Page 45 of The Bratva's Innocent Sold Bride
We were in a truce, nothing more. We had the most insane chemistry two people ever had together, sparking at the merest touch, but that had nothing to do with this feeling. I didn’t want to push it aside, as much as it scared me. This man had built my dream office in less than twenty-four hours. He called me a beautiful genius and meant it. He was hotter than the sun. How could I not settle into his embrace and smile at him?
“Do I start today?”
He nodded, kissing my nose. “As soon as I clear my two best guards from their current duty. They should arrive at your office by early afternoon, and then Bardil can drive you.”
I went stiff in his arms, leaning back to see if he was joking. Of course, he wasn’t. “I’ll be under armed guard at this place? Doesn’t it have its own security?”
“Certainly, but they’re nowhere near as good as my men.”
I pressed my lips together. “Tell me why they need to be your men.”
There was the slightest pause that had me shoving off his lap. The warm feeling was gone, replaced with anger. That other, tentative thing that tried to blossom withered away like it had been scorched.
“Because I’ll feel better knowing that only the best is responsible for your safety,” he said, reaching for me. I stepped back in a hurry. “CJ,” he said, a warning in his voice.
“Because you don’t trust me,” I countered with a bitter scoff. “Do you really still think I’ll try to leave when I know full well you’d kill my father? I’m fully aware his life is constantly in the balance here, Mat.”
A brief flash of pain crossed his eyes, but he didn’t dispute it. How could he when it was the truth?
“It’s for your protection, nothing more,” he said. There was no more smile on his face; he was as still and cold as stone. And as immovable.
“It’s ridiculous,” I said. Nothing. He was in charge, and he knew it. I knew it.
“The alternative is to do the job here,” he said. “Or not at all. Your choice.”
It was a laughable choice if I hadn’t been so crushed. I was on the verge of tears, not that I’d ever let him see them fall. It wasn’t even the loss of the utopian office. It was the fact that he pretty much just came out and said he didn’t trust me.
I stomped out of the kitchen. Our short-lived peace had ended.
Chapter 28 - Mat
I swore bitterly, slamming my coffee cup down hard enough to crack the bottom. The dark liquid made a slow stain on the tablecloth, and I stood and hurled it into the sink. Then, I grabbed a towel to toss onto the small puddle on the table.
One second, CJ was on my lap, thrilled with her new office. The next time, she was spitting mad, accusing me of not trusting her. She didn’t understand that, as much as I wanted to give her everything, I couldn’t risk her life. The office was already a risk, contained enough that I could allow it and not go crazy with worry every second she was out of my sight.
I’d recently purchased the building in the office park where her space was. The security staff were vetted by my own people, and the other occupants had passed through rigorous background checks to determine they were completely clean and free of any ties that might compromise my wife’s safety.
But Anatoli was out there, and he’d already fired the first shot by attacking the charity she was associated with. It wasn’t like I could say, ‘Hey, my love, there’s this madman who’s been warring with me and would kill you as easily as he drew a breath if he got the chance.’
I wouldn’t have her frightened when I could easily keep her safe—if she would stop blowing up about my security measures and thinking it had anything to do with not trusting her.
Soon enough, I’d wipe Anatoli off the map, and when I was undisputed king of this area, I could give her more of the freedom she craved.
A couple of minutes after I had a new cup of coffee, she texted me from wherever she was in the house.
I’ll go to the office with the guards.
Not exactly warm and cuddly or laden with heart emojis, but I still smiled. Even though she didn’t understand and was simmering with anger, she was still going to help me. She’d been given a responsibility and was determined to see it through. A new reason to admire her, along with all the others I’d been collecting in the weeks since she became mine.
Masha came in, reminding me that I had responsibilities other than my wife. I was surprised to see her, thinking she was out on the stakeout rotation. Before I could ask her anything, even how she was, she cut right to the chase. That was Masha, all business when something was important.
“I think I’ve got a lead on Anatoli’s second in command. His name is Pavel, and he might be on his way to a place where we can pick him up without too much fuss.”
She explained her reasons for believing this man to be so high up in Anatoli’s chain of command. Unbeknownst to me, she’d ditched the stakeout, believing it to be as futile as my tech guy, Delta, did. Instead, she started following the people they’d seen coming and going from the fortified building I’d followed Anatoli to.
“He goes to too many places that don’t have anything to do with this startup of Terrance Hendricks, or whatever he’s calling himself.”
She showed me a picture, and a memory of a face from weeks before flashed through my mind. The robbery of the food delivery truck at my restaurant was a cover for a weapons delivery.
