Page 47 of Claimed Bratva Virgin

The sound of Luca’s laughter was akin to dragging spikes against steel. I clenched my teeth and hoped my ears wouldn’t bleed before he stopped.

And when he did, his grip on my wrist tightened.

“Such a shame, then. If you aren’t with me, you’re against me. And you know what that means. I’ll have to get rid of you.” His free hand trailed down my arm, stopping on the curve of my ass.

When he smacked me, it sent shivers of revulsion through me, and I wanted nothing more than to bash my head against his and punch him until all his teeth fell out.

But I stood no chance with all these men surrounding us.

“You and me? We could’ve joined hands, darling. Built something…explosive.” He was still talking. Still squeezing and brushing his lips below my ear.

God, he was as sickening as the words he spoke.

My stomach churned, but I refused to let him see my fear. Instead, I glared up at him, my voice sharper than I felt.

“You know what, Luca? I’d rather die than work with someone like you.”

He chuckled, low and dark, his grip tightening just enough to remind me who held the upper hand. “Oh, don’t worry.” He smirked. “That can be arranged.”

Once his grip on my wrist relaxed, I seized the opportunity to strike. With lightning-fast speed, I slipped my wrist free from his grasp and rotated my hips, generating torque for a powerful hook. My eyes locked onto Luca’s jawline, and in swift, fluid motion, I launched my hook, feeling the satisfying crunch of my knuckles connecting with his jaw.

The impact sent a shockwave through his entire body, and his head snapped to the side, his green eyes widening in surprise. He didn’t expect the attack.

He stumbled backward, and I quickly regained my footing, distributing my weight evenly between both feet. I was poised and ready to strike again, but his men raised their guns, yelling angrily in Italian. The noise grew louder, and their rage became more palpable.

I could taste the charged tension in the air and the heavy adrenaline running through my veins. But I had to stay put. If I moved even a finger, I’d be dead in a blink.

Luca staggered back to his feet, grinning like the maniac he was, with a hand raised to signal his men not to blast my head off.

“Did I tell you I like them feisty? Makes things spicier.”

Movement from one of the men behind him distracted me, and I didn’t see his fingers curl before flying toward my face. Pain wracked my left eye down to my jaw, and if I wasn’t trained in these types of gimmicks, my neck could have snapped, for Christ’s sake.

The blow was solid, sending me flying backward without time to find a soft landing spot. Luckily, I twirled, falling on my backside and using my hips and arms as cushions to gauge the impact.

My heart raced fast, my pulse thrummed, and I felt those waterworks springing to my eyes again.

You’re stronger than this, Leo.

I summoned the courage, deciding not to leave a moment for an attack. Springing to my feet, I ran back to my car without looking back. And though they didn’t spring up a fight or try to chase me down, the glare in Luca’s eyes told me this fight, and our encounter, was far from over.

Chapter 13 - Rafayel

Between dealing with the mess some idiot called Rocky caused with cops at the casino and trying to track down some amateur gang that tampered with one of our safe houses, my afternoon had been shit.

Now, there was some other disaster to take care of. Apparently, a sparring session gone wrong between two grown-ass men. The ring was chaos, and while the rest of the men stood by the sidelines observing the chaos as though it was just another sport, Maxim waved his gun in the air and gave a clear aim at Vasili’s head.

Beads of sweat ran rivulets down his back, from his bare torso to his shorts, and he looked mad, with a crazed look in his eyes. This wasn’t the first time I’d witnessed Maxim’s fuse blown to shards, and that was why most of the men preferred keeping their distance.

Today, however, the ring was a battleground between two of my best field soldiers, and the others were enthused spectators.

“I swear, I’m going to fucking blow your head off,”Maxim roared loudly in Russian.

Vasili spat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Put the gun down and fight like a real man, bastard.”

The tough guy didn’t look the least perturbed, and at the corner, I caught Tikhon watching with an equally indifferent expression. He had hard eyes fixed on the two hyperactive men, one hand tucked across his chest and the other lifting a cigarette to his lips. He must have sensed me watching because his eyes met mine, and he walked around the ring to join me.

None of the others had noticed me yet, and I didn’t plan to reveal myself until I figured out what the hell was going on.

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