Page 35 of The Bratva's Innocent Sold Bride
“But this is big. This isn’t just white-collar illegal, it’s… awful. It’s human trafficking. Mat…”
“You want me to do something like I did for the dogs? Not a chance. I have enough trouble with my current enemies.”
“Enemies?” I hissed. “What enemies?”
He laughed, a flash of pity crossing his eyes. “How do you think I got to be in my position without having enemies? Every man and some of the women in this room have someone who wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if they could get away with it. You’re much too innocent, even for your own town.”
He didn’t say it, but I could hear it echoing in his thoughts. That was why I needed protection. That was why I was confined to activities that could accommodate a full-time, armed guard. It was clear by the look in his eyes that he believed I needed him to survive. Sometimes his macho act was hot, but now it was infuriating.
Did I want to blow what wasn’t a bad evening with another fight? We were always on the precipice of one, and thetiniest wrong move could have us tumbling over in an avalanche of bitterness. There wasn’t time to decide, because although it was getting late, the announcer blew his horn again to let us know another worthy had arrived.
As usual, Mat’s head whipped toward the entrance, festooned with grapes and roses and golden ornaments.
“Mr. Terrance Hendricks.”
There was a low murmur because Hendricks was an up-and-coming tech genius who had just arrived on the scene. Less than a year in the area, and he was already the buzz of the community, about to set the world on fire and become the new shining star of the tech world. He was practically a recluse, keeping to himself, which was why everyone was so curious to get a glimpse of him. Even my father had tried to hire him when he first showed up out of nowhere, but he had refused the offer, maybe sensing trouble on the horizon.
I figured we’d start gossiping about him, since he had to be someone Mat wanted to know. But Mat looked like he’d seen a ghost and was frozen to the spot until he abruptly pulled me off the dance floor and away from the crowds. His eyes never left Terrence Hendricks, who was chatting coolly with Dana, while she probably tried to get exclusive photos without seeming like it.
“We’re leaving,” he said.
“What? Why?” On any other occasion, I would have been running out the door, but we’d been having fun. Sharing secrets. Being normal.
Now he was stone-faced, his blue eyes glacial. “Because I said so,” he answered.
Oh, well, of course, we had to go if he decreed it. I asked him if something was wrong, but he remained tight-lipped, only leading me out a back way and circling around to the valet station. He stared down at his phone, as still as a statue while we waited, but impatience practically bubbled under his calm exterior.
There was no use continuing to ask anything. I’d only be ignored, which would piss me off. I still had that promise he made while we were dancing to redeem. Maybe he’d shake off whatever was bothering him when we got home, and I could remind him.
But he never got out of the car, just dropped me off at the front door and zoomed off again into the night.
Chapter 22 - Mat
I returned to the gala venue, sneaking back in the way I returned. No one gave me a second glance since I had already made my grand entrance with CJ on my arm. When one of Lev’s people tipped me off that Anatoli might make an appearance at the Exavier Foundation ball, I wasn’t hopeful. Half the evening went by without a trace of him, but I was enjoying myself with CJ.
She not only looked beautiful beyond words, but she was a natural at making the most inane small talk sound sparkling and witty. No matter what she said, people were drawn to her, and not just because of her status in the world. We were getting frisky on the dance floor, and I was beginning to stop thinking about anything other than getting her home and out of that dress.
Then Terrance Hendricks arrived alone, but he didn’t stay that way for long. Everyone wanted to greet him. I had heard about the tech genius, but he kept to himself, content to invent or code or whatever it was that tech geniuses did. He was no one I was interested in, just one of many rising stars in this competitive town, and for the moment, he didn’t have anything I wanted.
Until I actually saw the man. He was such a recluse, he didn’t even have his picture on his own company’s website. He rarely went to events like this, seemingly unconcerned with the importance of networking.
If I hadn’t burned the picture of his brother into my mind, I might have gone on believing he was no one to me. But the resemblance was too great. His hair was a bit lighter; perhapshe had a stronger jaw. But there was no way Terrance Hendricks was anyone other than Anatoli Ovinko.
It was madness to use an assumed name unless he meant to put his Bratva past behind him. I might have believed that if his group hadn’t been tormenting me since I arrived. There was no way he was taking the straight and narrow path. There was money in technology, lots of it. But nothing paid like crime, despite what the old saying led youngsters to believe.
He would be found out eventually, so why the ruse? Was he just toying with everyone, including me? Sitting on the complete opposite side of the lavishly decorated ballroom, I kept him in my sights. The urge to drag him out of there and beat the living hell out of him on that stupid white carpet leading up to the front door was almost overwhelming.
I didn’t like games, much preferred just getting a job done with minimal fuss. If someone got in my way, I removed them and kept going. All this subterfuge just pissed me off more. Perhaps it was self-protection. If I so much as raised a hand to him here, I’d be the villain. It was an open secret how I made my money, and I accepted because of the Fokin name. My cousins owned half of California, and I was making a mark of my own up here. But the reason I was accepted at places like this wasn’t just because of my wife, but because I could control myself and be subtle.
Barely. Just barely.
As I made to leave, I gave Anatoli one last glance. He was deep in conversation with an old man who was a judge, a corrupt one if he was anyone near Anatoli. Before I turned away, he looked up, as if he knew I’d been watching him all along and sensed I was about to leave. Our eyes met, and he gave me the barest flicker of a smile.
The assholewastoying with me. He probably came because he suspected I’d be there, since CJ had always gone to most of the Exavier balls. His own people probably leaked the information to Lev.
Sitting in my car, I methodically plotted his demise, waiting, trying not to get angrier when I thought about what I was missing out on at home. CJ had made me promise more of what we started on the dance floor, and I’d be damned if I broke that promise. Especially when things were changing between us. Slowly, and very little, but we could go a half an hour or so without butting heads, and when we were wrapped in each other’s arms, much, much longer.
An hour went by, and loud rock music started. Many of the older crowd drifted out, waiting for their cars, but the young people were just getting started. If Anatoli had come for the party, I could have been staking out the venue for hours to come. I couldn’t lose him now. CJ would just have to wait, though by now she was probably seething that I’d unceremoniously dumped her at the front door without a word.
