Page 2 of Bribed & Bred By the BRATVA
“I already have.” He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a folded sheet of paper. When he opens it, the words Marriage License look back at me in bold print.
My knees threaten to give out.
“This is insane.”
“This is inevitable.” His tone sharpens. “Sign, and your brother lives. Refuse, and he dies on a waiting list. Decide now. My men are already transferring him from your…apartment.” He twists his face, as though the wordapartmentis too generous for how we actually live.
It is.
“The only question left is whether he survives.” His blue eyes flash, as though he is excited about not knowing what comes next. Whether I accept or refuse. It’s already a challenge for him, whether I bend or not.
I picture Mateo’s thin face, the hollow shadows under his eyes, the way he still tries to smile when I tuck his blankets at night. The memory of him coughing in the dark twists like a knife.
“Why me?” I whisper. “I don’t even know your name.”
His eyes glint, the faintest edge of hunger. “Aleksei Vasiliev. And you’re strong enough to stand in front of me withoutbreaking. Because no one else will come for you. And because the moment I saw you, I knew.”
The paper shakes in my hands.
There is no choice. Not really.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’ll sign.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. Not a smile. Possession.
“Good,” he murmurs. “Then you’ll come with me now. We won’t waste time.”
He takes and folds the paper neatly away, gestures, and a sleek black car glides to the curb as if it has been waiting all along.
Warm air rushes over me when the door opens. My legs move even though every nerve screams at me to run. The leather seats swallow me whole.
He slides in beside me, close enough that heat radiates across the narrow gap. He doesn’t crowd me, but he doesn’t need to. His presence fills every inch of space.
“Where are we going?” My voice sounds small.
“To my house. Your new home.” His gaze flicks over me, sharp and assessing. “The judge is already on his way. We’ll sign as soon as he arrives.”
Panic claws up my throat. “Today?”
“You need urgency,” he says smoothly. “I expect it.”
The car hums forward, streetlights flickering on as the afternoon gives way to evening. My phone buzzes in my bag. I fumble it out with clumsy fingers.
A message glows on the screen.
Mateo transferred. Private room. Monitors stable.
I press a hand to my mouth. Relief floods me so sharp it hurts. I should call him. Let him know everything is going to be okay.But he’s mostly been out of it for the last few days. That’s how I knew he was running out of time.
“You see?” Aleksei says softly. “I keep my promises. Now you’ll keep yours.”
I lower the phone, pulse hammering. “And if I run?”
His gaze cuts to me. Dark. Certain. “You won’t. There’s nowhere safer than with me. And nowhere else your brother’s life will be saved at no monetary cost to you.”
The city lights fall away, replaced by trees and a stretch of private road. Gates open silently, letting us through. The car curves up a drive until a vast house of stone and glass looms ahead, glowing against the night. Then continues around the drive taking us to a smaller, more contemporary single storey building.
He leans closer, his voice a command disguised as softness. “Breathe, Isabella. Your life has already changed. The rest will follow.”
