Page 11 of Bought & Bred By the Bratva

I roll my eyes, pretending to be unaffected, but my heart skips a beat. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

He smirks full-on, coming back to the bed and leaning until his handsome face is just inches from mine. “Really?”

All I see are deep blue eyes, the lines at the corners of his eyes, the salt and pepper of his hair and scruff.

I don’t say anything, because he’s right. And we both know it. I drop my gaze, my hand gripping the sheets tighter. “So, what happens now?”

“Now?” He brushes a calloused hand over my cheek, his thick thumb grazing my abused lower lip. “Now, you stay.”

My eyes widen. “What? I can’t just—”

Aleksander cuts me off with a lethal look, one that makes it clear he’s not in the mood to argue. “You’re not fucking going anywhere.”

A part of me wants to disagree, but the memory of Marcus’s hands on me, the way he squeezed my throat, flashes through my mind. I shiver, and Aleksander’s eyes darken as he sees it. “What is it?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

His strong jaw clenches. “Sierra.”

I swallow hard; fear creeping back in. “Marcus… He said… he said if I didn’t pay, he’d take it out on my siblings.” My voice drops to a whisper.

Aleksander’s expression hardens even more, anger flaring in his eyes, dark and hot. “He threatened the kids?”

I nod, the knot in my stomach tightening. “I can’t let him hurtJamal and Nia.” Just saying their names makes my chest ache. I’ve spent my life trying to protect them, and now I feel like I’m failing.

Aleksander’s voice is a low growl. “Where are they?”

“With my friend, Tisha,” I whisper. “If Marcus finds them…”

“He won’t.” Aleksander’s voice is rough. He’s barely holding back his rage now.

He moves to the door, his large hands clenching into terrifying fists. “What are you gonna do?”

“What I should’ve done the second I saw those marks on you.” He glances back at me, eyes cold and deadly. “Gonna find him.”

Chapter 7

Aleksander

The night air slices through me as I step out of the car, but I barely notice. Rage burns hot in my veins, driving every step. That piece of shit thought he could put his hands on my woman and walk away? He’s about to fucking learn what it means to mess with me.

My man, Andrey’s leaning against the car, his expression calm, as always. “Ready?” he asks, straightening as I approach.

I nod, my hand tightening around the grip of my gun.

Andrey nods back, not a question in his eyes.

I climb into the passenger seat while he takes the wheel. “He’s hiding at his girl’s place,” he informs me.

The engine purrs as we move through the city, the lights flashing by. All I see are those bruises on Sierra’s perfect skin. The fear in her eyes when she told me that piece of trash threatened her siblings. It’s been fucking eating me alive since she told me.

When we pull up in front of a rundown building, and Andrey leads the way, silent as we move up the stairs. The place fucking reeks.

We get to a door, and Andrey pounds on it. “Open up!”

That dickhead is probably trying to decide whether to run. Before he can make a choice, Andrey kicks the door, the wood splintering as it crashes open. The place is dark, the air stale. The guy stands in the center of the room, his eyes wide and terrified. He fucking knows who I am.

“M-Mr. Maksimov, please, I—”

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