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

Chapter 21 - Alexander

There was a part of me that always doubted the efficacy of having someone important in my life—if having that connection would ever really solve my problems like so many people claim.

But I found myself becoming a believer more and more with each passing day, every day that I got to spend with Lara, discovering more about her and about us.

With her loyalty and faith in me, I felt like I could handle anything, as if my promises to her weighed no more than air itself on my shoulders, and before long, everything troubling us would cease to exist.

As sentimental and mushy as it sounded, I didn’t care. She made me want to make sacrifices and to do everything in my power to prove to her just how serious and invested I was.

I never wanted my wife to be able to say that I never tried, or that I never had her best interests at heart. I was more than ready to do whatever it took to prove that to her.

She was the only one I wanted, and she made everything feel worthwhile.

Driving to the trade we had scheduled that late afternoon, the radio played quietly while Damien sat in the passenger seat and watched the road ahead. With everything seeming to fall into place for me and Lara, I was feeling more optimistic, and I had more of a reason to smile.

Unfortunately, Damien took notice as he glanced over at me, chuckling. “What’s got you like this?”

Schooling my emotions, despite them being positive, I kept it cool as I drove through the city. “I’m just glad that things are going well.”

“With you and Lara?”

I nodded. “She can actually stand me now, so things are looking up.”

Damien chuckled as he leaned back in his seat. “Ah, I see. There’s no more trouble in paradise, then.”

“So far so good,” I hummed, pulling onto the right street that led to the outskirts of the city.

“So, you’re telling me it actually pays to have the same woman returning to your bed?” he asked, tone tinged with sarcasm.

“I know that’s a difficult concept for you, but yes, as a matter of fact, it is,” I said, confident in my statement. “It’s reliable. Comfortable. And surprisingly not as depressing.”

He snickered. “You sound soft, Alex.”

Shrugging him off, I kept going with a grin on my lips. “Not in the ways that count.”

Damien gave me a prolonged look before he let out a bark of laughter from in his seat, the sound drowning out the radio as I joined in, feeling more lighthearted than I had in a long time.

“I want you to never say that to me again,” he continued, amusement still in his voice.

I chuckled, pulling up to the secluded meeting place behind a few of our vehicles where they were parked and waiting at the docks, surrounding our flatbed truck. Some of the workers were busy loading the big steel bins full of product onto the truck while the security detail stood around and watched carefully as it unfolded.

Putting the SUV in park, I straightened myself out and reached for my pistol, ensuring it was loaded. “Alright, funny business aside…it’s time to be serious.”

Despite his grin, Damien cleared his throat and nodded, following my lead as he went to pop his door open. “Right.”

“This shipment is an important one, hence why we’re here to make sure it gets on the road safely. We can’t have anyone interfering,” I said, getting out of the vehicle as Damien nodded his understanding.

I put my pistol in my waistband and took another look around. The guys who noticed us nodded their acknowledgment in our direction before returning their vigilant eyes to the process unfolding ahead.

Even if we had witnessed more than enough trades and deals going down, it was still nerve-racking. At the very least, it kept us on edge until it was done and we had our product back at the warehouses.

Of course, our goods were never completely safe. Not when so many vultures were waiting for their chance to slip in and take advantage of the relatively slow loading situation, and not when our products were sitting almost like treasure under our roof.

Thankfully, we tended to be less of a target, since our operations weren’t quite as major as something the Levovs would undertake. For the most part, we were able to slip under the radar and count our blessings the cops weren’t sniffing around us. Although, given the amount of organized crime happening beneath the surface of everyday life, the police had their hands full already, and we didn’t need to worry about them too much.

We meandered around as the bins were moved, and when our supplier’s associate came out to greet us, we spent some time going over details and making sure the numbers added up as they should.

Just as the last few bins were being loaded on, I glanced over at the sound of an engine nearby, and without warning, a speedboat pulled up to the dock.

My eyes widened as those first shots were fired in our direction, causing us and our guys to take cover so we could regain our bearings. Instinctively, I pulled Damien back and out of the line of fire, forcing him behind one of the SUVs. The supplier shouted, and as gunfire rang out, his employees stopped to hide. At the same time, our security pulled themselves together and aimed, returning bullets.

Quickly, I looked Damien over, making sure there weren’t any bullet holes in him or blood seeping through his shirt. He heaved in a breath, startled by it all, but quickly got to his feet and crouched beside me as he drew his gun.

“Damn Gromovs,” I grunted, aiming over the front of the SUV as I fired my shots at the flurry of men while they ran toward the flatbed truck, shooting at our guys.

Despite picking a few off, they seemed to keep coming, able to land several hits on our security. One in front of us went to shoot, only for his body to whip back as they riddled his upper half with bullets before he hit the ground.

I gritted my teeth and kept shooting, pushing back the slight fluster from how they had the upper hand in the situation.

“Push them back!” I called, moving away from the SUV to close around them, firing still.

As more of them were taken out, our guys continued to press forward, not giving in despite how several of our own went down.

Two men dressed in black from head to toe bolted for the truck, aiming for the driver’s seat. But before either of them could get in, I shot the first, knocking one down in front of the other. A bullet from Damien took out the second just as his foot reached the step.

Soon shouting came from the speedboat before the engine roared and they pulled away. Several of our guys still fired after them, bullets ricocheting off the frame, but not managing to get any more kills as they left.

Once everything fell silent with the Gromovs gone, I panted and tried to collect myself as I glanced around, taking in the scene completely.

