Page 34 of Bratva Knight

“You’re right,” Vincenzo snickered. His head darted around me to look at Tatiana. “What’d ya say, Pretty? You ever had someone lick whipped cream off your entire body?”

Before I knew what I was doing, my hand was around his throat and I was forcing him back, his body bending over the desk. I growled again, this time right in his face, my teeth bared like a fucking animal.

At that point, I felt like one. My emotions were running high. Ihatedit when anyone flirted with Tatiana. Even more so when I could see it with my own fucking eyes.

Vincenzo was everything I wasn’t: fun, light-hearted, charming. He could make Tatiana smile. I wanted to kill him.

There was a click and then I felt the barrel of a gun pressing against my temple.

“I kindly ask that you release my brother.” Arturo spoke calmly, rationally. Yet I could still hear the underlying threat in his tone.

Movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention. I glimpsed Tatiana, her own gun pointed directly at Arturo’s head, a dark look in her eyes that said she was willing to blow his head off to protect me.

I ignored Arturo, focusing entirely on Vincenzo, staring deeply into his eyes so he could see how serious I was.

“You make one more inappropriate comment or suggestion towards her again, and I’ll kill you.”

A tiny bit of the humor vanished from his eyes, replaced by fear. He had more than enough air to breathe. I wasn’t completely cutting off circulation. But he was definitely struggling, gasping for breath. It would be so very easy for me to snap his neck and be done with it.

Arturo cocked his gun. “I will not ask again.”

“It makes no difference to me how many times you ask it. I’m not letting him go until he understands,” I replied coldly, my gaze still locked on Vincenzo’s. “Do you? Understand?”

He wheezed. “Got it.”

I leant forward, lowering my voice to barely above a whisper so only he could hear me. “She’smine. You hear me? You hit on her again and I’ll cut you up into a thousand tiny pieces and spread them across New York, so you can never be buried whole. So your soul can never find peace. Have I made myself clear?”

“Crystal,” he gasped.

“Good.” I released him, taking three steps back.

Arturo tucked his gun away and ran to his brother's side, helping him back to his feet. His gaze snapped to Tatiana, who was still pointing her weapon at him.

She chuckled awkwardly, a tense smile on her face as she lowered her gun. “Well, that escalated quickly.” She aimed an accusatory glare my way. It was the first time she’d really acknowledged my presence since I’d entered the room. The moment we were alone, though, that would change. She was going to let me have it. I was sure of it.

Vincenzo had one hand to his throat, breathing heavily as Arturo whispered harshly in his ear. Hand to his shoulder, he guided Vincenzo out of the room and then turned to face me.

“You do something like that again and I’ll kill you. I don’t care if you’re Illayana’s brother. Now get the fuck out of my office.” He held the door open, the message clear.

I arched an eyebrow. He sounded completely sincere but I highly doubted he’d go through with it. Illayana would never forgive him for killing one of her brothers.

Family was something we’d grown up valuing over anything else. Sure, we loved to beat on each other sometimes (okay, most of the time). But there was also nothing we wouldn't do to protect one another. It was one of the reasons why, no matter what Arturo said or did, he was safe from me. Harming him meant harming Illayana. For as long as my sister loved him, I wouldn’t hurt him.

The same couldn’t be said for his annoying little brother though.

“I’d apologise for his behaviour,” Tatiana began, walking towards the door. “But it’s your own fault for bringing him here.”

“Hardly. He’s not here for me. I’ll have those lists you asked for emailed to you soon.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” She walked out, me close on her heels. She didn’t say a word, not that I really expected her to. At least, not yet. I knew she had a lot to say though.

When we got outside, there was a car waiting in front of the house, one of Arturo’s soldiers standing next to it. He handed the keys to Tatiana and then walked back into the house. There were two guards stationed at the front door. More patrolling the grounds. We weren’t entirely alone, so it surprised the fuck out of me when she spun and punched me right in the face.

A Russian curse flew from my mouth as I stumbled back. “Blyad,fuck, Tatiana! What the fu—”

She swung again and I reared back, just managing to avoid her fist. Pain flared across my jaw from her first strike. She kept on swinging, forcing me to block as I retreated.

“You self-centered”—strike—“egotistical”—strike—“big-boned jackass.”

---