Page 24 of Owned Bratva Bride

“Hmm, so you’re telling me you’re a criminal?”

I had always thought he was involved in one or two dangerous jobs. But I was sure everything he told me that night was just drunk rubbish—until confirmed it was true at the art show.

He told me many things. I know too much.

Does that make me a loose end?

I’d seen enough action movies to know that loose ends were always cut off.

Now, I’m a liability.

One that Lucien would want to be rid of.

The realization chilled me to the bones.

The fact that I didn’t know what they intended to do with me was the real scare.

But, beneath all the fear and worry, the face of one man haunted me. The man who stared at me without flinching at the art event. The man who took me. The man who argued with me and looked at me like I was his.

Eduard Yezhov.

I’d be lying if I said that name hadn’t been seared into my memory from the moment he told me.

His intense eyes rarely shifted, even when I yelled at him and insulted the organization he talked about with so much pride. I had thought Lucien’s eyes hid secrets until I met Eduard. Eduard’s eyes didn’t just conceal things; that striking gaze carried a depth that could bury someone.

The man didn’t just seem to have things under control; he exuded control. While I was on the floor with my life in ruins, he stood unfazed. His composure didn’t crack. Aside from theunexpected grin he gave me, clearly pleased to see that his men had dealt with me, his face was impassive.

But his steely composure wasn’t what rattled me.

It was the curiosity that washed over me at the mere thought of him. The curiosity about what it would take to crack that composure of his. Just the thought of ruffling his feathers and getting under his skin caused a funny tightness in my chest.

I tossed the pillow beside me against the wall.

I hated this feeling of my body betraying me. It was more than upsetting that I was thinking of messing that already tousled brown hair of his. That the image of having my hand against his chest made my body shudder.

But what more do I have to lose?

Clearly, I’m on my own.

No one is coming to save me.

Cracking that composure might be my best shot.

Maybe I can frustrate him enough to drive me out of his mansion and want nothing to do with me. But it won’t be easy.

I turned to the right to look at my reflection in the mirror. My bruises weren’t so serious as to disfigure me.

I’ll take my chances.

Well, he’s still a man.

All men crack.

Chapter 6 – Eduard

I didn’t plan to leave the house today.

But now, I had to.