Page 19 of Mob Bride

Something’s getting Bartlomiej even more worked up. Five minutes pass, and he’s pacing. I’m wholly unprepared for him to draw back his fist and slam it into Jacek’s face. He goes for the throat punch next. Jacek stumbles backward but regains his balance. He goes on the defensive and swings at his older brother. Five men rush forward. They might be siblings, but no one gets to touch a mob boss. The guys restrain Jacek as Bartlomiej swears at him.

“You fucking waste of shit. You told me they’d be here. You confirmed it. Instead, we’re standing here with our dicks in the wind when I could be home with Kaja.”

Kaja? Since when does Bartlomiej have a woman he cares about? I heard he was seeing someone, but he’s always seeing someone. The man is a serial dater. He enjoys knowing he always has a pussy waiting for him. I can only imagine the poor girl stuck with him up her arse—and not figuratively.

“You fucked up, Jacek. I won’t forgive you for this. I should be home with her. You’re the reason for that.” He jabs his finger into his brother’s chest. “Go near her again, and I don’t give a shit about your position in this family. The only thing you’ll be to me is dead. Leave my woman alone.”

Wow!

Their dad died when Bartlomiej was seventeen, and Jacek was fifteen. They saw it happen, and it was brutal. Bartlomiej became their leader in name, but his mother pulled the strings until he finished college. By then, Jacek was in the army. Bartlomiej’s been running his syndicate for real for ten years. Jacek’s been beside him except for the four years he served on active duty. They’re as close as I am with Finn and Sean.

This is big.

“She got what she deserved.” Jacek spews that line as his brother turns away. Bartlomiej freezes before he turns like he’s some actor in a drama—slow-mo.

“You had no right to touch her. If you had a problem with my girlfriend, you come to me.”

“I bet I touched her more than you have. She’s leading you around by the dick. Maybe if you shoved it down her throat more often, she’d know her place. Lord knows you aren’t shoving it up her pretty little virginal cunt or ass. Maybe that’s what I’ll do next time.”

Bartlomiej roars as he barrels into his brother. He knocks Jacek and the five men holding him in place onto their arses. More men rush forward and barely pry Bartlomiej off Jacek before he beats his brother’s head against the concrete.

So much to unpack. Bartlomiej’s dating a virgin? Not on God’s green earth. But whoever she is, he’s more protective of her than he is loyal to his brother. That’s interesting. It must be serious. Could he be on his way to a little white chapel? I wonder where they’re registered.

“Bartek! Bartek! Enough. They were here. They saw you.”

Fucking hell.

Bartlomiej steps away and shakes off the men restraining him. He runs his hand over his hair as he stomps to the bay door across from me. He doesn’t look at Jacek as he bellows at his men.

“Take him out to the car. If I see him before I get home, I’ll kill him.”

I pull my phone out and open the camera. I zoom in as far as I can go. Four black SUVs drive by. The second one’s back passenger window is down. I recognize Bogdan as he rolls past, shaking his head. No one’s ready for Niko to drop the front passenger window of the third car and pepper the place with a full magazine from the high-powered rifle he points out the window.

I scramble from my hiding place before any of the Poles turn in my direction to flee. I don’t need the Kutsenkos finding me here either if they decide to do more than a drive by. I duck out of the door and am about to turn toward my car and sprint when I notice a flash of dark hair that stands out next to the building’s whitewashed walls. The person’s wearing a hoodie, so I can’t tell how long the hair is. Whoever it is, is short but fast.

Did they see me there?

I change course and push myself to catch up to them. When I’m close enough, I wrap my arms around them, throwing my weight forward, knocking us both to the ground. I take an elbow to the nose before I can wrestle them beneath me and push up onto my hands and knees. I’m looking at the barrel of a gun. I’m looking at Carys.

“What the fu—feck are you doing here, Carys?”

I barely catch myself in time not to swear in front of her. The whole no curse words in front of women and children is so ingrained in me that even in moments like this, I still know better than to swear in front of them.

She shoots me a mutinous glare and refuses to answer. Back to this. This is how we met. A gun pointing at me and her refusing to speak. I scramble to my feet and pull her up as I go. Her wrist is in one hand, and my gun is in the other. I glance around, and I’m certain someone is bound to be watching us.

Motherfucking son of a goddamn bitch. There is.

“Carys, we have to go. We can’t stay here.”

“No shit. Iwasleaving. You’re the one keeping me here.”

“Yeah, well, Jacek is over there watching us.”

Her gaze darts to him, then she spins on her heels. She could be a track star for how she moves. Definitely pushes me to my limits to sprint after her. I know I’m going in the opposite direction of my car, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving her on her own. I’m running, twisting to look behind me half the time. I’m trusting Carys won’t let anybody shoot me from the front as I try to protect us from the back.

“This way.” Command fills her voice.

It would be a sexy challenge if we weren’t trying not to die. I follow her as she takes a sharp left around the corner of the building. We’re running toward the SUVs, but the Polish targets occupy all the passengers’ attention. Carys pulls a key fob from her pockets and clicks it. I hear a car unlock.

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