Page 10 of Virgin Bratva Hostage

“Was she injured when you captured her? I mean—we need her to be safe if we want to use her—“

“She’s perfectly fine, Royce. I asked you a question. What are you doing in here? You should be downstairs watching the perimeter and organizing the guards.”

“I wanted to offer to watch over her. Someone should be stationed in her room or outside the door—just in case. I know how resourceful she is. I’m sure you do too, sir. I can stay in the room with her and make sure she doesn’t escape.”

I shake my head, standing up from the bedside and turning to face him. “That won’t be necessary, Royce. I will be watching her myself. All the other guards can be downstairs and outside. She can’t leave the property without needing to go through the garden.”

His jaw muscles feather, his eyes are fully focused on her, not me.

“Royce,” I say sternly.

“Yes, sir. I will secure the perimeter. She won’t get past,” he huffs.

“Why do you look so agitated about this—is it her? What is going on?”

“No, sir. We just have a lot riding on this—that’s all, sir.”

He spins away from me and walks briskly out of the room.

Something about him sets my internal alarms going. I don’t know if he’s worried about the girl or worried about the success of our mission. I can assume that because he put so much effort into tailing her previously that he is very invested in this mission—at least, I hope that is what’s going on here.

I’ll stick to my gut instincts, though, and keep a close eye on him.

He must be pissed off about how the last kidnap attempt went. A lot of his team members were killed. That gives him a lot of reason to hate the Kuznetsovs—and her. But as long as he isn’t going to try and exact his own revenge—as long as he follows my lead—I have no problem with him wanting vengeance. But it has to be on my terms. I am the one in control here and he will do best to understand that.

I stand in her room for a moment, watching her, sleeping peacefully.

She is going to wake up and be really pissed off that she didn’t win that chase.

I grin.

“I’m looking forward to meeting you,” I say quietly, then I walk out of the room. Closing the door gently behind myself, I lock it, two clicks as the bolt falls into place.

No one else has the key.

I slip it into my pocket.

“I’ll come and see you a little later this afternoon, butterfly.”

Heading downstairs, I walk the full perimeter of my property. I know Dex would have done a good job, but I feel more confident about security once I have laid my own eyes on it.

The men are alert, in position, and the patrols are all running smoothly.

During my walkabout, Dex stops me and jogs over.

“Is it to your satisfaction, sir? I can add more guards if needed, but it’s just one girl.”

“Remember, it’s not only the girl we are guarding against. We are also prepared for anyone who is going to try and break her out from the outside.”

“I have taken that into account. We have several teams on standby, not patrolling, but in rotation in the west wing of the mansion should they be needed.”

“Thanks, Dex. I knew you would set this up properly.”

Happy with the security, I head inside to have dinner and unwind a little. I’ll give her time to wake up, most likely throw a fit, and then calm down when she realizes there is nowhere to go—then I will go and see her.

Chapter 4 - Ruslana

Groaning loudly, I roll over against the soft pillow and reach my hand up to my head. I have a massive headache and I can’t remember why. Did I go clubbing? I feel like I’ve been dragged backwards through a hedge.

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