Page 74 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

It felt nearly impossible to wait or stay calm, not when I had no idea where she was or what happened to her…if it was a misunderstanding or if she was in trouble. Either way, I just needed to know she was alright.

Then, Lukyan’s next words made my stomach drop. “It looks like neither of them left of their own accord. I’m sending it to you now.”

My skin felt more like a coat of ice then, and by the time my shaky hand pulled the phone away, there was a notification at the top of my screen. As I clicked on it and let the clip play, Yuri and the others filed in around me.

I let Luk hang on the line while I watched my biggest nightmare unfold right in front of my eyes.

Andrey and Tia were talking before a group of men, all with their hoods up to cover their faces, stormed in, grabbing both of them. She tried her best to fight from what I could tell, but it wasn’t enough to prevent it from happening. In the blink of an eye, they were gone, whisked back out the way they came.

A moment of horrified silence lingered over the group of us, and I couldn’t find the words to say.

She had been taken…both her and Andrey. Right beneath our noses.

Despite wanting nothing more than to protect her from my world, I managed to get her ensnared in the worst way possible.

I couldn’t imagine how she was feeling, how terrified she must’ve been.

“Jesus Christ,” Alex muttered under his breath before running a hand over his mouth. “Where did they go?”

“I checked the external cameras, and it looks like they went south. Based on the direction, I’d guess they’re heading towards the smaller airport twenty minutes that way. Quite a few families keep their jets there,” Lukyan replied from the other end. “If you’re fast enough, you might reach them before they leave.”

The airport.

It all hit me at once and nearly took my feet out from beneath me.

If Francesco felt wronged by Andrey accepting the deal with me, wanting Tia for Tommaso, then it only made sense for them to try and flee with her. To get what they wanted all along.

My ears were nearly ringing then, and a sense of urgency flared within me.

After briefly thanking Luk and hanging up, I glanced between my brothers. “We need to go. Now.”

“What about the showcase?” Yuri asked, well aware there were plenty of people still perusing the place.

“Don’t worry about that,” Alex interjected, giving me a serious look. “We’ll get the girls to stick around and make sure nobody notices anything. The rest of us need to head out. I’ll get our units out.”

Despite how numb I felt, I found myself nodding.

I needed to keep it together, even if it felt like there was a painful amount of pent-up energy inside me that needed to be released in some way. My whole body was thrumming.

Alex put a supportive hand on my shoulder to keep me grounded. “Go, Val…we’re right behind you.”

Hearing that shook me out of my temporary daze, and knowing I couldn’t waste another moment, I was moving.

We all broke off, leaving the building behind while we piled into our vehicles and pulled out while various calls were made and everyone was made aware of the situation.

It likely wasn’t the best idea for me to be behind the wheel while my nerves were shot from needing to find Tia, but I knew sitting as a passenger would’ve felt like torture.

Instead, I remained tense all the while, following the trail Lukyan believed they had taken. I already knew what hangar he was talking about, given how we had one of our own there, and the private nature of the airport was ideal for someone in our line of work.

The entire time I drove, I could only silently pray that they hadn’t made it far enough to take off yet. Hoping to myself that we weren’t too late.

If they somehow got away…if they managed to flee the country with my wife in their grasp, I would never forgive myself.

There was too much for me to lose, and the mere idea of anything happening to Tia or the baby was enough to throw me into a frenzy.

The drive was a blur, yet it still felt like I couldn’t move fast enough, even while pulling up to the small airport with the others in tow, impatience threatening to make me trip over myself.

But soon enough, we found them.

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