Page 26 of The Pakhan's Sold Bride

“That fucking dickhead, Anton, has been using his daughter, tricking her into being responsible for his debts.”

“We aren’t really surprised, though, sir. Given the type of man he has proven himself to be over and over again.”

“I know, but I thought she was in on it. Doesn’t she know what her father does for a living?”

“There is nothing to indicate that she has any idea of her father’s ties to the mafia. And she has no connectionswhatsoever, other than her connection to her father, which is apparently practically zero. In her phone records, there is one call from his phone to hers over the past six months. It looks like she’s cut him out of her life.”

Shaking my head, I realize that her being at my office building the other night was another of her father’s ploys to dump his debts onto her.

That man deserves to be skinned alive. What kind of a father does that to their daughter? Their own child? He has to know where she lives, too. How can a man let his daughter live in a place like that? It’s so dangerous for her. Just stepping out her front door, she’d be at risk of some asshole taking advantage of her. I don’t know how she sleeps peacefully at night. Even I’d want a gun under my pillow in a neighborhood like that.

This entire time, she hasn’t been lying to me. All the times she was asking why I’d taken her and what her father owed me, she genuinely had no idea what was going on.

Guilt sears through me.

Not that this is my fault. I’m not the one to blame, here—her father is. No wonder she cut him off.

And it’s not just her father’s debts she's working three jobs to pay. It’s also her mother’s medical bills. Anton left her to deal with those on her own while eating at luxury restaurants and gambling away every cent he earns with his decent job. He’s disgusting.

And suddenly I’m hoping that I do see him again, so that I can show him exactly what I think of him.

Across the road, the debt collector grabs Lara’s arm and shoves her against the wall. She lets out a startled yelp. My blood hits its boiling point in an instant.

“I have to go,” I say to Roan, then hang up and drop the phone onto the seat of my car as I climb out in a hurry.

The guy has her fully restrained against the wall, pressing his body into hers and making suggestive comments on how she can earn an extension on what she owes.

Her eyes are bright with tears and fear, locked onto the brute of a man, pleading with him to have patience.

I grab him by the back of his shirt and rip him off her, wanting to tear him to shreds for touching her.

Chapter 8 - Lara

“Well, honeycup, I know a way for you to earn a few extra days. A little extension on your payment plan,” Charlie says as he leans even closer. His breath stinks. It’s hot against my cheek as I turn my face away from his pockmarked skin and yellow teeth.

My heart is racing. These guys are dangerous. And in a place like this, no matter how loud I scream, no one will even blink an eye or try to help me. I’m on my own, and this is averybad situation.

His hand drifts over the side of my body, and I shudder, repulsed by every inch of him.

“Please, I had to go away for a few days. It was an emergency. If you explain to your boss—"

“I’ll explain, but what are you going to do for me in return? If you drop down to your knees, I might have something you can suck that would change my mind about—"

His words are cut off mid-sentence and replaced with a startled grunt as the air is pushed from his lungs.

Suddenly, he’s gone. Ripped away from me.

There is no one pinning me to the wall, and the stench of his breath is no longer hot over my face. I blink in disbelief when I see the brute of a man spin around to face his attacker, and my mouth drops open when I see that the attacker is Nestor.

Charlie is going to rip him to shreds. These people don’t play around. And someone like Nestor doesn’t have a clue what this side of the city is about. He’s used to his luxury and his expensive tastes. He’s used to people respecting him and the power his money buys. Here, people will knife you over an insult. The only power they respect is fear. Brute force. Violence.

The man snarls at Nestor, but Nestor doesn’t budge. His eyes grow dark, and he stands his ground. He doesn’t even have a weapon in his hand.He’s going to get himself killed, and it’ll be another thing for me to worry about.

“Think twice,” Nestor says coldly.

Charlie hesitates, his eyes narrowing towards Nestor. Then they shoot wide. It’s like he recognizes him. But what connection would Charlie have to some fancy ass man in a crisp suit from the business sector?

Charlie has been a nasty, horrible, cold-hearted asshole to me every single time I’ve crossed paths with him. In fact, I’ve seen him break a guy’s leg just for the fun of it.

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