Page 47 of Forced & Owned By the Bratva Boss

Most men in my world prefer their women docile. I thought I did too, until I met Audrey.

“I won’t say a word until I know who sent these to you.” She pauses and holds my stare. “How do you know for sure that this isn’t a setup?”

My brow arches. I don’t know whether to be stunned or impressed by her. “Is it?”

She glances away and exhales loudly, clamping her hands together on the table. She remains in that position for a moment longer than my patience can tolerate.

If it were someone else, they’d be on their knees by now, bloody and begging for mercy. But no matter how deeply the betrayal runs, I don’t think I can bring myself to touch even a strand of hair on her body.

Just watching her cry earlier made me want to toss the folder in the trash and call it a day. But I can’t dismiss this because my life, the lives of my men, everything I’ve built, and even her life, depend on finding out who’s behind this.

She’s still silent, stubbornly refusing to answer my questions, and that makes me even angrier.

Her silence and body language say it all. It’s true. Or at least there’s some truth to it.

I can’t tell how much of it is true and how much isn’t, especially when she’s refusing to give me an explanation.

My mind drifts back to the attack. Now it makes sense why they shot at her, too. Whoever did this may have been afraid she’d spill the truth. They saw her as a threat and tried to take her out.

My mind fogs. All of this is too complicated to piece together at once. For all I know, she could’ve been just a pawn in someone else’s game. She might’ve been threatened into doing this.

Pushing up from my chair, I step around the desk, doing my best to keep the rage gathering inside me under control. Scaring her even more won’t get me the answers I’m looking for, but it’s impossible for me to dismiss all the emotions I’m feeling.

It’s a raging blend of anger, betrayal, and the need to shed blood.

I understand wanting to burn down my empire over what happened a year ago. I understand if her pride is still wounded and she’s mad at me, but I didn’t deceive her back then. I made it clear from the jump that love and all of the Disney bullshit wasn’t my thing.

Love means vulnerability, and vulnerability means death in my world. Still, I’d been honest about not being able to give her anything more than good sex, some attention, and money.

So if she wanted to destroy my empire, why the hell did she choose to play with my emotions and make a fool out of me first?

My chest constricts, my heart twisting like I’ve been stabbed.

I stop right in front of her, then press my finger under chin, forcing her to look at me.

“If your goal was to burn my life down,” I bark, fury cracking through my restraint, “then explain why you let me fall for you again.”

Chapter Thirteen

Audrey

The way he forces me to look into his eyes steals every coherent thought from my head.

For a long moment, all I can do is stare at him. The pain in his eyes cuts deeper than his anger ever could. He isn’t just furious. He’s hurt.

Which I find weird, because for a long time, I’ve justified my actions by telling myself Igor’s not the type of man who would be hurt over betrayal. He’d be angry, of course. I even came to terms with the possibility that he might murder me.

But this—the way he’s looking at me as if his heart is shattering into pieces inside his chest—is the last thing I expected.

Regret and guilt hit me all at once.

I should’ve told him the truth last night, or even come to the club right after that call with Sergei. I just didn’t expect this would be happening so quickly, and despite my intention to open up to him about everything, I came too late. Way too late.

Turning my face away from his grip, I lower my gaze to the files scattered across the desk, forcing myself to breathe before panic completely takes over.

This isn’t the time for me to be careless with my thoughts or actions. One mistake is all it will take to lose him and the life I’ve started dreaming I could have with him, and I can’t risk that happening.

I need to come up with something. I need to think fast, before he begins to suspect I’m trying to manipulate my way out of giving him the answers he’s demanding from me.