Page 29 of Stolen By the Bratva

He noticed how quiet I became, but I couldn’t break out of my stunned stupor over what he'd admitted.

“You’re going rogue, then?” I guessed carefully.

“No.” His denial was calm and quick. “I’m not going rogue. I’m not going anywhere. It’s the other way around. My Family, the Valkov Bratva, has been letting me down. Pavel and Andrey have been disappointing many of my brothers. They are too blind to see what is happening, high on power.” He faced me, cool and confident as he explained. “My uncle and cousin were oblivious to the fact that your Family wants to take us over.”

I opened and closed my mouth, put on the spot to reply to that claim.

“I suspected from the beginning that the Kastavas want to take over.” He held my stare, tipping his chin up a bit. That direct gaze pinned me, and I felt on edge being under pressure like this. Why did I ever open my damn mouth and want to talk to this man?

“Can you deny it?” he demanded.

“No.” My response left my lips before I could call it back. It was the truth, but I couldn’t support it. I couldn’t back it up with any evidence or reasons. It simply made sense. Sergei Kastava was a greedy, power-hungry man. He seldom considered stopping at anything. The fact that he'd ordered me to report to him after I married Andrey was another example of his coveting and clinging to any semblance of power he saw.

As I went quiet, preferring this silence over speaking, I felt his eyes on me. Alek’s attention was a tangible caress, heated and steady, like a physical touch.

He wanted to know more. I couldn’t agree with him that my family had nefarious plans with his family and not say anything else. He had to be burning with curiosity, and he would soon pair that with orders to explain.

But I couldn’t. I had never been privy to any important information. I was ignorant of any big plans to take over another rival, but I knew that the simple statement of a takeover would make sense.

I met his gaze and cringed. His grin didn’t welcome me to feel confident. Again, I convinced myself that I was the prey and he was the predator. Because he watched me with a sinful excitement, eager to lord his power over me once more.

“Maybe you had a good idea there.”

I arched my brow, not trusting his mischievous smile as he took our plates and set them on a table. “What…” I cleared my throat and tried speaking again. “What do you mean?”

“You said you wanted to talk,” he reminded me as he returned to the bed, standing over me, so helpless and bound. “So, let’s see about you giving me some answers.”

Oh, shit. I gulped, nervous more than ever.

13

ALEK

She lowered her gaze, pressing her lips in a firm line.

Ah. Not so chatty now, are you?

I tipped her chin up and kept my two fingers right there. They waited so close to her neck, and I battled the urge to stroke my hand down it and hold on. Touching her was becoming an addiction, and I wasn’t above using this contact to get my way with her.

“You agree that your father wants to take over my family.”

She exhaled a shaky breath and glared at me. “I won’t repeat myself. You heard me the first time.”

I chewed on my lip, fighting a smile. She was so fucking bold, never afraid to talk back. It fueled my desire like nothing else.

“Starting with your marriage to my cousin.”

She shrugged, and I narrowed my eyes at her reaction.

“Is that false?”

“I don’t know. I…” She hesitated, breathing evenly before lifting her blue gaze to me again. “I don’t know anything about my marriage. Why it was decided the way it was.”

“Cut the bullshit.”

“I don’t! I only learned that I was to be Andrey’s bride three days before the wedding. My father—No. He wasn’t the one to even break the news. I found out from another woman within the bratva. She overheard the men talking about it, and it wasn’t until that evening that he bothered to inform me that I was being married off.”

I lowered to the bed, sitting next to her as she struggled to sit up. Her bound hands prevented her from accomplishing any upright position, though, and I wasn’t inclined to help her. She could try to bolt again.

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