Page 37 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride
Hurriedly, I turn and run back to my room, slipping through the door and quietly closing it behind me.
Each little moment flashing through my mind, each smile, each stolen touch that teased me, it was nothing more than himhandlingme. Like he has to babysit me. I’m a burden.
I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think it was more than that.
Chapter 11 - Diomid
“I’m really sorry about this,” I say as we step onto the plane and into the apartment-style area where Angelika sits on the same sofa she did on our flight to the island. I hate the fact that we’re leaving. I would’ve stayed for a month if I could. Longer. After spending this short amount of time with her, and never tiring of her company, I’m beginning to wonder about myself. Should I be more careful of her? Am I playing with fire? It doesn’t feel like fire; it feels good to be around her.
“It’s ok, I understand, you have an emergency. It’s not like it was in your control.”
She speaks politely, but with a slight coldness to her. She must be disappointed to leave Barbados. I understand. The last thing I want to do is go back home.
I’ve never enjoyed the island as much as I did with her by my side. It’s crazy how she brings out the best in me. Life. Every experience becomes more colorful, more fulfilling—and it’s only because she’s sharing it with me.
“I asked them to add chicken feet to the flight menu,” I joke, sitting opposite her. But her smile is forced. “Funny,” she says blandly.
“We can come back one day. I’m sure your brother will agree to you flying with me again,” I try to reassure her, already trying to figure out when I can bring her back. I still had so many things I wanted to show her here.
Last night, when her brother called to check in, I managed to convince him that we should stay another week. I told him she needed this place, and I was distracting her from wanting to come home and any mischief she could be gettinginto. He warned me that she’s feisty when she’s being controlled, but I assured him I was handling her well.
And he agreed. Another week.
Fuck. I actually went to sleep with the fattest smile ever, excited for another week in paradise with her. We’ve been growing closer. Getting to know each other on a deeper level and in ways we could never do with the restraints of being at home.
I thought it could only get better, and we could only grow closer the longer we stayed. I even started thinking that more might come of it.
But this morning I got an urgent call from my brothers.
Shit went down last night at one of our warehouses. They need me home to deal with it. I’m going straight there as soon as we’ve landed in Miami and I’ve dropped Angelika at the penthouse to make sure she’s somewhere safe.
Looking across at her, she’s staring out of the window at the clouds surrounding us in the bright blue sky. Her hair is loose over her shoulders, and she’s wearing a summer dress, ready for a Barbados adventure that never happened. She’s so beautiful it aches.
I wish I understood this pull I have toward her—why it’s there, what it means.
“Are you taking me home?” she asks when she sees me staring.
“I’ll drop you at my penthouse. It’s close and very secure. I’ll sort this drama out as quickly as possible.”
“You can take me with you. I might be able to help,” she suggests.
“No, Angelika,” I say too harshly. Taking a breath, I tone my voice down. “There was a bombing at a warehouse. There’s no telling whether it’s safe to go there. I can’t risk putting you in harm’s way.”
She pouts and turns to look out the window again without answering me.
The rest of the flight is plagued with a quiet tension.
I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but maybe it’s coming from me because I didn’t want to cut our time together short. But she seems angry with me.
The bottom line is that the operation that got attacked is fully my responsibility. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, it’s my job to deal with it. My brothers each have their own designated areas, and we have to take ownership of our own pieces of the puzzle.
This is mine.
I have to deal with it myself. If there was any way I could have had someone else do this for me, trust me, I would have.
***
Angelika steps into the penthouse when I push the door open for her.
