Page 32 of The Bratva's Hunted Bride
“Just let me go,” I say, throwing up my hands. “What are you waiting for? You obviously hate me, you don’t want me here, so just let me go. Or do whatever it was you were planning to do with me in the first place. Honestly, I’d rather take my chances with whoever you’re selling me to than spend another day here with you, like this.”
It’s not true, though. Despite everything that’s happened, my feelings for Timofey have only grown more complicated, twisting together into a knotted rope between us. Despite myself, I’ve become attached. It’s messed up, I know that, but when I look at him now, I don’t just see a monster; I see a man—a complex, seriously troubled man. It probably means I need years and years of therapy, but there’s no point in lying to myself. The attraction I feel for him has morphed into something more than physical. That’s why this silent treatment bothers me so much.
Does he care so little for me? After all we’ve been through together, after the nights we’ve shared, it’s hard to imagine that’s true. I’ve seen the way he looks at me. There’s something thereunder that rough exterior, something that only softens when he’s close to me. So, this little stunt he’s pulling right now? I know he’s just pissed. I know he doesn’t have a better coping mechanism because he’s completely dysfunctional.
Daring him to let me go is my last-ditch effort to make him prove that I’m more to him than just a bartering chip.
“Okay,” he replies at last. “I’ll let you go.”
Shock is a cold spear in my lungs. Does he really mean it? And more, do I really want it?
“Seriously? After all this, you’re just going to let me walk away?” I frown. “Why did you take me in the first place?”
It’s the answer I’ve been asking for this entire time, the one he always dodges always from answering. Today is no different.
“I’ll let you go on one condition,” he clarifies, and as annoyed as I am, I’m a little relieved too. That’s the man I know.
I cross my arms and stare him down. “And that condition is?”
He considers me for a long moment and I feel that same tug I always do when I’m this close to him—he’s so damn good looking that it’s hard to focus on how annoyed I am with him.
“You have to attend an event with me first.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Like, a party?”
“Like a party,” he agrees.
My suspicion grows. That doesn’t make any sense. He’s spent all this time hiding me away, keeping me to himself, and now he wants me to what, parade around on his arm at some mafia party? After what we’ve just been through, the idea of surrounding myself with those kinds of people is deeplyunsettling. I have no idea who to trust. It’s his world, not mine, and I’ll be completely at his mercy. Not that I haven’t been this whole time.
But if I say no, then what? I’m trapped here indefinitely with a man who won’t say more than two words to me? Maybe, with enough time, he’d open up. Maybe he’d be willing to show me the other side of him that I know is there, buried beneath this rough exterior. I mull it over for a minute before replying.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
Chapter 15 - Timofey
The venue is stuffed to the gills with people. Music plays at just the right volume to allow for conversation. Alcohol flows, waiters passing by with trays filled with cups, always ready with a refill. And with more liquor comes freer talk. Parties like these, where the company is a combination of mafia and regular people, offer abundant opportunities for networking.
But my mind isn’t in the right headspace, and normally, something like this is Matvey’s job. I’d just be here to drink and watch his back. Now, I’m supposed to be the one making connections that will give our family a better foothold in the city. At the very least, I can’t put my foot in my mouth.
A job that would be easier if I didn’t have Talia on the brain. Unfortunately, ever since I met her, I’ve had Talia on the brain. The woman is my obsession, and now that I know she’s carrying my baby, there’s no way I’m actually letting her go. But I’ll let her think there’s a chance for freedom, just for the night. Is it cruel? Maybe. But so was her choice to keep her pregnancy a secret from me.
For that, I’ll let her dangle a little. But holy hell, does she look stunning tonight. Every bit the princess. I ordered a handful of dresses from a local boutique and let her pick one, and it fits her like it was made for her, showing off every perfect curve of her muscular body.
More than a few heads turn when she walks past, and I want to tear the eyes out of the men who watch her. How dare they? She’s mine. All mine. I want to proclaim it from the rooftops, but I have to settle for sticking close to her side. For now. There will come a time when the entire city will know that Talia Popov is mine and mine alone.
Her long hair is down, just like it was the night we first met, and I’m as taken by her beauty tonight as I was then. There’s no woman who can hold a candle to her. A thousand could walk past me tonight in tiny dresses and tottering heels, and not a single one could pull my eyes off of her for the barest of seconds.
She’s everything, and my eyes keep dropping to her stomach. I can’t wait for her pregnancy to start to show, for the undeniable proof of my claim on her to be obvious to everyone else. Mine.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Talia asks, nose wrinkled in confusion. “I’d say my eyes are up here, but you’re not even looking at my boobs. Stop staring at my stomach! People are going to notice.”
She’s got a tiny plate of food in her hands in lieu of alcohol, and I’m not drinking tonight, either. With all of these people around, I need my wits about me.
I smirk. “Well, it ismybaby,” I remind her, feeling a glow of pride when I say it.
She shushes me, grabbing my arm to pull me away from the buffet of food and any ears that might overhear. “Don’t say that in public. No one can find out. My family doesn’t even know yet, and let me tell you, that’s not going to be pretty when they hear. Better it comes from me than gossip.”
“No one here seems to know you,” I point out to her.
