Page 28 of Forcibly Sold to the Bratva (Zolotov Bratva #14)

She cut the call on me. She actually cut the call on me. I throw the phone across the room in rage while my chest begins to contract, making it hard to breathe.

I feel like a million knives are carving holes into my heart.

I fall to the ground, inch my back up against the wall, and throw my head between my legs to make the dizziness go away.

What the hell just happened?

That wasn’t Arina.

She didn’t sound like herself. She sounded like an entirely different person, one with whom I couldn’t possibly have shared all those memories with. How could she, after caring for me for a week straight with no sleep, say she now knows better?

How could she say she never wanted to see me again when she spent hours nestled up to me, refusing to get out of bed?

Had I imagined every moment between us? Was I that blind?

I hear someone knocking, but I’m too shell-shocked to process an answer. The knocking grows louder until I scream in anger, “What?”

"Ilariy," it’s Agafon. "Open the door. Now."

Tatiana and Katya told us Arina had been taken, and immediately, my family rushed over.

I yank it open and glare at my eldest brother. "What?"

"Dinner's ready. Everyone's waiting."

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat," he says gently. "And the family needs to discuss our next move."

"Fine," I snap, knowing there’s no point arguing with him.

When Agafon and I enter the dining room, all conversation stops. Melor is the first one with the courage to speak. “Ilariy,” his eyes dart nervously to the rest of our siblings. "Since Tikhon took Arina, I was thinking we could—"

"I don't give a fuck about that," I cut him off, falling into a chair.

Nikandr looks surprised. "Ilariy, we understand you're upset, but we can’t just let him take her.”

Upset doesn’t even begin to cover it. How could Arina tell me that there’s nothing to fix between us, that there’s nothing I can do to see her again.

"My wife just told me she's chosen her psychotic brothers over me. So drop it, okay?”

Their faces turn confused, pale.

"I’m sure that’s not true," Faddey tries to be kind, but it only angers me more.

"She doesn't want to come back! Weren't you listening? She made her choice!" I glare at Faddey, wondering if he’s an actual idiot.

"She was kidnapped," Bogdan points out calmly. "People say things under duress."

"That wasn't duress," I hiss. "That was clarity. She finally remembered who she is—a Sokolov. And she's done playing house with the enemy."

Lilibeth flinches at my tone, and Agafon puts a protective arm around her shoulders. The sight only fuels my anger.

"This is your fault," I turn on Agafon, my voice venomous. "If you hadn't insisted on dropping the hunt for them, I never would have had to take her. I never would have been here."

"That’s enough!" Agafon's voice is sharp. "You're not the only one who's lost someone to the Sokolov family, Ilariy. We all have."

"She wasn't 'lost,'" I mimic with a sneer. "She is willing and happy to leave us all behind."

“You don’t have to be quite so hostile, Ilariy,” Nikandr loses his patience. “We’re all trying to help me.”

"Stop trying to help me, alright?" I shout as I stand. "You all kept saying I should let her go anyway. Well, congratulations. She's gone. Happy now?"

I walk out without waiting for an answer, ignoring the calls of my name, and head straight back to my room. I’m done with the whole lot of them. With everyone.

A minute later, there's another knock at my door.

"Go away," I growl.

Tatiana and Katya slip in anyway.

"We need to talk," Tatiana says, closing the door behind them.

"What more is there to talk about."

Katya sits on the edge of my bed. "We think you should know what really happened tonight."

I look up from my glass. "I already know. She got taken and then somehow got convinced that her brothers are her world. No wonder she didn’t fight harder to see them when I had her.

Guess she’s the kind who settles down wherever she lays her hat,” I hate how I sound when I speak of her this way, but the anger and grief I feel are real, raw.

"You’ve got it wrong, brother," Tatiana says softly. "She sacrificed herself for us."

"What?" I furrow my brows, confusion coming over me.

"When Tikhon appeared in that alley, he didn't just ask her to come. He threatened to kill us if she didn't go with him," Tatiana explains.

My blood runs cold. "What are you talking about?"

"His man had a gun to my head, Ilariy," Tatiana says.

"I wanted to tell you, but when we called about Arina getting taken, you got into this frenzy and got everyone over and refused to pick up our calls, but you didn’t let us finish.

