Page 4 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride
“I did. He accepted my offer and will make sure all of the guards are occupied at exactly ten minutes to ten.”
“You sure he can be trusted?” I ask, scrunching my nose. The last thing I need is to be caught mid-sneak-out.
I’d get the punishment for attempting, without the fun of actually having had a night out.
“It was a handsome bribe.” She raises her brows and grins triumphantly.
Apparently, he’s her favorite bodyguard, and he’s done this for her a few times already.
Mila is also a Bratva princess. Her family is not as powerful as mine, but she lives a life similar to mine. Surrounded by guards, under the watchful eye of her older brothers, who tend to boss her around too much.
My brothers, Jaroslav and Evengil, said I could spend the night at her family’s mansion as long as I took two of my own guards along, despite heralreadyhaving several guards with us. But now, all the guards are in the kitchen making themselvesdinner, while we, unknown to them, shower to goout, not to get ready for bed.
It’s just past nine. We have around half an hour before we need to get ready to go.
“Maxim will pretend to come check on us just before they sit down to eat the food they’re making now. Then he’ll tell the guys we’re chilling in my room. Then we have about five minutes to make a run for it.”
“And the car is parked around the back of the house?” I confirm.
“Yep, he put it there already.”
“I need a guard like Maxim,” I whine. I’m so tired of being locked up in the monotony of my life. Day after day, it’s the same thing over and over again.
It’s been months since the attempted kidnapping, and honestly, I’m going crazy.
Technically, my poor decision-making tonight is actually all my brothers’ faults. If they hadn’t kept me so caged up, I wouldn’t have been pushed to the edge of my sanity and forced to do something extreme just so that I could feel alive for one freaking second. My life has felt like it’s been void of direction or purpose. I’d even go so far as to say I was on the borderline of becoming miserably depressed. A girl isn’t supposed to be kept in a figurative cage like that. She needs to explore the world. I’ve been lying awake at night wondering if this is it for me. Like, is this how the rest of my life will go? Because that seems horribly pointless. There isn’t any point in a life like that.
And for that reason, I don’t even have guilt about this. And the moment I came up with the idea, I was all in.I need this more than maybe I even realize.
“You’re wearing this one,” Mila says, tossing a white dress onto the bed. I pick it up and hold it against my body. Short. Tight. Sexy. It’s perfect. I didn’t pack a going-out dress in case someone checked my overnight bag. But of course, Mila had already said I could borrow something of hers.
“Oh, it’s gorgeous. I love it.” I let my hands trace over the beautiful fabric, embossed with geometric patterns on pure white material.
She pulls out a blue dress for herself, and we hurry to get ready. Excitement bubbles inside me. Yes, Iamlooking for trouble. I know I am. However, my family is being overly protective, and I need some space.Desperately. I’m an adult, but they don’t seem willing to accept that.
At least this time I didn’t bring Stefania. Just in case. My little sister can’t be my responsibility tonight. This is just for me. My moment to let go and not worry about anything. She would have loved it, but I’m already pushing my luck by sneaking out, even without her.
My plan is solid, though. My brothers will never find out.
Hence, staying out tonight at a friend they’ve already vetted and approved.
Come tomorrow morning, I can have a shower and head home, pretending nothing happened.
“Let’s go!” Mila whispers excitedly, checking the time on her phone after her bribed security guard stuck his head through the door and gave her the signal.
***
The Red Room is pulsing with life. The moment we step inside, my blood begins to surge through me like an elixirof happiness, threading through my veins. Yes. This is what I’ve been craving. People. Crowds. Music. Thick, heavy air that presses down onto you like the weight of adventure.
I bite my lip as Mila grabs my hand and pulls me toward the bar.
“We need drinks,” she calls out over her shoulder.
“Shots!” I shout back, feeling bold and free.
I stand back, looking around the packed club. The bar area is a little easier to move around in, but the dance floor is a pit of energy. Wall to wall bodies, moving against each other on the dance floor. Girls looking gorgeous in bright dresses or tight sexy black numbers. Maybe white wasn’t the best choice. I’m bound to spill something on it by the end of the night. Whatever. Who cares. I’m here to have fun! My dress is glowing in the UV light from the DJ box.
My stomach spins with nervous tension. But it’s the good kind of nervous spin. The kind of been longing for. The kind where I’m out of my comfort zone and not conforming to all the million stupid rules imposed on my life.