There were numerous bodies strewn about on the pavement by the docks—split half and half of ours and theirs. More of our guys than I was willing to lose in one shot.

Forcing out a breath, I scrubbed a hand down my face and looked over at Damien to find him just as rattled despite how he tried to hide it.

“I’ve had it with those bastards,” I muttered, shaking my head.

Damien sighed and tucked his pistol away before he looked the truck over while our guys regrouped. “At the very least, the payload is still here…we’ll get it back to the warehouse as soon as we can and figure out what to do about the Gromovs.”

Pulling in a breath, I nodded, giving the instructions to our men as they picked up the pieces and got to it.

Before long, the truck was ready and sent out on the road while I made amends with the supplier, adding in some additional cash for the trouble. Thankfully, it was enough to keep them in our back pocket.

While Damien was right and the important part was secured, it was a close call, and I couldn’t help but feel the heat from it. If things went any differently, the Gromovs likely would’ve made off with our supply, and it would’ve given them a much bigger advantage than I was willing to hand over.

With a few security guards left behind, Damien and I were getting ready to head out when my phone rang, and I leaned against the SUV as I pulled it out of my pocket and found Ari’s caller ID on the screen.

My jaw clenched immediately, and I forced out a breath. Damien glanced at me before I waved him off, and he got into the vehicle while he waited.

Steeling myself against my curiosity, I answered the call and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Levov.”

“You’ve had an eventful afternoon, Novikov,” he said with a knowing tone. “It’s fortunate you pulled through.”

I gritted my teeth at that, reminding myself to watch my mouth. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have received such a subdued response from me. “We took care of it. How did you know, anyway?”

He chuckled. “We have connections to virtually all surveillance in the city. If something happens, we see it. We just so happened to watch as the whole thing unfolded.”

“So it definitely wasn’t your guys?”

Ari snickered coldly. “Of course not. We wouldn’t stoop that low—hijacking is beneath us.”

Forcing out a breath, I tried to push my irritation back, murmuring sarcastically, “What a relief, then.”

After a moment, his voice returned to me. “That being said, you may have fended those greasy bastards off for now, but that was too close for your liking, wasn’t it? I bet that gave you a bit of a fright, or put some hair on your chest, at least.”

When I didn’t answer, gritting my teeth still, Ari chuckled and continued, tone shifting to a more serious one, “Tell me, Novikov, if you can’t manage to keep your operations secure, what kind of leader does that make you?”

More anger flared within me, and I shoved it down as I answered tensely, “One who can’t control every outside force. Even the best kingpins can’t avoid every hit.”

Ari hummed, but it lacked any sort of pleasure or interest. Instead, there was a hint of amused contempt. “True enough…we’ve all had our blunders. But that near-loss must have shaken your confidence slightly, right? I bet it’s making you question your capabilities.”

Swallowing back my rage, feeling scrutinized, I muttered through the phone, “What is this call really about?”

Ari took a beat before he spoke, tone serious. “This is about you walking a fine line, and whether you can truly protect Lara like you claim you can. I can’t help but wonder if you even have what it takes to be in this business at all.”

“One sideways deal isn’t indicative of anything,” I snap back, unable to fully temper my anger. He was pushing and getting in my head, but I couldn’t let him sway me. It was what he wanted, but I wasn’t going to give in to it. “I handled it, as I handle everything else. Lara is at home safe, and as far away from any of this as possible.”

“That might be true now, but what happens when someone decides to use her against you? When you slip up, and my sister suddenly becomes blackmail?” Ari questioned, tone biting.

I ground my teeth again, standing my ground. “It won’t happen.”

Ari forced out a breath then, and I could hear the reluctance in it. “I sure as hell hope you mean it, Novikov. If anything happens to my sister, you’ll wish you were in hell instead of enduring what I’d do to you.”

Taking a discreet breath, I tried my hardest to push down just how agitated he was making me. I had to think of Lara and what I promised her. I was vying for peace and a genuine alliance, and I couldn't make things worse just because Ari knew how to get under my skin far more efficiently than I cared for.

“By the way,” Ari mumbled, cutting through that momentary silence between us. “I also called because those damn Gromovs tried to hit our business. We took care of it quicker than you did, but I won’t stand for this. Since they are your hangers-on, I expect you to handle this situation before we accrue any more damages. Maybe then I’ll reconsider my opinion of you. Got it?”

I clenched my fist to hold in what I truly wanted to say, enraged that the Gromovs were pushing from every side, but I nodded to myself. “Fine. They’ll be handled.”

A note of satisfaction accompanied his words. “Good. I’m looking forward to seeing what you cook up. Remember, I’m watching. Even when you think I’m not, I have my eye on you. Make sure my sister is your utmost priority.”

Before I could say anything else, the call dropped, and I sighed, using everything in my power to not crush the phone in my hand.

I cursed to myself as I stood there, looking out across the water as anger coursed through me. As much as I didn’t want to read too deeply into any of Ari’s threatening words, I couldn’t put aside that nagging feeling in my gut, wondering if he had a point.

Guilt made my chest feel heavy again at the thought of bringing Lara into everything. Even if she was at home and safe under my protection, I couldn’t guarantee anything. There would always be enemies, and always someone looking to get the upper hand over me. At any given point, someone I cared about the most could be taken away and used as leverage.

I hated even thinking about it. And I hated that Ari wasn’t entirely wrong.