Page 115 of Bound By Hate (Born in Blood)

I wish I could stay in this moment forever.

But good things never last forever.

And when I seehimwalk into the café and up to our table, I feel every ounce of dread settle into my stomach.

Gleb smiles down at me. “How have you been, Viktoriya? Is married life treating you well?”

Every part of my body stiffens. “What are you doing here?” I ask, even though I can barely feel my lips moving.

Sofiya’s guard approaches our table. “You need to leave,” he tells Gleb.

“They’re going to want to hear what I have to say,” he responds. “And I wouldn’t call your boss. Not if you want to explain to him why his wife is dead.” He pulls back his jacket, revealing his gun.

“Let him talk,” I say.

“Vik,” Sofiya hisses.

“I’m not going to let any of us get killed.” I nod at the guard. “Let him talk.” The guard nods back but doesn’t move.I’m ok, I tell myself. Gleb can’t hurt me in a crowded café.

He sits down beside me, and I grit my teeth to keep from screaming. “Here’s the deal: I was supposed to get money from both of you.” He points at Mila and me. She sinks lower into her chair, and Sofiya wraps her arm around her shoulders. “But you”—he points at me— “killed the guy who bought you before I could get paid. And you”—he turns his eyes onto Mila— “were saved by your annoying sister and her husband before I could get paid. I expect to get my money. So, if you don’t want problems, then you’re going to need to pay me.”

“The moment I call my husband to give me the money,” I say, “he’ll come over here and kill you himself.”

“I figured as much. Which is why I got help.” Gleb looks out the window and nods. I frown, turning to see who he’s nodding at, when the windows explode. Glass shatters everywhere. I gasp as the explosion forces me from my seat, and I land on the ground, hard. Mila and Sofiya are also thrown to the ground beside me.

The other customers are in the same position. Sofiya’s guard tries to run to us, but Gleb shoots him in the head. A woman screams and runs out of the café.

I groan, pressing myself to a seat. My rib is still healing, and the force of the explosion didn’t fucking help.

Gleb stands over me. “You’re going to get me my money.”

“Fuck you,” I spit out. He pistol whips me on the head.

“Vik!” Mila screams.

All I can see is blackness for a moment before my vision clears.

“I don’t think you understood me,” Gleb says, crouching down beside me. “Your husband is going to pay me because I’mgoing to take you and your sisters as collateral. And I have a fun little twist.” He nods to the door as a man steps inside.

The man is young, probably in his thirties, with slicked-back hair and a nice suit.

“That’s Leo,” Gleb explains. “He’s the son of Akim—the man you killed.”

All the fight leaves my body as I sit in there, crippled by fear.

Gleb smiles savagely. “He wants revenge for the death of his father. He’s come to collect, just as I have. So, why don’t you girls come with me?”

I share a look with my sisters. The three of us know we’re in big trouble.

I tried to escape my past. I tried to move on from the trauma of the auction and what Akim tried to do to me.

But Gleb is right—everything has a price. The Bratva is a dark organization full of evil men. It was silly to think I was safe.

I’m frozen in fear as Gleb grabs my arms and hauls me to stand.

There’s no more fight left in me.

Chapter

---