Page 32 of The Bratva's Innocent Sold Bride
“I’m surprised you don’t know about him,” I said, tapping a grumpy old man’s picture. Mat shook his head. “He’s notorious for bribes. Taking and giving.”
After I filled him in on how he was sleeping with his wife’s sister, who worked for him and was also embezzling from him, he swiped the tablet clear.
“This is all very useful,” he said, beaming at me, and so damn handsome I felt warm and squishy looking at him. “Thank you.”
“See,” I said. “I can be helpful.”
He looked shocked. “I never said you couldn’t.” His smile began to evaporate, his eyes darkening to a twilight hue. He saw that I was on the verge of bringing up work again and raised his hand before I could do it. “You can help me all you want, and I’m grateful for it. But that’s it, CJ.”
He had that hurt look in his eyes again, and I was pissed that he imperiously shut down a conversation once more. He didn’t understand why I might want more than just to sit around and wait for him to need me for something. We were getting along, and the atmosphere threatened to go south fast, so I let it go. For the moment.
“What do you want to get out of this party?” I asked. “It has to be more than just meeting these people. Is there a deeper plan?”
He’d let me go on the dog rescue, and he obviously didn’t think there’d be any danger at the gala. Maybe he’d share, because by the flash in his eyes, I could see there was something more going on.
He pulled me close. “You’ve already warned me there’s nothing deep about any of this. Go put on your dress so I can see how gorgeous you look in it, and let’s go have a fun night.”
I pulled away and stood, glaring down at him. This was why I was blindsided by my father. He never trusted me to tell me the truth, and I’d believed him to be a great man. Well, I knew the truth about Mat, and he still didn’t trust me. When I accused him of it, he looked blank.
“What does tonight have to do with trust?” he asked.
“Isn’t that why you won’t tell me why we suddenly have to go to the Exavier ball?”
“I’ve already—”
I cut him off, on a roll. “Isn’t that why you won’t let me out of sight of your henchmen so I can have a job?”
He rose to stand as well, face as hard as stone.
The bliss I woke up with that morning felt like it was a thousand years ago.
Chapter 20 - Mat
God, CJ was beautiful when she was angry, but so damn frustrating. I had spent all afternoon counting the minutes until I could see her again, and we’d spent an enjoyable hour going over everyone on my list. Now it had wound up back at the same tired argument, and she didn’t look like she would back down this time.
How could I make her see it wasn’t a matter of trust but of safety? Without telling her about Anatoli Ovinko and the level of trouble he was causing me, there was no way she could understand. And there was no way I was speaking his name around her. She had lived her whole life never knowing the level of her father’s shady activities, and she innocently believed the worst thing someone could get up to was cheating or embezzling.
I was going to keep her far away from what I did and the people who wanted to destroy everything I cared about.
“Why the secrecy?” she asked. “Everyone knows we’re married. What’s keeping you from just telling me why you really want to go to this gala?”
She seemed to know me on a deeper level than I might have guessed. The look on her face told me she wasn’t going to believe I only wanted to rub elbows with the rich and powerful. I could have met them in another way, and it was true I never normally gave a toss about frivolous parties, but I’d been tipped off that Anatoli himself might make an appearance, having wormed his way into the city’s elite. How he managed to do that and still remain anonymous to me was really pissing me off.
There was no way I could make CJ understand without the risk of putting her in danger. All I wanted to do was layeyes on the man, and if he was actually there, we’d be leaving immediately.
I needed her in a good mood for this party. Obviously, none of her longtime acquaintances knew that I took her as payment for her father’s debt. They thought we were one of their own, only hiding out from society because we were in the throes of new love.
I forced myself to put on a calm front, though I was anything but calm. I hated seeing her upset more than I hated not being able to give her everything she wanted. She seemed to like the dress I chose for her, and as much as she griped about how awful everyone would be at the ball, I had a feeling it was a cover. She wanted a night out, away from the house she considered a prison, much to my dismay.
Were we really on new ground after last night, or was this misunderstanding going to tear us apart again? I gently laid my hands on her shoulders and tugged her closer.
“The only reason I want to go is the one I gave you. I wanted an in with these people.”
“Now you’ve got it,” she said, staying stiff in my arms.
“And I wanted to show off how beautiful you’re going to look in that dress.”
Glancing at the dress, draped over the back of the couch, she sighed, as if considering her options. I decided to play a long shot and take them away from her.
