Page 49 of Forced By the Bratva Beast

Locking eyes with her, I try to send her a message that everything’s going to be fine, but it doesn’t compute. “Are you okay?” I ask her as they set her down in the chair.

Nodding with a sense of hopelessness, she belts out, “Andrei, just run.” Shocked by her sacrifice and the baby’s, I shake my head as Chris and Bruno stand next to her chair.

“Your lady has it worked out.” Bruno laughs, and automatically I imagine sending a kill shot right through his skull, but instead I hold my ground. I’m not backing down or going anywhere.

Makar pivots keeping his hands up. “Oi! What the fuck are you doing? Quit moving!” Bruno shouts, but a microsecond later, I see why he does it.

Shots ring out in the air as a hail of bullets shatter the front window, hitting one of the masked men, dropping him. One more goes soon after, falling forward, toppling over the couch, confusing Bruno and Chris. “What the fuck?” Chris sings out as the next man goes down, a shot coming from the kitchen side of the house.

With lightning precision, every enemy falls, leaving only Chris, Bruno, and Sophia. Squeezing my trigger, I swing around, firing a shot that hits its bullseye. Bruno’s hands instinctively raise to his chest where I’ve left a bullet hole in the heart. Welcome to America and Chicago, the home of the Bratva. The problem is there’s no more enemy left standing, and he needed to go to. Makar squeezes off a shot, but it blows out wide, hitting the wall behind him, the plaster caking off the wall in large chunks.

“Shit!” Makar calls out, but I’m focused on who has Sophia in their hands now. Christopher is brandishing a large hunting knife near her neck, holding it in place. Sophia’s eyes are wild with terror, tears streaming down her cheeks, but she’s got every chance of survival. Every four of my men are laser focused on Christopher, their guns all aiming at him.

He’s in an awkward position, holding the knife to her neck with Sophia staring at it. Bad positioning on his part, but with the corner of the next room’s wall between us, I don’t think Dimitri and his sniper team have clear access to pull off a shot.

Steadying my breath, my only concern is keeping Sophia calm. I want her to know Christopher is not getting out of here alive. No way. No how. “Bad shot, bitch,” Chris replies jerkily, laughing hysterically in Makar’s direction. “I expected better from you,” Chris taunts, enough sweat gathered on his forehead for his hair to be stuck to it.

“Put the knife down, Chris. The game is up,” I declare in an even tone.

“Oh ho, no it’s not, baby. The game is just getting started, and Mrs. Utkin is about to be the star of the show.” His tongue hangs out of his mouth, the flow of adrenaline spiking in my veins. My men do as they’re trained to do, holding him hostage with the barrel of their guns in a stand-off.

“What can you do from here?” Makar chimes in, stepping forward lightly, but Chris is so hyperaware, he catches on to the tactic immediately.

“Fucking stay back!” he screams, squinting as the knife wiggles underneath Sophia’s neck, breaking skin, and a small droplet of blood appearing. Yelping, more from shock than pain, she calls out.

“Chris stop!”

“Shut up. Shut up! If you touch me, I’m touching her. You, see? You hurt me, I hurt her,” he rushes out. And from what I’m seeing, he might be just crazy enough to do it. The stench of death hangs in the air as Makar nods his head, his eyes narrowed.

“Alright. We won’t come any closer,” I tell him. “But what now?”

Sophia connects to me with her eyes, almost as if she’s speaking with them. Trusting her, I hold her gaze, and it’s almost as though her eye color changes to a deep forest green. Noticing Christopher’s arm is trembling from holding it under Sophia’s throat, the probability is he won’t be able to keep it there for much longer without wavering.

I wait. We wait. But Sophia, she has an idea. I’m connected to her and can feel she’s got a plan. The world stops spinning momentarily as she takes the ultimate risk while Christopher assesses his limited pathway out of the house. Sweet timing. Sophia hops her chair away from him, giving her enough leverage to kick out her leg and swing hard into his groin.

The blow causes Christopher to blow out his cheeks, his hands automatically dropping to his likely swollen nuts. Sophia’s objective has been achieved as he drops the knife, the sharp object bouncing on the floor.

“Fucking bitch!” Christopher groans, my men clambering to jump on him and pinning him to the floor as the pace of my heart taking time to settle.

“Are you okay?” I ask as one of them unties the thick ropes from her hands so she can get free. She runs forward, tripping, but getting to her feet and walking forward to me, butshe doesn’t answer my question. She looks woozy as I catch her in my arms. “That was a nice move back there,” I compliment, worried about her as her eyes start to roll back in her head.

“I don’t feel so good,” she whispers, her eyes shutting down.

Chapter Twenty-Five – Sophia

Groggily, I open my eyes looking around the sterile white room. I’m in a hospital. My body feels heavy and as I lift my arm, I can see there’s a drip in the back of it. That’s right. I survived a kidnapping, and a Bratva gun shootout. A looming presence takes form near my bed, a pair of eyes staring at me. It’s Andrei, standing guard near the top end of the bed with the nurse on the other side.

“Oh hello! You’re awake. Perfect timing. I’ve got some food here for you, and it’s time for you to take your insulin. Not knowing where my body hurts, I slowly slide up, the nurse pressing the button to lower the bed to level.

“Ah, thank you,” I say, taking a deep breath as she hands me a water. As I sip through the straw, Andrei surveys me.

“How are you feeling?” he asks softly.

“Like I’ve gone twelve rounds in a boxing ring,” I admit, watching a smirk curve on his lips.

“That would make sense. The nurse wants to talk to you about a few things. Are you up for it?”

“Sure.” The familiar tools for a blood test are set up on a trolley behind the nurse as she places a strap around my arm to find the vein for a blood test.

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