Page 91 of Auctioned to My Bratva Boss

"I'll pretend to agree to everything. Let their guard down. You take positions around the perimeter and put a sniper on the roof across the street." I finally said. "Wait for my signal."

"Yes, pakhan."

The auction house doors opened before me.

Four thugs with guns surrounded me, shoving me against the wall and patting me down head to toe.

"Pakhan, no offense." The lead guy pulled my phone from my pocket, then triple-checked I wasn't carrying weapons.

I didn't resist. Let them shove me inside. With each step forward, my heart sank lower.

Down the long red-carpeted corridor, my view opened up. In the center of the brightly lit hall, on that damned stage, there was Riley. Tied to a chair, her face paper-white.

Veronica stood behind her with a knife, smiling sweetly. "Matvey, you finally made it."

My heart took a punch. I wanted to kill everyone who'd hurt Riley.

When she saw me, Riley made muffled sounds. She shook her head frantically, tears streaming down.

We locked eyes across the hall. That stubborn look in her eyes—the same as when we first met. That look, from the night it first hit me from the auction stage, made my dead heart start hurting again.

"Riley, don't be afraid." I walked quickly toward the stage, mouthing the words silently.

Tears hung on her lashes. She was still trying to tell me to leave.

"Don't move." I'd barely reached the front of the stage when a familiar voice came from behind. Victor, that bastard.

Something hard pressed into the small of my back.

I crushed the urge to charge the stage and rip the knife from Riley's throat. Any move right now could get Riley hurt. I had to do what Victor said.

Victor kept his gun on me, slowly circling to my side.

His cheekbones jutted from sallow skin, eyes sunken. The drugs had obviously hollowed him out.

"Matvey Bykov." He said smugly. "You actually came alone, unarmed and obedient. Guess this little bitch really means something to you."

I ignored him. My eyes stayed on Riley.

"Tell me what you want. Any condition, as long as you let her go."

The instant I said it, Riley's eyes went wide. Tears poured harder.

I'd never said anything like that to anyone in my life. In my world, every deal got calculated for profit and loss. But now, I willingly pushed all my chips onto the table, just to keep Riley alive.

"Any condition?" Veronica laughed. She pressed the knife to Riley's throat. "You hear that, Victor? The Bykov pakhan says he'll agree to any condition."

Victor snorted.

"Matvey, I want you on your knees, repenting for everything you've done." Her face twisted with venom. "You made me the laughingstock of Moscow. You need to kneel and taste that humiliation!"

If kneeling would save Riley, of course I'd kneel. But I knew Veronica too well. She didn't want repentance—she wanted to watch the man she hated bow at her feet. Even if I knelt, she wouldn't actually free Riley. Or rather, she didn't have that authority.

Sure enough, Victor cut her off impatiently.

"Enough, Veronica." His tone held no courtesy. "Business first. Your personal grudge can wait."

He circled in front of me, gun aimed between my eyes.