Page 35 of Virgin Bratva Prisoner

She shakes her head. “I think I’m ok now,” she says softly. But she doesn’t move away from me.

“I think I should make you something to eat. We didn’t even stay long enough at the party to have any of the food. You probably need a little sugar after—after what happened now.”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. I don’t think she is ready to make any kind of choices, even ones as simple as whether or not food would help her feel better.

So, I decide for her, and just lift her up and carry her downstairs, the blanket still wrapped around her.

I set her down on the kitchen counter, her legs hanging over the edge.

“We have—“ I pull open the cupboards, looking at what they stocked the safe house with. “Spaghetti and—“ I pull the packet of spaghetti out, find a can of mushrooms and some packet of cheese sauce. In the freezer, I find bacon and toss it into a sink of hot water to defrost it quickly.

I hold up the food options, showing her what we have.

“It’s not going to be the best spaghetti you’ve ever had, but it should do the job,” I chuckle, seeing her eyes locked onto me. She is watching my every move. She looks focused, sharp with heightened awareness—like a small animal, ready to run at any moment.

But I notice that a small smile touches her lips when I joke around in a relaxed way.

Good. That’s what I want to see.

While I cook, I chat about other things, helping her to relax more and understand that this is a safe place. She hasn’t spoken at all, but her eyes are softer and calmer.

She seems to be doing a lot better by the time the food is ready.

She lets the blanket drop off her shoulders when I hand her a hot bowl of creamy spaghetti with mushrooms and bacon. “This smells really good,” She says, taking it from me.

I lean against the counter and eat, standing next to her. She swings her legs while she eats, innocent and sweet.

She really is gorgeous.

There is something so special about her. She has a unique beauty that glows through her.

“Are you feeling ok now, Raisa?” I ask, finally thinking she is ready to talk about what happened in the car.

“Yes, I was just—it was terrifying. I have never been in a situation like that before,” she sighs.

“Ever? I thought your family was involved in a lot of mafia situations. “

“I told you earlier, I have always tried to stay out of the Bratva life. I never wanted anything to do with any of this stuff. It’s not the life I wanted for myself.”

Guilt stings into me. So she has never seen what it can really be like. No wonder she was so scared. No one has ever shot at her before. No one has tried to take her out.

I am the reason she now knows what it feels like to be shot at.

I sigh.

But then I realize that it is very unlikely that it wasmethey were after.

“Raisa, have your brothers been the target of any attacks or threats since you arrived in this city?”

She sighs, putting her empty bowl down on the counter next to herself. “It’s been constant. It really stresses me out, but when I bring it up with them, they brush it off and tell me it’s just part of what has to happen for them to establish themselves. I don’t think that’s true. I want it to stop before something terrible happens and I lose one of them.”

I shake my head, wondering who is targeting them. One of the other families definitely has it in for them andis determined to try and chase them out if they are being constantly attacked like that.

“You’re right. It’s not normal. They obviously have a strong enemy hell-bent on getting rid of them. I know they’ve been pissing a lot of people off since they got here, so it’s no surprise, really.”

“Ok, but what can they do about it? How can they stay safe when people come after them like that—I mean—is that why we got shot at tonight?”

I nod. “I think that they were targetingyou. It was a warning to your brothers. There are very, very few people who would come after me that way.”

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