Page 61 of Plus-Sized Bratva Prisoner

He turns his head to the side and spits, right on the floor, in the pub. Then he starts punching, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it because the two other thugs have my arms pinned behind me. The world is growing dark as I fight to stay in it. Pain is searing through my entire body and growing worse with each punch, each kick, each blow to my head.

I don’t know how long the beating goes on for. I’m lying on the filthy floor, blood dropping out of my mouth, over my swollen lips, cut and already turning blue.

I am in and out of consciousness when I hear my brother’s voice.

“Step away.” He sounds calm but threatening.

I blink towards the familiar sound and see him pouting a gun towards the thugs. They start stepping away from me with their hands raised in the air. They don’t look particularly worried, but they were also caught off guard. Perhaps too caught up in the moment, enjoying beating the life out of me.

Leon and Alexei are right there next to Oleg, also armed, three of their body guards behind them.

“Step away, keep moving,” Oleg says again, firing a shot that smashes into a bottle behind the bar and sends glass and whisky spraying through the air. I wince at the sound. Then, realizing that this is the moment for me to get out of here, I try to push myself to my feet, but my legs are shaking and not listening. My body won’t get up. It feels so heavy.

I feel someone lifting me and blink to focus on Leon’s face. He doesn’t say anything. Now isn’t the time, surrounded by the enemy. He lifts me carefully, not like the thugs did. More gently this time. I do my best to drag my feet into action as I lean against his side. The only thing stopping me from falling is his arm around my waist.

“You’ve got the money? The debt is paid?” Oleg is talking to the asshole.

“I don’t want to see your brother here again.”

“Is the debt settled?”

“No, this is only the beginning. He should never have pushed us.”

Oleg shakes his head, no more words. He grabs the bag off the bar counter and turns to walk out. I’m carried with him.

They put me in the back of a car. I glance around in confusion.

“How did you know I was here? How did you know I needed your help?” I mumble, my head pounding and throbbing in pain. I press my fingers to my temple to try and massage away the aches.

“Your driver called us,” Alexei answers.

“Come on, let’s get him home,” Oleg huffs.

“No, not home. Tia can’t see me like this.”

She already made me promise not to interfere. If she knows I went to see the guy, and this is how it turned out—she’ll be furious.

I don’t want her to worry. I don’t want her to stress about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure out this debt shit. I’ll go over the debt collector directly to the source if I have to.

But everyone is safe for now. That’s what counts right now.

“Do you know who the fuck you were messing with?” Leon snaps from the front seat, glaring at me in the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with anger. Perhaps even fear. “You almost got killed, you fucking idiot. Do you think I want to lose my brother? Do you think I want to come and peel your body off a pavement outside a shithole like this one? What the fuck were you thinking, messing with that guy alone?”

Oleg glances over at Leon. “Hey, maybe wait till he’s feeling a bit better?”

“No, he needs to hear this now. He’s a fucking idiot going in there alone.”

“Yeah. I know who the debt collector is,” I mutter, my lips feeling swollen and awkward.

“Not the debt collector. The family he collects for. The Vitali family. The biggest family in Boston, alongside the Dubrovs. Probably theonlyfamily who you don’t want to mess with, because they actually have enough power to make our lives difficult.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I sigh, in too much pain to really think about the danger I was in only a moment ago. They probably would have killed me, even if that wasn’t their original plan. They would have ended up killing me in the heat of the moment, like sharks in a feeding frenzy. Once men like that get going, it’s hard for them to stop.

I didn’t know he was working for the Vitali family. In my stupidity, I only took the time to look into the debt collector. Now I know why Tia was so angry that I interfered in the first place.

Well, whatever, I’m alive. I’ll be fine.

“There is no way you can avoid Tia seeing you, Yefim. You live with her,” Oleg sighs heavily.

---