Page 1 of The Bratva's Hostage

Chapter 1 - Maksim

It’s a bloody woman?!

The cold blade of my knife faltered against the smooth neck of the intruder in surprise when I noticed the full, sensual lips and soft jawline that definitely could not belong to a man.

Who the fuck would send a woman to snoop around my office?

Whoever she was, she was obviously talented. It was a clean job. She must have been watching me for a while since she knew to come in after I had left. She had also disabled all the CCTV cameras. Well… all the ones she could find.

Nikolai should hear this. That’ll shut his fucking mouth.

My office building was pretty decked out security-wise, so when I added the secret motion-detection camera inside the office, my brother thought it was overkill and said I was paranoid. That paranoia was the only reason I caught this intruder right now.

I’d gotten the intruder alert on my phone about fifteen minutes after I left the building, and when I checked, all I’d seen was the figure of a person before I turned around and sped back to catch them red-handed.

She’s lucky I was in a good mood to ask questions. I would have stabbed her on the spot otherwise.

I had startled her with my sudden appearance too, she leaped back from my desk when I kicked in the door. She’d tried to escape through the window, but I’d grabbed her by the arm and pinned her against the wall before she could go any further. It was then that I realized she wasn’t a guy.

“It seems I’ve caught a brave cat this evening.” I towered over the mystery woman. “Who the fuck are you kotenok (kitten)? Do you have any idea where you’ve broken into?”

She didn’t say anything, but I saw the corners of her mouth curl in a frown. It drew my attention to a sexy mole just under the edge of her lips on the right side. I couldn’t see the rest of her face since she was wearing a balaclava, but I could feel her shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

I wonder what she looks like…

I should not have wondered. I got distracted. I was reaching for her balaclava to rip it off and moved the knife away from her neck absentmindedly as a result. I’d underestimated her.

She was quick. Quicker than I expected. Her slim frame moved in a flash, dodging my hand which was going for her head at the same time that her knee came up, viciously aiming for my balls.

“Bloody hell! This crazy bit-” My hands moved downward instinctively, blocking her knee, and pushing it back down. She expected that though, as her flow of movement did not stop there. She sidestepped me expertly, escaping from her place between me and the wall.

I reached for her once I caught myself. I was much larger, so I covered more ground easily, bending to her level as I extended myself. Yet again, this woman was prepared for that. She moved to the side immediately, dodging my lunge and even counterattacking with a spinning elbow aimed at my face.

I brought my hand up just in time to block her, my eyes grew wide. Now I was ticked off. Did she just…As though she knew she’d be fucked once she lost the element of surprise, she didn’t stop moving. She was already halfway to the door.

“Boss!” I heard the heavy footsteps of my men coming up the stairs.

Those fuckers. It’s about time they got here. I’d called them before I ambushed her.

The intruder froze in the middle of the room. My men were running down the hallway, and I was standing in her way to the window. I grinned maliciously, feeling vindictive after the way she had attacked me.

“Where to now, kotenok?” I was sure she was trapped.

Wrong again.

Just as my men began to pour into the room, loaded guns aimed forward, she changed direction and dived into the bathroom instead.

“Der'mo! (Shit)” I ran after her, grabbing onto the door handle right as she slammed it shut. I heard the lock click and my last bit of patience snapped.

“Fuck. I kicked the door furiously. “Ty suka! (you bitch) when I get my hands on you, you’ll wish you surrendered when I was being nice.”

Her little escape plan was about as effective as an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. There was nowhere to run to now. A locked door wasn’t going to save her.

“Pahkan what’s-” one of my men approached me, a confused expression on his face. They’d all burst in with their guns out, but upon finding the office empty except for me kicking at the door, he’d holstered his again.

I didn’t care to hear the rest of his question. I grabbed his gun from his holster and shot the door handle twice. Satisfied, I kicked in the door with one blow, only to find the bathroom empty.

There was glass on the floor from the high window being shattered, and the sink was broken too.

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