Page 97 of Knocked-Up Bratva Prisoner

“Don’t touch me,” she snaps, still speaking softly.

“Are you sick? What’s wrong with you? Why do you look so exhausted?” worry starts swimming through me. I want to protect her. I want to take care of her. The idea of her being hurt or in any kind of pain is instantly tearing me apart.

“Just leave it, Alexei. Please.”

“I won’t,” I insist.

She turns her back on me with a sad sigh. She walks back towards her bed.

“Just leave it. You didn’t even care enough to say goodbye before sending your brother and sister to take me home, so don’t pretend to care now, okay?”

She’s crying. I can hear it in her voice even though she isn’t looking at me.

“Send my brother and sister—Clara, what do you mean?”

She spins around to glare at me with hurt and anger in her eyes, her fists clenched and her breath tight in her chest. “When you weredonewith me and you wanted me to leave your home. When you decided you were bored with your littlegame and you wanted to move on from it. You couldn't even be bothered to kick me out yourself.”

“Is that what they told you?”

“They just came to take me home.” She sighs, wiping the back of her hand across her cheek.

“Clara, when Oleg and Anya came to talk to me about how it was time for you to go back home, I told them I was never letting you leave. Oleg drugged me. He knocked me out. I was unconscious when they took you. I woke up and you were gone. I thought—I thought you went willingly. My brother and sister thought they were doing the best thing to keep everyone safe. They were trying to protect me and my family because your uncle was making crazy threats against the kidnapper—but I never, ever wanted to let you go. If I had my way, you would still be there with me.”

We both stare at each other for the longest time before she whispers, “You didn’t want me to leave?”

“Not a chance in hell. I never wanted to let you go.”

I step closer to her and she turns her face away from me. “But—you’ve been out partying every night."

I snort a dark, sinister laugh. “Partying is not what I would call it. I’ve been a wreck. I’ve been drowning my sorrows.Tryingto, anyway. Trying to numb the pain and forget everything."

“You wanted to forget?” she asks, unsure of what I mean.

How could she ever think I would want to forget her? I just wanted to forget the pain of not having her. I wanted to forget how beautiful life was with her only because I couldn’t have it.

I shake my head. “No, you don’t understand—"

The bedroom door practically explodes open and guards rush into the room, followed by Giorgio, who looks enraged.

“What the fuck is going on?” he screams, his voice bellowing through the room.

I push Clara behind me, protectively, wanting to keep her safe from his temper.

“Get him away from her. Lock him down. I want him restrained,” he barks orders to the guards, and they start moving towards me. “Finally, the truth comes out. You were behind this whole thing?”

As the guards surround me, I stand my ground, getting ready to fight, but the truth is I am outnumbered and don’t stand a chance. It takes all four of them to get me down, but they do it.

Restraints are locked over my wrists and I’m pushed into the corner of the room away from Clara.

Clara is crying again, and she looks bewildered, panicked and scared.

“Uncle Giorgio, please let him go—don’t do this,” she begs.

“Shut up, Clara. Is this the man who took you? Did he…is he responsible?”

Chapter 25 - Clara

Uncle Giorgio’s men swarm into the room and I watch in panic as they surround Alexei and take him down, cuffing him and shoving him into the corner of the room.

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