Page 61 of The Bratva's Arranged Virgin Bride
Chapter 34 - Kolya
Since I’d been up all night, I managed to get a few hours of sleep, but my concern about Nat didn’t let me rest for long. I had promised to let her have her space until the end of the day, and here it was, barely lunchtime. But I felt uneasy that she hadn’t returned from the gallery yet, if that was where she went to get away from me.
I wasn’t at the point where I was going to outright ask any of her family if she’d shown up at one of their houses, but I did message Mat to ask if he had taken care of everything after I left.
If Nat turned up, her cousin would surely take the opportunity to rub it in my face or berate me for pissing her off enough that she felt the need to run away. It would sting my pride, but at least I would know she was safe. Mat filled me in on the cleanup after our fight last night, starting to get into details of what they had in store for the one remaining hostage. He seemed to think the guy was taking orders from someone even higher up than him and meant to get to the bottom of it.
It was all riveting, but as soon as I surmised, he didn’t know Nat was avoiding me or where she was, I hurried to end the call. If she wasn’t with any of her family members, the only other place was the gallery. She loved that place. It was her haven. In fact, she was so passionate about it that it almost made me jealous. She was in her element there, and her talent was set free to shine. It was as if she were the one who thought up the scheme; she was so dedicated to it. It wouldn’t have done half as well without her.
In Milan, I had been in charge of the artists, and I had accepted everything they put out, but here, Nat pushed them to do their best work, critiquing them like a hard-assed professor.The resulting work was so good it hardly felt like a scam, except for the outlandish stories we used to get people to spend more. It was such a rush working with her. I would have continued doing it even if we were on the up and up, even if we didn’t turn a profit.
There was no other place she would stay for this long, and I set off to find her, thinking she’d probably be asleep on the couch in the office. I’d wake her with a kiss and a cup of her favorite coffee. To hell with waiting until the end of the day.
When I stopped to get her coffee and a pastry, I popped into the flower shop to choose a bouquet of colorful blooms, trying to select ones that would make her smile. I needed that smile now, like I needed oxygen. We weren’t going to fight anymore, not when I made everything clear to her.
I was so laden down with the gifts I wanted to surprise her with, I had a hard time reaching for the keys to unlock the back of the gallery. It was then that I saw that there was no need. The back door wasn’t just unlocked, but hung open a few inches. My blood started chilling in my veins.
There was no way my fastidious wife would allow that. Fearing another break-in and that she might have been hurt, I shoved into the gallery. The place was not only in perfect order; I would have been blown away with the amazing job she had done preparing for the next show if I wasn’t worried about that door being open. No break-in, and no Nat, either.
Trying not to panic, I waited, calling her as I paced back and forth. If she were just out taking a lunch break, I’d mask my worry and ask her to bring me back something. We could have a picnic. There was no answer. And half an hour later, she still hadn’t returned with her lunch.
Panic was beginning to close in. There was no way I could continue to give her space and casually act as if nothing was wrong. Something was clearly wrong. I sent her a message, commanding her to answer, prepared to wait three minutes more before I had my people start tracking her phone.
Just a few moments after I sent my message, she called, and I breathed a long sigh of relief, letting it ring twice before I answered, forcing cheer into my voice.
But it wasn’t her on the other line. It was a voice I recognized all too well, and hearing it from Nat’s phone twisted my guts with fear.
“Hello, Kolya,” Vissarion said.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
“You’re finally going to know what it feels like to lose your bride,” he said, icy cold and calm.
I was not. Fury burned through me like wildfire. Damn it, was the man still holding onto that grudge after all these years? Was it possible that he really cared for Elaina—the way I cared for Nat?
Impossible. That woman was my very life’s blood, whether she felt the same for me or not. And if she didn’t love me the way I wanted, she didn’t despise me the way Elaina hated Vissarion. Not anymore. I would have bet my life on it.
I started to tell him I had nothing to do with what happened all those years ago, but threats spilled out instead. Promises, really, of what would happen to him if he laid a finger on Nat.
The line went dead before I could get half of it out, the sound of Vissarion’s laughter echoing in my ear. I called back, but Nat’s phone was already off. And I knew my enemy wassmart enough to destroy it now that he got his chance to taunt me. My plan to track her phone was gone.
With a howl of frustrated rage, I knocked over one of the neatly placed pottery vases. It crashed from its stand and shattered on the floor. Breathing hard, I stared at the pieces. The man who hated me more than anything had my wife.
And I had no idea where he was holding her, or what horrors he had in store.
