Page 6 of The Bratva's Nanny

He kicked his legs off the couch, took a sip from the cup—from my favorite straw— and had the audacity to fling the cup aside. In horror, I watched the liquid spill and seep into the cobalt-blue rug.

He sauntered up to me, invaded my personal space, and crooked a ringed finger under my chin.

“Yes, honey. It’s me,” he said, wearing the same grin he had on whenever he visited.

It took a bout of self-control not to spit on his face.

Finn Jameson.

With the crazy puff adder inked on the right side of his face, his bearded chin, and the ghostly look in his eyes, he looked like a dead man walking.

He represented everything I hated—the past, the reminders that there was a time I didn’t believe I was good enough or strong enough. I could stand a thousand Georges, but the presence of one Finn could ruin my entire year.

Finn was a shark, a fucking loan shark. And the only reason he was in my life was because my father owed him money—lots and lots of it. To worsen it, two years ago, the old man had died, leaving me to deal with his devils.

Today was the first time in two years that I stood before this devil face to face. He never came in person, always threatening me to return his money over texts. Monthly, I sent in five to ten grand, and while I knew there was still a huge outstanding amount, I thought it was enough to keep him away.

I wondered why he decided to show his face.

His fingers danced under my chin, and his gaze lingered on my lips. Disgust coiled in my stomach at the look in his eyes, and I wished to be anywhere else but close to him.

“Where’s my money, Maria?”

I tried to move away, but the lineup of men behind prevented me from doing so.

“It’s coming,” I managed to mutter through clenched teeth.

He laughed close to my face, and his breath smelled worse than the human wall behind me.

“You know,” he was saying, his eyes raking down my face, from my purple crop top to my black leggings, my worn-out white Converse, and back to my face, “back then, when your daddy was alive, I never noticed you. Look at you, all grown up now to be a fine young woman. Ha. There are so many things we can do together. Think about it….”

His fingers did some more dancing, and my skin burned.

“So many ways you can pay back your daddy’s loan. I know one for sure: me on top and you under.”

I flashed a smile and made sure he saw how much hatred my eyes held. “Yeah, that will only ever happen in your dreams. And you’ll have to keep dreaming for a long, long time.”

If he was surprised by my sharp retort, he didn’t show it. But he withdrew his fingers from my chin and aimed to tuck my hair behind my ear.

In a flash, I grabbed his wrist, and the sound of my palm slapping against his wrist echoed in the room.

I shot him an icy glare. “You’re going to get your money back in a month.”

Now, he didn’t bother to hide his surprise.

“In a month, you say?” His gaze dragged from one man behind me to the other. “The pretty one here says she’s going to pay me fifty grand in one month. You hear that, guys?”

Their mocking laughter echoed in the room, the resounding bass grating my nerves. I wanted all of them to leave, and if saying I would have fifty thousand dollars ready in one month could push them out the door, I was willing to say it as many times as it took.

“I mean it.”

I wanted to bite him or rather scratch the nasty snarl off his lips as he leaned closer.

“I’ll choose to believe you, sweetheart. Better have my money ready by next month. Else we’re going to have to put this attitude of yours in check. And don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.”

He mimicked a dog bite in the air and walked away with a mischievous smirk. The rest of his men filed behind him. When the last of them disappeared through the door, I slammed it with every ounce of force in me and collapsed to the ground.

Their exit took the last straw of my confidence along with them. Gone was the tough girl who liked to believe she knew enough Taekwondo and jiu-jitsu to stand a fighting chance against over a dozen hefty men.

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