Page 13 of Forced By the Bratva

Looking into his gray eyes, I noticed a softness in them. “I’ll consider it,” he said softly. Turning back to the mansion, he continued as we walked. “You must promise not to run away again, and I’ll see what we can do about your situation.”

“Thank you, Piotr,” I replied, feeling safe for the first time in many years.

At the gate, Konstantin and Mila stood waiting. Mila didn’t look pleased, but she kept quiet. I was glad she didn’t say something, as I still wasn’t sure how I felt about these people.

We all headed back up the long path in silence. Back at the mansion, Mila made another cup of coffee. This time, we sat in silence on the front veranda, enjoying our coffee.

Mila and Konstantin took our cups to the kitchen. Once inside, Piotr stood, holding out his hand as he spoke. “I’m moving you to another room.”

Taking his hand, I followed him inside. “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest from the start,” I said as we headed up the stairs. “It’s hard for me to trust people.”

Chapter 8 - Piotr

I lead Alyssa up to the third floor to my room at the very end. The one next to it, I had prepared for her. The room was adjoined to mine through a door. It also had a personal bathroom, so we wouldn’t have to share.

Opening the door, I allowed her to walk in first. “You will be staying in this room from now on. You can consider it as your own. I hope it is to your liking, though. If not, just let me know, and we can make changes.”

Alyssa surveyed the room before turning to me. Her smile was warm, and her tone soft. “Thank you, it is lovely. But you really didn’t have to…”

“No, no, it was no trouble at all,” I said, interrupting her. “I want you to be comfortable and feel welcome here.”

I noticed her cheeks turning a light red as she lowered her gaze to the floor. “Thank you, Piotr,” she said, turning back to the room.

“The door to the right is the bathroom. My room is through the door to the left. Should you need anything, you can just knock.” I added as I stepped back out of the room. “I have moved the clothing left by Cindy to these closets and will arrange to have your things brought here.”

Alyssa didn’t move as she replied. “Thanks.”

Leaving, I headed to my room and waited a while. Everything was quiet in her room, so after a quick shower, I went to bed. I would call Jones in the morning and make arrangements to collect her belongings.

I woke early with movement in the next room. Standing at the adjoining door, I listened. It sounded like Alyssa was talking to someone. Knocking lightly, I opened the door a sliver and peeked inside. She was still sleeping but seemingly having a dream.

Closing the door again, I got ready for the day. After having an early cup on the veranda, I joined Mila in the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Alyssa was in the bathroom when I went to call her for breakfast.

“Alyssa,” I said through the closed door. “Breakfast is ready.”

“Thank you, I’ll be down shortly.” She replied softly.

We were basically done when Alyssa joined us in the kitchen. She appeared slightly more reserved than the previous two days. Alyssa helped Mila clean up and headed back to her room. She only came down again at lunchtime and seemed to be keeping to herself. It felt like she was tiptoeing around us.

Alyssa was kind of adorable in the way she tried to avoid us. I imagined it was how she was living with Jones. Sitting on the bean bag in my room, I felt the start of a headache. Just thinking of all she has been through made my anger rise. Jones treated her so badly.

After she told me more about her life, I couldn’t help feeling a deeper need to protect her. All I wanted to do was go out and beat the crap out of Jones. No man had the right to treat a woman the way he did. He wasn’t a man; he was an animal. No, even animals were better than he was.

She was confined to a small room growing up. As she aged, he started using her for his evil bidding. I understood her need to flee from him. But even with all she told me, I couldn’t bring myself to let her go. Surely not to a foreign country all by herself. I wanted to protect her, and I would.

My instincts were screaming at me. I wouldn’t allow Jones to hurt her ever again. Rising from the bean bag, I walked to the window and stared at the world outside. Drawn in by my emotions, I was startled when my phone rang.

Glancing at the screen as I removed it from my pocket, I felt my blood boiling. It was Jones. My first instinct was to let it ring. But I needed to arrange for her things. Plus, I needed to know what he wanted. So, I decided to answer.

“Good afternoon, Jones. How can I help you?” I spoke into the phone after swiping up to accept the call. Thinking back to what Alyssa had said, I wondered if he intended to invite us over so he could try to convince me to fight.

His voice sounded a bit slurred as it boomed through the receiver. “Hi, I want to come see my daughter. I want to make sure she is doing okay, you understand.”

As he spoke, my grip tightened on the phone. How dare he say such things. Keeping my tone as calm as possible, I responded in a rush. “I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. But I can assure you she is fine. I would, however, like to send someone to collect her things.”

There was a slight pause, and then it sounded like something metal had fallen over. “No, no,” Jones breathed into the phone. “You don’t get to keep her from me. She is my daughter, and I will come see her. Do you understand?”

Shaking my head, I tried to keep my anger from taking control. “I’m sorry, but we are busy…”

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