Page 69 of Auctioned to My Bratva Boss

"What do you want?" The words tumbled out the second he released my mouth, my voice shaking. "Money? I've got cash in my bag—take it all!"

I fumbled for my purse zipper.

"Money?" The one with yellow teeth burst into crude laughter. "Fuck, this bitch thinks we're street thugs?"

"We don't want your money. Someone just asked us to deliver a message." The shortest of the three stepped forward.

"What message?"

The tattooed one moved closer, his massive shadow swallowing me whole.

"The pakhan thinks you've become a problem lately." He grinned, cruel and cold. "You're in the way of his future with Miss Gadz. So—"

Pakhan. The word drove into my temple like a nail, blanking my mind for a second. Matvey? No. Impossible.

"What are you talking about?" My voice cracked. "Matvey—he wouldn't—"

"He wants us to take care of you." He said it casually. "Permanently. Erase you from the map."

That couldn't be true. Matvey didn't kill ordinary people without reason. Even if he wanted me gone, he'd find another way.

"You're lying! He wouldn't do this. If it was him, he'd tell me to my face!"

"Tell you to his face?" Yellow Teeth laughed harder. "Little slut, how well do you really know the pakhan? You think he actually gives a shit about you?"

I bit my lip hard. Did I really know Matvey at all? When Veronica showed up, I hadn't even known he had an ex-wife.

"He's just fucking you." Tattoo Man's words sliced through me. "You think your cheap pussy is special? You're just a convenient toy he keeps at the office. Now he's bored, Miss Gadz is back, and trash like you gets thrown out."

My stomach churned violently. Nausea hit in waves.

"I don't believe you." I forced the words out, trying to buy time. "You're from one of his enemies, aren't you?"

If I stalled long enough, maybe someone would pass by.

"Stop fucking dreaming!" Shorty sneered. "The pakhan sent us. You wouldn't stop clinging to him, you stupid bitch."

"But I've never seen you before." I lifted my chin, faking confidence.

I'd never met any of Matvey's men except Anton, and these three were nothing like him. Maybe they really weren't his people.

The three exchanged glances.

"Boss, this bitch is stalling." Yellow Teeth spat.

"I know." Tattoo Man snorted, looking me up and down. "I don't give a fuck if you believe us. Once you disappear, our job's done."

His eyes lingered on my chest and thighs longer than anywhere else. Ice ran through my veins.

"See, originally we were just supposed to kill you." He slowly raised his hand, stroking the stubble on his jaw. "But now I've changed my mind."

"What do you mean?" Dread pooled in my gut.

His mouth twisted into a disgusting leer.

"Look at those tits. That ass. Be a goddamn waste to just kill you." His gaze stripped me naked.

The bile I'd been choking back surged into my throat.