The Bratva’s Auctioned Bride (Levov Bratva #10)

Chapter 11 - Alexander

I was taught to be humble from a young age. Regardless of money, notoriety, or whatever accomplishments I might acquire with time, I should keep my humanity and be modest. But after having sex with Lara, and knowing I had the Levov Princess as my wife, that moral code seemed harder and harder to keep up.

That strange giddiness—the want and desire to express just how pleased I was about it—was almost embarrassing. I had never felt anything like that before, and trying to temper it was growing nearly impossible with every passing day.

Of course, I wasn’t one to divulge personal matters like that with anyone. Not even my brothers. Anything that didn’t have to do with work on the business I kept mostly under lock and key, but there was something about how the weekend rounded off that had me nearly bursting at the seams to say something about it.

Still, I kept it down as best as I could when I reached the lounge we'd recently opened up downtown. When we needed to gather for meetings and didn’t want to go to our main warehouse, we went to the top floor and did our business there.

Despite putting myself into work mode, it was difficult for me to focus. I thought about Lara and how quickly everything seemed to change in the kitchen, along with how her skin felt and the sounds she made for me while I moved through the lounge and went straight for the concealed steps.

During and after the ceremony, I had been full of so much doubt, afraid that I was making a mistake by forcing Lara to marry me. I was afraid my plan wasn’t as foolproof as I initially thought, but despite our fight, we still managed to connect far sooner than I ever anticipated. It was hard to believe we could change like that and find ourselves unable to resist.

Still, I was glad, and I found myself moving with a bit more ease and confidence than usual.

Once in the conference room, I found my brothers already waiting. Damien stood by the large windows that overlooked the city below while he texted unhurriedly, Daniil had his head tipped back against his chair with his eyes closed, and Valentin and Yuri were talking aimlessly about something I didn’t catch, laughing between themselves around the large table in the center of the room.

As I entered the space, their attention moved in my direction as usual.

Valentin chuckled. “There’s the groom.”

“Busy weekend, boss?” Yuri added with an amused grin.

I waved them off as I moved to my usual chair at the end and sat, finding a few small stacks of paperwork already on the table. Despite the dismissive gesture, there was at least something in me that swelled at the thought of how my weekend went.

“Personal matters are left at home, remember?” I inform them with an expectant look.

Damien snickered as he pulled himself away from the window and took up his seat as well. “Only when you don’t want to be in the hot seat.”

“There is no hot seat for me. Remember that.”

They laughed quietly amongst themselves, and I even managed to crack a small smile despite being mostly serious.

“Regardless,” I began, leaning back in my seat as I reined myself in and focused on the business at hand. “With the wedding over, we have some matters to discuss and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

The relaxed atmosphere around us eventually shifted into a more driven one as we put our attention on the most pressing topics.

Looking around the table, I lifted a brow. “Any updates I should know off the top?”

Damien cleared his throat as he began. “Since Friday night, rumors started spreading through some of the lesser families, and while the details haven’t been revealed yet, it was made clear that you’ve made some sort of divine move. Some are speculating, given the auction, but as I said, nobody has a clear story. However, it’s only a matter of time before the Levovs themselves hear.”

I nodded, feeling the heavy weight of that reality. It wasn’t a surprise at all, and I knew I’d have to confront the Levov situation eventually, but hearing about it potentially manifesting in real life felt like a completely different matter.

“If they haven’t heard already,” I hummed to myself, leaning against my armrest as I stroked my chin absently.

Damien nodded. “With Lara gone the entire weekend, surely they’ll be frantic by now. That means they’ll be desperate to find her and root out any suspects. Since word has been getting around about you winning big at the auction, we have every reason to believe they’d be on to us fast.”

Letting go of a breath, I nodded and considered the idea. He was right. The Levovs were notorious in the city for a reason, and they didn’t half-ass anything. They had more than enough resources around to find what they wanted.

“Our roots being so new here should lend us some time, at least,” Daniil added, wearing a serious expression. “They likely won’t have much information on us yet. We can use that to our advantage.”

“That’s right. They’ll likely sniff around and try to get information from other families out there, but it should buy me some time, at least,” I murmured, half to myself.

“What’s the plan moving forward then?” Valentin asked, more focused than usual.

Gathering my thoughts, I let go of another breath as I looked between them. “From what we've heard about them, it's clear the Levovs never would’ve agreed to a regular alliance. They’ve been burned by too many families in the past, and they’re so established that an alliance would be virtually useless to them. Hence why I went the extreme route. Now that Lara is my wife, they’ll either have to accept it or call for an all-out war.”

