’t the best picture, but it was clearly her. “I’m starting to worry that someone else got to her.”

“Like who?”

“I fucked up in London,” I explained. “I thought the other man rushing after her could’ve been an enemy of the Avilovs. I didn’t realize it was Lev’s nephew sent to get her. But that’s a valid thought. Lev hasn’t made a secret of how he intends to marry her. Lots of rivals and enemies could know that and want to take her as leverage against him.”

“Yeah. That’s true,” he agreed.

“Or the locals. I found her getting mugged when I arrived here. And those thieves didn’t quit easily.” I glanced around, frowning and wishing she’d just show up. “We’re in the city, but this shit happens.”

“Of course it does.”

“I should’ve put that goddamn tracker on her,” I groused. I was kicking myself for making that mistake with her. I only had myself to blame. I was stupid towantto trust her.

I’d begun to see her in a different light. That maybe she was feeling the same, mutual affection that I felt growing for her.We had chemistry. There was no point in denying it. Something pulled me to her, and just the same, she seemed inclined to gravitate toward me.

Stop. Thisisstupid.The mere thought of her having feelings for me pissed me off to no end. She wasn’t supposed to matter. Her opinions of me weren’t supposed to count as valid conditions in these circumstances.

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