Page 6 of Stolen By The Bratva King

In time, his disgust became more direct, demanding I sweat it out to YouTube cardio classes even when I’d just gotten in from a shift.

The yelling and grabbing are new. He hasn’t hit me yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

My father told me our family’s entire liquid capital is in joint investments with Dante. He can’t wait for his trusted business buddy to become his son-in-law, and I feel more trapped than ever.

I need to pull myself together and check on the kid. He’s in recovery now, sleeping off the drugs, and the hospital social worker will want to locate his family.

But I can’t shake the image of the stranger.

The way he held me, so confident despite the wrongness of it. How he stepped into Dante’s path without hesitation, the raw power in his movements, the absolute certainty in his eyes. It was brutal, but for those few seconds, I felt safe.

Despite my tears, a wry laugh escapes me. What am I even thinking?

I don’t know the man who kissed me like he owned me. I don’t know why he helped or what he might want in return.

I shake my head, annoyed at myself. Thinking about him will lead nowhere good. Men like that don’t want to be heroes for ordinary women like me. It was a one-time thing; I’d be better off pretending it never happened.

Still, as I turn back to the ER, I can’t quite push him from my mind. Tonight, a stranger looked at me like I was something rare. Something to fight for.

I want to see him again. Not because I’m foolish enough to think he could save me. But because, just for a moment, I felt like someoneworthsaving.

The hum of my pager pulls me back to reality, and I sigh, dragging myself to my feet.

One more hour, and I’ll go home.

5

Leon

Ipull my car back into the shadows and loiter, waiting. I won’t go until I know Emery is out of here and safely home.

Watching her comfort Dante made me seethe. A man who lays hands on any woman doesn’t deserve to breathe, but he laid his hands onher, and that’s even worse.

My phone rings, and I swipe to green. “Viktor. Got news for me?”

“Yep,” Viktor says smoothly, the sound of papers shuffling on his end. “Dr. Emery Bright is the daughter of Alec Bright—a businessman with more money than good judgment. He’s thrown his lot in with your new friend, Dante Firenze.”

“Firenze. Not a name I know.”

“Not yet, maybe. Alec’s too eager to see the best in people. I suspect the Firenze kid’s bullshitting Bright about the profits.”

Good. If he’s taking Alec for a ride, I can use that to my advantage.

“And the girl?”

“Emery’s clean,” Viktor replies. “Dedicated, smart, keeps her head down. But her father’s money is tied up in these deals with Firenze. He’ll ruin her whole family if she steps out of line.”

So she’s trapped. Well, not for long, at least, not with him.

Viktor chuckles as if he can sense my thoughts. “If you wanna teach this punk a lesson, I can find an angle.”

“That’s the attitude,tovarishch,” I say. “I want Alec Bright on the ropes and looking for a way out of trouble. Make it happen.”

“Consider it done. A fool and his money are easily parted, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it. Now, what about the shit that went down at the docks?”

It’s not like I went looking for trouble tonight.

I was supposed to oversee a cargo shipment from a new supplier—no big deal. But when I checked out an unfamiliar barge, all Hell broke loose.

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