Page 35 of Arranged Marriage By the Bratva

“I figured you might be. And for the record, I’m happy the slimy son of a bitch didn’t get a chance to touch her. She’s tough. I take back what I said about her on the yacht,” Yegor praises, nodding his head in a mark of respect for Elena.

“Me too, Yegor. Me too.” Elena is as fierce as I once thought she was, but I want to protect my lioness. I don’t want to tame her anymore. “Get Turan’s car key’s back to him. I’ll be in touch once I check with Elena.”

“Okay, Boss.” Yegor and the men depart as I catch up to Elena and we head to the sanctuary of our room.

“Elena.” I wait as she turns in my direction, her pretty face marked by a suffocating darkness I’ve never seen before. There’s an ache in my chest that I’ve never known, and I know it’s because of her. Taking a step in her direction, I bring the seemingly fragile creature into my arms, cradling her, and her arms slowly wrap around my waist. She sobs into my chest, and I let her break down until she’s all cried out.

Once she’s done, she wipes at the wet spot on my shirt. “Your shirt is soaked.” She sniffles, retreating to the couch and huddling into one section of it.

I follow her, bending down to kiss her temple and stroke the side of her arms. “I don’t care about my shirt. Elena, what do you want to do?”

“I need to go to Sicily. Matteo wants power, and in order for him to be in power, he has to get rid of anyone who carries the Mancini name. I nod in acknowledgment, my thumb caressing the back of Elena’s hand. I’m fully aware of what she means, because I had similar intentions when we got married. In fact, it was the main reason I married the Donna, aside from the fact I wanted to tame her in the process.

Elena’s caramel-colored eyes stare into mine, and I know that plan is out the window now. She’s put a spell on me, and I don’t want it taken off. Things have changed between us, and I don’t want power over her. I want to be powerful with her. “The jet can be ready to go in the next half hour. I promise you, Elena. We can go whenever you want.”

“We can go?”

“Yes. We can go. I’ve already put Yegor on standby. Why don’t you freshen up with a shower and then we can take off?”

Elena’s mouth tugs into a tight grimace. “Of course. I will freshen up.”

“Okay.” Elena walks slowly to the shower, and as she reaches the bathroom door, she turns back to me. “What is it?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet; let’s get to Italy first.” I wink in an attempt to lighten the mood. While Elena showers, I contact Yegor.

“Organize the private jet for Sicily.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now, and you’re on the flight with us. Be prepared, we’re going after Matteo.”

“I thought as much. Preparation?”

“Well, he is a rat, so I think we should give him the special treatment. Don’t you think?”

“Ahhhh, that special. I understand.” Yegor chuckles darkly.

“Good. Give us no less than an hour and we should be ready to go. Elena’s in the shower now.”

“Alright. Done. See you out front.”

“Perfect.” I click off the call, making my own preparations, including gathering my bulletproof vest, retaining the bullets for my handgun, and laying out my all-black outfit.

A few minutes later, I hear the water stop running, and when Elena quietly emerges in her robe with her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, I feel a tug in my heart.

When she raises her arms to put her hair in a ponytail, I frown, and when I look closely at her I notice other bruises I didn’t see before, some of them around her neck. I stand up and walk over to her. That makes me feel guilty too, because I contributed to them, even if it was before I knew about the baby being mine and that she didn’t cheat.

Elena stops for a second as I grasp a coil of her hair. “Hey,” she says softly as I gently take her hand and lift it up, taking a closer look.

“Nikk, let me get dressed; it’s fine, it’s fine,” she says, her voice crackly, and her eyes puffy and red.

“Okay, I’m here, Elena,” I tell her in a low tone as she moves to the closet, picking out a black outfit too. When she drops her robe, to put on her top, that’s when I see the full extent of her injuries. There’s angry red scratch marks on her back, and mottled bruises dotted around her back. “Are you serious, Elena? Have you seen your back?”

“Yes, I know,” she replies, tears welling in her eyes as she pulls on black pants, bruises on her legs as well. “He took his frustration out on me. I didn’t feel it at the time—I couldn’t.” Elena sniffles, tears spilling onto the floor as I move towards her.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I fucked up.” Tormented by her injuries, I go to her, cradling her head in my hands and laying it on my chest. “He could have hurt the baby, and you.”

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