Page 68 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride
So, I guess I’m just going to have to wait until I see him again in person. And not tonight. Tonight is about something else entirely.
I swallow hard and glance again at the uniform.
The idea is that I’ll be invisible, too boring to look at, with my face hidden beneath a grey hat, the grey dress and apron blending into the background. Just the girl who clears the empty glasses away and cleans up the spillage. The nobody.
Bratva men are always underestimating Bratva women. They don’t seem to realize what we’re capable of.
Not all of them, but certainly the type of men who buy girls at auctions to use as toys. Those men don’t fear women. They wouldn’t even consider that I might be dangerous to them.
I lean forward in the chair, and the book drops off my lap onto the floor.
Tonight they’re going to get a big surprise. Because I’m the one planting the bombs. My disguise will help me slip easily past everyone, while I plant four bombs around the venue.
Ok, they’re smoke bombs, not bomb-bombs. But still. I don’t want to be responsible for hurting any of the girls or innocent people who are caught up with those assholes. However, I do want to create a large distraction, disrupting the auction, so that Diomid and his men can rush in and save the girls from the storage containers behind the stage.
That’s the plan.
And he’s picking me up in exactly three hours and twenty-four minutes.
And for those three hours and twenty-four minutes, I’m tense as hell and can’t sit still for even one moment.
***
I’m already waiting outside the security gates of my brother’s estate when Diomid arrives. I have the uniform on, and my hair pulled back into a plain braid down my back. I look boring, which is exactly what I want.
“Hi Angel,” a voice comes from the backseat when I quickly hop into Diomid’s van as it pulls to a stop alongside the sidewalk.
“Oh my goodness,” I squeal in fright and spin around, with my hand pressed over my heart.
Oleg chuckles. “Sorry,” he mutters.
Diomid grins and places his hand on my thigh. “I couldn’t exactly warn you about it, but Oleg is coming with us as backup. Extra safety.”
“That’s great,” I giggle quietly, my heart racing. “Wow, I was not expecting anyone else to be in the car, though.”
“A little jumpy?” Diomid smiles tenderly.
“Um, yes, a lot actually, but I’ve got this. Once I get inside, I’ll be so focused I won’t have time to be nervous,” I say confidently.
“That’s how it usually goes,” Oleg agrees. “Even for me.”
On the way to the auction, Diomid makes me recount the plan to him all over again. Twice.
He reviews the backup plan in case things go south; he walks me through each step I should follow once I set foot inside the auction. He keeps trying to get me to repeat it over and over again until Oleg groans in the backseat and says, “Man, no wonder she’s so nervous. Let her breathe. You’re going to drive her insane before we get there.”
Diomid clenches his jaw and steals a glance at me. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I just want you to be safe.”
“I will be. I’m not going to do anything reckless,” I reassure him, understanding that he’s only doing it because he cares that I get in and out without being hurt.
We park around the side, away from the other guests and anyone who might recognize Diomid and Oleg. Diomid’s team of men arrives in two cars and parks near us.
I take a deep breath.
“Earpiece?” Diomid asks. I tap my ear and nod. My stomach churns even worse than before. I swallow away the fear and stand up straighter next to the dark van we drove here in. “Remember, I’m not going to talk to you unless it’s urgent. And you shouldn’t talk to me either. We need to be extra careful tonight. Only confirm for me once the bombs are planted, so we know we can move in to get the girls. Unless, of course, you need my help.”
I nod. “I know. I remember.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Oleg says, grinning, “unless you guys want to hang out here all night instead.”
