Page 37 of Forced Bratva Prisoner

“Fuck that. She is going to feel a world of pain at my hands.” Rico’s grip on her throat tightens, and for the first time, I look into Sasha’s eyes. They are bright with tears, wide with fear and begging for help. My heart clenches tight in my chest.

Seeing her like this, in the hands of another man, slams a hundred emotions into me, and every single one of them surprise me.

I want to help her.

I want to protect her.

She is genuinely terrified, and I hate to see her this way.

“Rico. This is the last fucking time I will say this. Let go of my wife right now.”

“Fuck off. You don’t know what her father did to me,” he snarls.

He’s not listening. He has no intention of letting her go and the tears are streaming down her face, over his hand where it’s locked across her mouth.

An intense, ferocious rage spikes in my body, and I throw a punch so hard that when it connects with Rico’s jaw, he is thrown backwards against the wall. He lets go of Sasha, and she collapses to the floor, gasping for air.

I grab Rico by the throat and lift him to his feet, slamming him against the wall as I speak close to his face, growling darkly, “If you ever touch her again, the alliance you have with the Dubrovs is finished. Do you understand? Is there anything about what I just said that is unclear?”

He shakes his head weakly, his eyes filled with shock.

I let him go and he staggers on his feet.

Maxim arrives behind us.

“What’s going on?” he asks, concerned and trying to take it all in.

I lean down and lift Sasha in my arms. She is crying, her entire body shaking.

“I’m taking Sasha home. Rico thought it was a good time to try and kidnap her. We had a minor disagreement. Will you deal with it?” I ask Maxim.

“Yeah, go on. I’ll sort this out,” he replies, nodding, with his brows knitted tightly together. “Is she alright?”

“She’ll be fine as long as he never goes near her again,” I snap, glaring at Rico one last time before turning my back on all of them and carrying Sasha out to the car.

I gently place her into the passenger seat and strap her seatbelt around her. She hasn’t said a word, but she also hasn’t stopped shaking. Her eyes seem distant, as though she’s locked in her mind somewhere.

“Sasha?” I say gently, but she doesn’t reply.

We drive home in silence. I keep glancing over at her, but her expression is pained, and she won’t look back at me. When we get there, she walks slowly up to the bedroom. I follow her there, wondering what the hell happened to make her shut down like this. What did Rico do to her?

Sasha sits on the edge of the bed. I can see her body still shaking from where I am standing, leaning against the door with my arms folded across my chest, wondering what to do. I watch her for a while as she stares blankly at the floor.

I don’t know why, but seeing her like this really bothers me.

I grab the soft fluffy blanket from the foot of the bed and wrap it around her shoulders, hoping it will ease the shaking.

“I’ll leave you alone for a bit,” I say, unsure of how to help her or why I feel I want to.

“What? No,” she says quickly, looking up at me for the first time since we left the house.

“No what?”

“Please—don’t leave me alone,” she whispers as fresh tears begin to spill down her face.

My brows furrow deeper and I sit down on the bed next to her.

Shocking me, she immediately shifts closer to me. Instinctively, I wrap my arm around her and pull her higher on the bed so that she can lean against me more comfortably.

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