Page 56 of Forced Bratva Wife

The lineup of men he returned to didn’t move enough for me to get a good read, but the one at the far end had an obvious black eye.

That’s two.

All right, but that’s not enough. I need—

“Aww, look who’s awake.”

My thoughts were cut short, and my mouth fell open. I’d know that voice anywhere.

“Dad.”

“Wakey wakey, baby. You want eggs?”

I just glared.

“Oh, that’s right. I never made that shit. You had to take care of yourself like all children should. But the lot of you are whiny, lazy assholes.”

“Why are you doing this? I realize we don’t have a relationship. I was fucking fine with it. But why rope me into all this shit? You can’t possibly hate me that much. It’d be too much work.”

He sauntered over, that limp I was looking for present here, and a tiny flicker of hope bloomed in my chest.

“Ah, you’re right. I don’t really hate you that much. But I do hate this fucking position I’m in. I’m better than some fucking loan shark. I deserve better. So, I’m taking it. One Vadim family member at a time.”

Disgust pooled in my gut like acid. This was really about some fucking bid to move up the mafia ranks. My father was trying to be a mobster. What the hell was the world coming to?

“And how exactly are you going to do that, hmm? You can’t handle Lev and his men, even with this half-assed crew you assembled.”

I was pushing my luck, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. I wanted all the information I could get to help myself—and Lev. Unfortunately, I was rewarded as expected, and Dear Old Dad came up to me fast, laying a slap across my face.

“You think I’m stupid?” He came across the other cheek, but I was still expecting this; it’s always how he acted when I riled him up. “I’m not going to have Lev’s whole crew here. He’s coming alone. Alone and unarmed because apparently, you matter to this asshole.”

My mouth dropped, and it had nothing to do with the pain roaring through my face. Lev couldn’t do that. There were too many in this fucking warehouse. He wouldn’t survive that.

“I’ll hand it to you, kiddo. You work fast. You got that man all wrapped around your pussy like he actually gives one hell of a shit about you. If you were on my side, I could use those skills.”

My stomach clenched. Every time I thought my father couldn’t get worse, he proved me wrong. But that really wasn’t important right now. This was so much worse than I imagined. I couldn’t let Lev get blown away by these assholes. But what the fuck can you do?

“And you won’t do that, will ya? You won’t step up and actually be of use to your father like you should.”

God, was he still going on about using my “feminine allure” to swindle people out of their lives? Pavel Kozlovsky, you are the absolute worst.

“No. I can’t say I’m a fan of that idea.”

I spit on the floor, the taste of copper too strong in my mouth to sit with any longer. I could feel the split in the inside of my lip, and when the saliva and blood hit the floor, Pavel just laughed to himself.

“Well, doesn’t really matter, does it?” He walked forward again, bending at the waist to stare me in the eye. “Your boyfriend is already on his way, and it doesn’t matter if he sneaks in a weapon or men. I’ve got this place crawling with friends, and we’re all packing and padded. Ending Lev Vadim is going to be a cakewalk.”

I wanted to rebut or even just come up with something that could upset him, but I was too worried to think. It was so damn bad. And if I had to sit here, zip-tied to this damn chair, while Lev was killed in front of me…

I wasn’t going to make it.

At once, that thought truly hit me. I couldn’t stand the idea of losing him. Even now, my chest was pinching so much I could scarcely breathe, and that urge to cry was stronger.

“Well, have fun tied up. I better take my position with the others.”

My father started walking back into the shadows where he came from, and inch by inch, I gradually lost sight of him.

Before all this, I might have felt some kind of way about Pavel being killed. A mixture of guilt and pain and relief, most likely, but now. Now, the thought of killing him myself burned bright in my veins, and I’d never been a violent person.

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