Tikhon told Arina he would kill us right there if she didn't leave with him. "

"And she didn't even hesitate," Katya adds softly. "She agreed immediately to save us."

The room tilts around me as I absorb their words. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"You wouldn't listen," Tatiana says simply. "You were too angry."

"You have every right to be hurt," Katya reaches for my hand. "But your anger is misplaced. She didn't betray you. She protected us."

I close my eyes, remembering the flatness in Arina's voice during that call. The mechanical way she spoke. The words that never sounded like her.

“He forced her to make that call,” I say in shock, my hands now trembling.

“Probably,” Katya agrees.

All the anger that's been burning in my chest collapses into something sadder.

"I'm going to kill him," I hiss.

"Not yet," Tatiana's hand on my arm is restraining. "Think, Ilariy. If Tikhon threatened us once, he'll do it again. We need to be smart about this."

"He still has her," Katya insists. “Don’t make them hide again. You might never see her.”

“So what are you saying?” I run a hand through my hair. “What do I do?”

“For now?” Tatiana looks sad. “Nothing.”

***

That whole night, I find myself unable to sleep. On one hand, my grief is all-consuming. While I know Tatiana and Katya told me what happened, I still feel a deep sense of betrayal.

She didn’t even say we could try. She didn’t even leave me that one hope . Even if Tikhon forced her to call me, she could have left me with hope.

But then, I think of Tikhon and the monster he is. Maybe he dictated the whole thing while standing over her head. Maybe she didn’t have the chance to say what she truly felt.

I know what we share isn’t a lie. It can’t be.

But now, I don’t know when I’ll see her again, if ever, at that. I pick up my phone, scrolling through the pictures we took together. Arina laughing in the park, Arina smiling at a café, Arina laughing in my bed.

Each image is a punch in the gut.

She’s gone. I need to see her, to talk to her. I need to know the truth. But Tatiana and Katya are right. I can't just storm in and take her. Not again.

So what the hell am I to do?

For the first time in my life, I feel helpless. I don't know what to do, how to fix this. All I know is that I need Arina back in my life. I need her like I need air to breathe.

***

For three whole days, I wallow in self-pity until Agafon barges into my house.

“What?” I murmur.

“Get dressed. We’re heading out.”

“I don’t want to,” I give him a glare.

“It’s the Volkovs' annual party this evening,” he says, pointedly.

Suddenly, I sit straighter. The Volkovs are a powerful family and also a neutral ground. They haven’t yet made alliances.

Since the Sokolovs are weakened now, they’ll be looking for friends. Chances are, they might be there tonight.

At last, I see a silver lining.

***

The Volkov mansion is in full form when we arrive. I scan the crowded ballroom as we enter, hoping against hope. People come up to us, try to talk.

Half an hour passes by, and I pretend to nod and smile, but soon, the room begins to feel suffocating. What am I even doing here?

Perhaps the Sokolovs won’t show. Suddenly, I feel like a fool. Even if they do, what is there for me to do? I can’t fight on this turf.

I won’t know where they’re keeping Arina. I scan the room to tell Agafon that I’m heading back when I feel my skin go warm.

I see her.

Arina stands across the room, wearing a pretty blue dress that, once upon a time, I would have shredded off her. She looks beautiful, but also sad. Like she doesn’t want to be here.

They brought her here? Even in my wildest dreams, I didn’t think this could be possible.

Tikhon hovers at her side like a shadow, and I hate how stiff she stands.

Our eyes meet across the room, and I see her eyes widen before she suddenly turns away. She didn’t expect to see me here tonight. She looks petrified.

But…why?

This night suddenly feels destined, and I put down my glass and keep to the edges of the walls, always keeping Arina in my line of sight. I watch her from a distance, waiting for one single chance to have her alone.

I wait for my opportunity, and it comes when she excuses herself from her brothers' side. She looks over at me and gives me the smallest nod. A hint.

I follow her down a hallway, past the bathrooms, to a small library at the end of the corridor. She closes the door behind her, and I wait ten seconds before following.

She's standing by the window when I enter. The moonlight outlines her silhouette, and for a moment, I just look at her, drinking in the sight of her after days of emptiness.

"You shouldn't be following me around," she says. “My brothers will kill you if they see.”

I close the door behind me. "Is that what you brought me here to tell me? To stay away."

She faces me then, her expression carefully blank. "Go away, Ilariy. I have nothing else to say to you."

