Page 13 of Kidnapped Bratva Virgin

Numbly, I stare at the doctor who stares at me. “What? See to it with the chef. Whatever she needs. Keep her safe,” I add, wishing I didn’t add the rest, but the words tumbled out before I could catch them. I take note of the bandage the doctor placed on Ava’s arm from the burns I inflicted. She’ll recover.

My eyes linger on her face, analyzing her weakened state, the concern I’m feeling is jarring for a hard man like me, but maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing she’s weak. This is the perfect time to capitalize and get her to sign over Raven’s Peak to me. I almost don’t want to provide her with care, but suddenly I’m not feeling cruel enough to do it.

“Okay. I’ll organize the meals with the chef. I’m done here,” the doctor indicates, packing up her things.

“Good.”

It's you that’s weakened Dimitri.If this were a man, you would break both his kneecaps so you could have him sign over the rights.Ava’s cocoa-colored eyes narrow in suspicion, she’s not as stupid as I’d like her to be. Her eyes are flickering in and out of consciousness, and she’s low on energy. And I can she’s making eyes at the good doctor, pleading and begging for an escape, but she’ll find no such thing.

It’s not going to do you any good, Ms. Knight. The doctor works for me.Ushering in a vicious smirk, I wait for the doctor to leave. With the drip in her arm, Ava lays on the bed, considering me for a second while I stand, unmoving and taking a hard look at her bandaged arm.

As she watches me looking at it, she draws it in protectively, turning her head. I move towards her just as the strangled words come out of her mouth. “Why are you doing this?” Her voice crackles in pain, but as I shove my hands in my pockets, I explain the truth.

“This isn’t personal towards you, Ms. Knight. Unfortunately, you happen to be standing in the way of what I want and need.”

Tears well in her eyes, her breaking point close. Ah. Her brave face mask is dropping. “It doesn’t make sense why you’re willing to go to such lengths for a piece of land.”

Scoffing, I shake my head, gathering a deep breath. There’s no harm in sharing my story with her. At this point, I think I can. “Growing up I was nothing. Unwanted and unloved, and my father was a disappointment to the Bratva.” I let her digest this news first.

Her eyes shutter in mild surprise, but quickly the light in them dies. “You’re Bratva?”

Arching an eyebrow, I fist my hands in my pockets, resisting the urge to stroke her hair.

“Come on Ms. Knight. You strike me as being a very smart young lady. You must have known what I am,” I remark simply.

She turns her body from me, not wanting me to see the tears that have slipped down her face. Discreetly she wipes them away. “I thought you were something, but I didn’t know exactly. You’re a mobster,” she jerks out, and the way she says it invokes a warm chuckle from me.

“Yes and no. This isn’t like movies or anything. I am a businessman first and foremost. Again, this is business, but in many ways quite personal to me because as the Bratva are a brotherhood and my father failed, then surely I was destined to fall into his footsteps.”

“Why would you be? You’re not him.”

Nodding my head in agreement, I scoff. “Yes, but that’s not how the Bratva works. Prove yourself first and then some form of redemption might come your way.”

“Oh. Right.” Glumly Ava stays on her side, but I pause, collecting my thoughts. “I clawed my way to the top, Ava. Every step. Every decision. Every sacrifice. I’ve earned my place with every piece of dirt underneath my nails, and I won’t stop until I have it all.”

“Looks like you already have it, and what—you’re going to leave me with nothing? This is my family’s land. Not yours. And just like you’re fighting, so am I.”

Smirking, I nod again. “Your point is valid. But this is the way of the Bratva. It seems like we have more in common than we both might think.”

Ava wriggles arousing me, the outline of her voluptuous figure under the sheets enticing me. “Except the part of taking what’s not yours.”

“Then how should it be arranged?” I ask, humoring her.

“It’s just me now. I have to work at a fucking shitty dinner with an asshole boss, and my father worked his whole life having nothing to show for it. He was a lawyer like I want to be. But that’s not for me. I don’t want to end up like him.”

“And how did he end up?” Intrigued by her story and her passion, even though I already know her background, I listen intently, the subtle grip she has on me slowly increasing.

“He ended up with nothing. Just a stockpile of cases marred by bureaucracy and not being able to help the people he wanted to serve.”

“And let me guess, you’re different?”

Ava lifts her head, the fire blazing in her eyes. “Yes. I’m different. I’m not the same lawyer as him. I play to win,” she grits out, impressing me.

“Oh, we are alike, Ava. Maybe it’s fated we met,” I drawl out, stepping closer to her.

“Maybe.” Her temperature runs cold. “And since this is business. That’s what we should make it. I know how this works. We work out a deal that’s mutually beneficial for the land. It’s my land, and I rightfully own it. What are you going to do? Kill me for it?”

Taunting me with her words, I twist my mouth in consideration, my eyes boring into hers. “If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already, Ms. Knight. No. Tell me what your terms are, and I’m willing to hear you out.”

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