Page 3 of Innocently Captured By the Bratva

An idea forms in my head. Perhaps I should step in? “Damn it,” I mutter and look up at the ceiling, letting out a long groan. This is a bad idea. Aterribleidea. But I can’t just sit here and watch this play out when I know how wrong things could go for Quinn.

Charlie says something, his voice carrying just enough over the sounds of the bar for me to catch the condescending tone. Quinn’s jaw tightens as she takes another step back, her heel hitting the edge of the barstool behind her. She’s cornered, and Charlie knows it. The bastard’s enjoying this.

“That’s it,” I say under my breath, pushing off the bar.

I don’t have a plan, but I know one thing for sure: Charlie Letvin will not take up any more of her time.

I weave through the crowd, my eyes locked on Charlie. He's too focused on Quinn to notice me approaching, that overconfident smirk plastered on his face. It makes me want to punch him. Charlie leans in closer, the back of his hand brushing against Quinn’s like he’s testing the waters. She stiffens, her green eyes flashing with enough anger for even me to see that Charlie’s advances arenotfucking welcome.

When I come closer, Quinn's gaze flickers to me, flashing with recognition and then surprise. I come to a stop beside her, my hand settling on the small of her back as I flash Charlie a tight smile.

“Hello, sweetheart.” I coo at her, gently leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. She looksstunned.

I kick the barstool behind her out of the way and gently pull her toward me, creating more distance between her and Charlie.

“Um…hi?” It feels more like a question than a greeting, and I can see her mind racing, attempting to decipher what I’m up to.

Quinn furrows her brows while Charlie’s smug expression falters and his gaze shifts nervously between Quinn and me. It's almost comical how quickly his confidence falls.

“You’re interrupting our meeting,” Charlie protests.

My gaze shifts to Quinn, who watches me with confusion and wariness. I give her a small, almost unnoticeable nod, which I’m certain only she notices, before I turn back to Charlie. “My apologies. It’s not every night I have dinner and drinks planned with my fiancée, and I’m afraid you’re occupying her time. We have a date to get to.”

The words slip out smoothly, a spontaneous lie that hangs in the air between us. I watch as Quinn arches her eyebrows, her eyes widening slightly, clearly struggling to believe what she’s hearing. But to her credit, it’s a brief moment of surprise, and the next thing I know, she plays along like a pro, leaning into my touch with a wide smile.

Well, well, well, looks like Quinn Desmond is far more trouble than I thought.

Chapter 3 - Quinn

When I hear the word “fiancée” roll off Mark's tongue, my heart starts to race. Fiancée? Is he crazy? I barely know the man, and now he's claiming we're engaged? A thousand thoughts race through my mind—the main one being that this man is utterly insane. But one thought stands out: His intervention is ridiculously timely.

The gears in my head crank into overdrive. If playing his game means dodging Charlie's sleazy advances, then let the charade begin. If I contradict him now, it'll only make things worse with Charlie, who has made me uncomfortable since the moment I met him. He hasn’t taken no for an answer and has ignored every attempt of mine to keep this professional.

So, I plaster on a smile, hoping it looks genuine, and lean into Mark. No harm can come from this lie, given that Markdefinitelyisn’t into me. How could he be? We’ve only spoken for five minutes.

“Fiancée? Is that so?” Charlie's voice drips with suspicion.

He narrows his eyes at Mark in utter disbelief. I can tell he feels he’s been dealt an unexpected hand and is desperately trying to call a bluff, but he simply doesn’t know how.

“Of course,” Mark says, removing his arm from my waist and casually draping it over my shoulders, as if we’ve stood in this position a million times already. His confidence is infuriatingly attractive—it practically oozes from him like some kind of pheromone. “Quinn here has been the light of my life for quite some time. Haven't you, Darling?”

I force a smile, trying to make it as warm and bright as a mid-July sunny day, hoping it hides how my hands trembleas I lie. “Absolutely,” I purr, leaning into his side. It feels like cuddling up to a marble statue. But damn, does he smellgood.

“Really?” Charlie probes, clearly unconvinced. There's a twitch in his jaw, which I take as the subtle tell that he’s on edge. “I didn’t know you were seeing someone, Mark.”

“Didn’t realize you still had tabs on me, Letvin,” Mark replies, his tone icy enough to chill me to the bone. My gaze shifts between the two men, and I start to understand that, somehow, they know each other.

Mark wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Besides, it's a recent development,” he says smoothly, his lips brushing against my temple. “We wanted to keep it private, didn't we, Babe?”

I nod, leaning into his embrace despite the voice in my head screaming at me to get out of this ridiculous situation. “Y-Yes, it's all very new.” My voice wavers slightly, and I sincerely hope that Charlie doesn't notice.

”Congratulations,” he says, but there's no warmth in his words. “Your brothers must be very happy, considering you’re not one to play the knight in shining armor. I thought you were more the ‘love them and leave them’ type. “He gives me a pointed look, as though he’s revealing some big secret to destroy our supposed relationship, before turning back to Mark.

“I guess I never found the right one until Quinn,” Mark retorts sharply, pulling me closer, almost possessively. “A woman asincredibleas her is hard to come by.”

A shiver runs down my spine at the motion, at the defensiveness in his voice for me,a complete stranger.

I glance between them, sensing a history I'm not privy to. The way they stare each other down and the barely concealedhostility in their words make it clear that they know each other well and that there's some bad blood between them. But now is not the time to pry. I have bigger problems to deal with, like the fact that I'm now apparently engaged to a man I barely know.

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