Page 60 of Forced Bratva Prisoner

The question freezes me in place, and I can feel the way my shoulders and back tense up.

I take a slow breath.

“Your father took something from me.”

I don’t want to tell her more than that.

After everything she has been through in her life, she doesn’t deserve to be burdened with more pain or grief.

I will still go ahead with my plan to get revenge on her father, but from this point, it no longer involves Sasha. I want her taken out of it completely. I want to keep her safe from the pain and horror of her father’s deeds.

“What did he take from you?” she asks softly.

“Something I can’t get back.”

She stares into my eyes, and maybe she can tell that it’s not something I want to talk about, so she just nods and bites her lower lip before turning her attention back to dinner.

I appreciate that she isn’t pushing for answers, because she's the one I am trying to protect by keeping them to myself.

When dinner is ready, we stay in the kitchen, sitting on the counter with our legs swinging down as we eat spaghetti and laugh.

The whole mood has changed.

In sharing what she’s been through, she’s let me see a new side of her, and because of that, I know I am treating her differently.

Everything is more relaxed, open, intimate in a completely different way.

I feel like I am seeing her for the first time ever.

After dinner, we do the dishes together, which doesn’t take long because most of the food came from a can. Then I lead her through to the bedroom. I need to rest, and I am sure that after pouring her heart out earlier, she needs rest as well.

I half expect her to tell me she isn’t going to sleep in the same bed as me, but she just climbs beneath the covers and snuggles against my chest.

I wrap my arm around her, and without words, we comfort each other. Lying together, sharing warmth, sharing something more than just our bodies.

I stroke my fingers through her hair and down her back and she runs her hand over my chest. I listen to her breathing as it gets slower and deeper, until her hand goes still, and I know she has fallen asleep.

“I’m going to keep you safe, Sasha,” I whisper in the darkness. “I’m going to make sure you never have to go through that kind of pain again.”

Chapter 18 - Sasha

The day after the car accident, which wasn’t an accident at all, Leon and I leave the safe house. But he doesn’t take me home as I expect him to. Instead, he takes me to a different mansion outside of the city with more security.

It’s a beautiful place up in the hills, surrounded by forests and mountains, and I find it so peaceful here. The cooler weather and gray skies make everything in nature feel cozier and more comforting. We’ve been here for a few weeks now, and I really love it, but at the same time I’m wary and cautious. I struggle to trust, and that hasn’t changed, despite how Leon has been treating me.

In the morning, I wake up to the sound of rain on the big glass windows of the bedroom that overlook the forest. The sound is soothing and beautiful, and when I hear it, I snuggle deeper into my blankets to savor the warmth.

Leon has been sleeping in the bed next to me, even though he has also been very respectful of not expecting anything from me.

He tells me it is for security reasons and that he doesn’t want to risk me sleeping alone. When I complained about it and told him I’d prefer he didn’t, he gave me a choice—either I sleep next to him, or I sleep next to one of the bodyguards.

I could tell by the look on his face that he would never, in a million years, let me sleep next to one of his hired security guys, and I struggled to hide the grin on my face.

The truth is that I’m glad he won’t let me sleep alone, because I find a lot of comfort in his presence. I am scared of my father, and while we are well hidden up in the mountains here, I know my father is a very determined and resourceful man.

“Good morning, little flower.” His voice has me peeking out from beneath the duvet.

“Hello,” I smile.

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