Page 62 of The Bratva King's Auctioned Bride

“Now we can talk,” Mila said firmly.

I groaned, shaking my head when she jerked her chin up at me to remind me she was still in charge and still mad. “I agree, just not right now. I need stitches for one thing.”

She gasped, dropping the gun with a clatter to pull at the top of my sleeve, now soaked with blood. Leaning down, I grabbed the gun, and she gasped.

No, it wasn’t a trick, but I still didn’t trust Ivan as far as I could throw him. After tucking it into my waistband, I held up my hands in surrender, wincing at the pain it caused.

“I’m done fighting with you,” I told her brother. “All of you. Like it or not, we’re family now.”

Mila tugged on my good arm, eager to leave now that she feared I was badly hurt. “Don’t push it,” she hissed.

“I’ll be available to speak to everyone so we can work things out,” I continued anyway, ignoring her pinch and Ivan’s simmering rage.

He only glared at me in silence until Mila piped up. “I swear I’m happy, Ivan.”

That put me more in shock than any gunshot wound could. Was it the truth, or just a ruse to get us out of there without an army of guards surrounding us the second we opened the door?

Ivan looked disgusted, but got on his phone to tell his people to let us pass. “Wait,” he told Mila, hurrying to a desk drawer and pulling out a phone. “Take this. If at any time you don’t answer, we’re coming in hot.”

As he silently dared me to say anything about giving Mila a means to communicate with them, I only shrugged my good shoulder. She took it, and we walked out, making it to the car on the other side of the gates alive. We weren’t in it long enough for me to start the engine when the phone Ivan gave her rang.

With a tired sigh, she answered, putting it on speaker even though I didn’t ask her to.

“Just say the word, and the guards will put him down,” Ivan said. “I’ve got a sniper on him right now. It’ll be quick and painless, which is more than he deserves.”

I froze. Mila didn’t gasp in horror or even immediately speak. I watched as she stared at the phone, stone-faced. Was she still angry enough at me to say the word that would end me, and end the future I wanted for us?

“God damn it, Ivan, you need to start listening to me,” she shouted, ending the call. “Just go,” she told me. “He’s not going to have you shot.”

We headed home without the windshield exploding and the top of my head getting blown off, but didn’t have the conversation I wanted to. Mila rested her head wearily against the window and lapsed into silence.

At home, she tugged on my hand, leading me upstairs and into our bathroom, ordering me to have a seat on the edge of the tub. Tossing through the contents of the linen closet, she finally emerged with a first aid kit in her hands.

“Let me see your shoulder,” she said, all business.

“I don’t think it’s as bad as I thought,” I told her, peeling away the stiff, bloody fabric to show her it was just a flesh wound. “Went straight through. Hardly hurts anymore.”

“Liar,” she mumbled, dabbing a wet cloth around the torn skin.

After she had it neatly wrapped in a bandage, she handed me a clean shirt, but I didn’t put it on. I took her hands and pulled her in between my legs. She ran her hands over my hair, shaking her head.

“There’s even blood in your hair,” she said, her voice cracking. “You could have been killed.”

“Never mind that,” I told her, waiting for her to meet my eyes.

“Never mind? When I’m the reason you were there?”

Now she managed to look at me, and there was sadness in her eyes, a bit of fear, and still a trace of anger. I wanted them all gone.

“Why did you leave?” I asked gently. No recrimination. I just wanted to hear it from her.

“I only wanted to keep them from worrying,” she said. “I was just going to run up and tell Ivan I was fine and could explain more in a few days, but he tricked me and drove off.”

She was going to give me the days I asked for, even when she was fuming mad at me. I pulled her onto my lap, holding her close. “I’m sorry for not letting you call when you asked. I’m sorry for the secrecy. For planning those attacks in the first place.”

She sucked in a breath at being reminded, but I held on tight, nuzzling my face into her hair. “I thought I could do it without any casualties, but that’s not enough of an excuse. I lost sight of what was really important to me and thought I could have it all.”

“What’s really important to you?” she whispered.

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