Page 6 of Married to the Bratva

I should be concentrating on him. I should be torturing him until he tells me who helped him steal my money. Then I should kill him.

My gaze lingers on her, drawn to the way she stands in the rain like she’s trying to wash something off her skin. It’s not just her looks.

There’s something else—something raw and unpolished that feels out of place in my world where every woman is pristine but also plastic.

Something from Nikolai’s message comes back to me. I read it again.Cybersecurity expert. Could she be the one who helped him steal my money?

She steps off the sidewalk like she doesn’t care if she gets hit by a passing car, her eyes glued to her cell.

I make an instant decision.

I drive at her, stopping dead at the last moment, laying on the horn. I want it to look like I’m just another rage filled commuter.

It works.

She slams her hand on the hood and then walks straight up to my side of the car, yelling abuse at me.

She’s no idea she’s enjoying her last few seconds of freedom.

4

MAXIM

Itake her the same way I take anyone.

She doesn’t have time to react before my hands are on her, one gripping her arm, the other sliding around her waist.

I glance around me. The rain’s working in my favor. No one is looking our way. Good for me. Bad for her.

I use the black bag I brought for Evan, shoving it over her head. “You’re mine now,” I say as I push her into the car. I climb in after her and yank the door shut as she starts screaming for help. Behind me more horns blare. I ignore them.

“You want to live?” I ask as I wrap a zip tie around her wrists, yanking it tight. “Stop yelling.”

“Who the hell are you?” she demands, her voice shaking as I bind her ankles the same way. “What do you want?”

I lean close, my lips brushing the edge of the bag near her ear. “Your fiancé stole a lot of money from me,” I growl, letting the words sink in. “And you’re going to help me get it back.”

Her body goes rigid, her breathing shallow. For a second, I wonder if she’s going to pass out, but then she jerks her head toward me, her defiance shining through the fear.

“Go to hell,” she says.

“Already there.” I chuckle, low and dark, as I climb through to the front. The rain drums against the roof, a steady rhythm that matches the pounding of my heart.

She doesn’t make a sound. Her body is still, her breathing shallow beneath the black bag. The only noise inside the car is the steady hum of the engine and the drum of rain on the roof as I set off.

I dial Nikolai. He answers on the first ring.

“Job done?” he asks, his voice sharp and alert.

“Better. I have his fiancée.”

“Why?”

“I think she’s in on it. I need a location.”

“Victor’s city place is nearest.”

I hang up.

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