"That's fine," I step closer. "I'll do the talking. You can just listen to how you made a fool out of me."

Her jaw tightens, and my brain scrambles. I know Arina. She’ll always put the safety of my family first, herself first. I need to trigger the truth out of her. I need to give myself a reason by making her defend herself. That’s the only way.

“Tell me! How did I make a fool out of you?”

The hurt I've been carrying erupts into anger. "One day you're in my bed, the next you're telling me it was all a lie."

"It wasn't real," she says, but her voice wavers. "I was confused, traumatized—"

"Bullshit," I cut her off, moving closer until we're inches apart. "You weren't confused when you nursed me back to health. You weren't traumatized when you kissed me silly."

Her eyes flash. "And you were only using me the whole time, weren’t you?”

We had resolved this. She told me she knew I never meant those words, and in this moment, I know the truth. There is something else going on here.

I move forward and she tries to step away, but I gently grab her arm and force her to look at me. “And what were you doing? Pretending to care for me only to tell me we mean nothing? Who was the one using who, huh?”

Her eyes shine when she meets my gaze. "I can't be with you. Ever. No matter what I want."

"That's not what I asked," I grip her shoulders. "Admit you were using me, Arina. Or is there some other reason? Is there something you’re hiding?”

"I wasn’t—" she begins, but falters. "Please, just let me go. I can’t be with you.”

"I don't care," I grip her face between my hands. "I'm not letting you go again."

“Ilariy,” she whispers, tears now falling down her face.

“What is it?” I hiss. “You can’t stand the sight of me so much that it makes you cry? Is that it? Is that how much you hate me?”

“No!” she stammers, meeting my gaze. “No… I don’t hate you. I just don’t want to be with you. Please,” she whispers, and I can see her words are tearing at her, eating her alive.

It could be so easy to fall on my knees, to tell her how haunted I’ve been when she left. To tell her she’s now the centre of my world.

But brave, innocent, selfless Arina. If she hears those words, she’ll only fight harder to save me. If Tikhon has her in his grip, with a threat to me hanging over her, she’ll only fight harder to stay away.

And so, I can’t. I need her to want to fight. I need to hear it from her.

“Arina,” I whisper, gently wiping at her tears. “Just tell me the truth.”

Her eyes meet mine, and she shakes her head, like this secret she refuses to admit is killing her inside, but then, ever so slowly, she leans into my touch.

“Arina, what do you want?” I whisper, my face inching towards her. She looks up, her eyes flicking to my lips.

"Just tell me, Arina," I plead softly, my heart aching at her silent pain. "What's changed?"

She grabs my shirt and for a minute, I think she’s going to push me away, but she pulls closer, until her lips are a breath away and she hisses, “You don’t take the hint, do you? I don’t want to see you again. Ever! Do you like hearing that? Over and over again?”

Her words wash over me, kindle the anger in my heart, but I know these aren’t her words. She still has my shirt in her grip, she’s still a breath away, her eyes are still on my lips, and just then, her pupils blast open, desire etched deep within.

“Yeah?” I inch closer until my lips are pressed against hers. “You don’t want to see me, but you have me in your grip? Let me go, Arina. Push me away. Step back. Let’s see if you can do it.”

For literally a second, we just stand there, and I wonder if I risked too much. I wonder if I crossed a line, if she’ll push me away.

But the next thing I know, she lets out a moan and her lips brush against mine.

She won’t say. But she wants me just as I want her.

And then I'm kissing her, pouring all my fear and relief and need into the press of my lips against hers. For a moment, she's frozen, and then she melts against me, her arms winding around my neck as she kisses me back with equal desperation.

She tastes like champagne, her body trembling against mine as I pull her closer. My hands drop to her waist, lifting her onto the desk behind her. Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me deeper into the kiss.

Then, abruptly, she pushes me away, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "We can't. This is a mistake—"

"I don't care," I try to pull her back, but she holds me at arm's length.

Before I can argue, a commotion from the main ballroom catches our attention. We hear raised voices and the sound of glass breaking. Arina stiffens, her eyes widening with fear.

"I have to go," she slides off the desk. "Forget this happened. Please."

She rushes past me to the door, but I catch her wrist. "This isn't over, Arina."

"It has to be," she says with a trembling voice and then pulls free, running out before I can say another word.