Page 80 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride
Bardil stands, facing me with a sneer on his face and deep lines furrowed into his brow. His eyes are cold, reptilian, and dead of any emotions other than hatred.
I glance at Angel, who is standing tall next to me, glaring at Bardil, showing no fear.
“Bardil, let me make this very clear. If you ever come after her again, if you ever breathe her name or even glance in her direction, I will tear you apart. I won’t just kill you, though. I will torture you until you’re begging to die, and even then, I won’t let you. Your life will become a long, blurred stretch of time you can no longer track as your body slowly, painfully falls apart. I can keep you alive while I kill you. I can make it last for years.”
Angel takes a sharp breath next to me.I can be a monster when I need to be, when the people I love are threatened.
I reach out and wrap my hand around her waist to pull her close.
In my other hand, I tap the gun against my hip. “Leave,” I demand. “Walk away and don’t look back.”
Bardil looks at me for a long time, weighing my words, the weight of it in my eyes. He steals a glance at Angel, but only for a split second before he sneers again and turns his back on us.
He limps when he walks, groaning, rubbing his groin.
Angel and I stand dead still, not moving until he gets into his car down the street and drives away, out of sight. Even then, we wait longer, nervous to accept that he’s really gone.
Finally, the crowd across the street dissipates, and I let out a heavy breath of relief.
“Will you come back inside?” I ask, turning toward her.
She bites her lip. “I was… I should go.”
“Please, Angel. Come inside. There are some things we need to talk about. After that, you can do what you want. I’ll drive you somewhere or get you a ride. Just talk to me first.”
Angelika sighs softly, closing her eyes and nodding her head. “Alright. We can talk,” she says, letting me lead her back toward the building with my hand resting on her lower back.
It’s odd how I’m more nervous to talk to her about how I feel than I am to face a madman with a gun. The madman with a gun is something I can understand. I can control that situation. But how will she react to my words? That’s an entire unknown realm in my thoughts. And it terrifies me to think that she might turn me down and walk away.
We walk into the penthouse, and Angel sits on the edge of the sofa, her hands in her lap, her back straight. “Diomid, you um, saved me—again.”
She sighs, a soft giggle slipping from her lips as though she were nervous.
“I don’t want to talk about that right now, princess,” I say, sitting next to her, turning my body to face her, but making sure I leave enough space between us to let her feel like I’m not crowding her.
“Ok, um, what do you want to talk about? You’re making me nervous,” she giggles again, but her brows furrow with worry.
My heart flips over several times before I start talking.
Chapter 24 - Angelika
He looks so serious, it’s amping up my anxiety to levels I’ve never felt before. I’m already pumped full of adrenaline after facing Bardil, and after all the adrenaline from last night has barely had a chance to leave my system—and now he’s sitting there with wide eyes and stiff shoulders, watching me like I might make a run for the door, and he’s unsure how to handle that.
I swallow hard and try to smile, wondering ifIneed to comforthimsomehow. I’ve never seen him so nervous.
“Diomid?” I ask after the moment of silence seems to stretch on way too long.
He chuckles, pushing his hand through his hair like he does when he’s nervous. Not the same way he does when he’s thinking or busy.
“Sorry, I’ve never done this before,” he smiles.
When he looks up at me this time, his grey-blue eyes are soft, like summer clouds in blue skies. Open. Like he’s broken down a wall inside him and he’s about to invite me in on some big secret.
“It’s ok, whatever you want to say, I can handle it. I mean—we’ve been through a lot together,” I smile.
The truth is, I’ve already accepted the worst. I image that he wants to try and explain to me why he doesn’t want to see me again, but he’s scared to hurt my feelings or something. But that’s why I left while he was sleeping—to try toavoidthisexactawkwardness. But maybe he needs to say it. Maybe he needs that closure.
And maybe I do too.