“And now that Lara’s in the middle of it, that’ll be reason for them to hesitate, at least,” Damien added.

I nodded. “Exactly. Either way, they’ll have to tread carefully to keep their sister safe.”

Yuri looked at me with a questioning look. “What happens if they get enough information on us, track you and your home down, and raid the house? What would you do if they found Lara—what would stop them from simply taking her back?”

“If you don’t have her, then the plan will fall apart,” Valentin murmured.

As much as I didn’t even want to consider the thought, they were right, and it was a possibility I couldn’t turn a blind eye to. I had to be prepared for anything.

Just imagining them taking her from me sent a streak of irritation through me, but I held it back for the time being. I didn’t want my brothers to see that kind of vulnerability in me.

“If any scenario were to come about where the Levovs get close enough to take her back, then I can only hope she doesn’t choose to go with them,” I began, looking between them. “I realize this is an important aspect that I can’t overlook; that being said, gaining Lara’s trust is my priority right now. If we can reach a point where Lara willingly picks me over her own brothers, then I’ll be golden.”

Yuri snickered at that as he leaned back in his chair. “You’ll have your work cut out for you then. She couldn’t even look at you during the ceremony.”

Damien chuckled to himself. “He’s not wrong about that. She looked about ready to kill you herself.”

I shrugged. “You might be surprised by how quickly things can change.”

They all looked at me before exchanging glances with each other, as if wondering if there was a hidden meaning in my words. Regardless, I pressed on before they could start connecting too many dots.

“So, while I’m working to earn Lara’s favor by being a proper husband, I need tabs kept on the Levovs. I need to know if they get too close for comfort, and what their plans might be if they have any.”

They all nodded, aware of what was expected of them. Surely, they had already deduced that themselves.

“On top of the Levovs, I caught wind that the Gromovs were quite pleased about your bid on Lara, although they weren’t particularly happy to hear you were in their territory without them knowing until it was too late,” Damien informed me, expression serious. “It’s lucky they let it slide and didn’t cause a scene at the auction.”

“Those bastards…” I muttered, shaking my head. Letting out a scoff, I continued, “They wouldn’t have done anything. Not when I was their biggest bidder of the night. It wouldn’t be good for business, no matter how you look at it.”

Damien sighed. “Still, they know you purchased Lara, and if they feel so inclined, they might go to the Levovs about it. But as far as I’ve heard, they’re not letting that money go to waste.”

“What, are they spending it already?”

He nodded. “While they gave you the betting chip you needed, you’ve also given them the means for more men, weapons, and anything else they can spend it on. They’re on the move, and while we don’t know what their end goal is, we can already assume it isn’t great for us.”

Letting those words sink in, I sighed and absently rubbed my temples. “Add them to the list of assholes we need to keep our eyes on. I shouldn’t be surprised they’d take this opportunity to make moves of their own…opportunistic as always.”

“We’re still making reparations with our previous supplier after the last stunt they pulled,” Damien mumbled to himself, visibly annoyed by the thought. “Thanks to the Gromovs interrupting the last time, they’re hesitant to deal with us again. They were our best one, too.”

I nodded, feeling my irritation rising at the thought.

The Gromovs had been leeching since day one—bottom-of-the-barrel scum who weren’t beneath intercepting deals and taking whatever they felt they were entitled to. We were familiar with them back in Canada, constantly dealing with their antics. Once they heard we were leaving the country to lay down roots in New York, they decided to do the same.

It seemed that no matter what we did or where we went, we could never fully shake them. They were a nuisance and always managed to stick their noses where they didn’t belong. Between hijacking deals, trying to hit our warehouses, and weaseling their way into our alliances with other families, twisting and changing the narrative to elevate themselves, they weren’t above playing dirty.

While we were more than willing to do whatever it took, we at least had some integrity when it came to our work. For the most part, anyway.

Still, I couldn’t help but consider Damien’s words more closely. Since the Gromovs were the ones who captured Lara and sold her to me, they had that information to use against us, and if push came to shove, I had no doubt they would take full advantage of it.

Even if they abducted Lara, I had every reason to believe the Levovs would focus their attention more on who currently had their sister rather than who took her in the first place. Regardless, if they found the Gromovs, it would only be a matter of time before they found us, too.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, there was no doubting the growing tension between us and the other families.

While I knew I was poking the bear with the Levovs, I hadn't anticipated the role the Gromovs would end up playing in the whole thing, and I had to be prepared for any outcome.

Regardless of my desire to gain Lara’s trust, I had to keep a close eye on both sides and make sure my plan didn’t completely blow up in my face.