Page 18 of Plus-Size Bratva Bride

I needed to fight to get out of here alive. Without thinking, I quickly pushed off the wall and kicked him in the groin. He groaned and reached to clutch between his legs and I shoved past him, past the stranger, running a floor down to reach my car.

It didn’t take long for Tony to give chase. I heard him, felt his rugged breath on my back. I ran faster, faster, faster. I reached the ground, the tarmac stretched beyond. My breaths now came in heavy rasps, and I saw my car in the distance.

His hands came for my waist, lugged at it. I tried to fight him off by kicking back, but it wasn’t enough to make him stop. From the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of the knife.

From the right, I saw a car entering the parking lot.

“Help,” I screamed at the top of my lungs as tears poured down my eyes. Please, I prayed silently as his grip on me won’t loosen. Don’t let me die out here.

He twisted my arm behind my back and I turned to see him just as he lunged forward, his movement so sudden I barely had time to react. I stumbled backward, my heart pounding inmy ears, but I wasn't fast enough. A searing pain erupted across my shoulder as the blade grazed my skin.

"Ah!" I cried out, my hand flying to the wound. Warm blood seeped through my fingers, staining my favorite blouse. The pain was sharp, but the fear was worse. This was real. This was happening. He was going to kill me.

"You should've kept your mouth shut," Tony growled, readying for another strike.

I frantically looked around for an escape, for help, for anything. The parking lot, usually so bustling, now seemed eerily empty. Where was security? Where was anyone?

Just as despair began to overwhelm me, the car from before stopped right beside me. The door swung open, and through teary eyes and the glaring headlights, I couldn’t make out the face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Abe. My heart leaped at his voice, equal parts relief and confusion flooding through me.

He appeared as if from nowhere, moving with a fluid grace that belied his size. In an instant, he was between me and my attacker, his broad shoulders a protective wall.

"Abe," I breathed, wincing as I pressed harder on my wound. "How did you—"

"Not now, Pippa," he said, his voice low and dangerous. His eyes, usually so playful when fixed on me, were cold as steel as they locked onto the knife-wielding employee. "Drop it. Now."

I watched, mesmerized, as Abe's hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. The air around him seemed to crackle with tension, with barely restrained violence. This was a side ofhim I'd never seen before, and it terrified me despite the relief of being saved.

Tony hesitated, his eyes darting between Abe's imposing figure and the space behind him. In a split second, he made his decision, lunging forward with the knife.

What happened next was a blur of motion and violence. Abe moved with a speed I'd never imagined possible. His hand shot out, catching the attacker's wrist mid-strike. There was a sickening crack, followed by a howl of pain as the knife clattered to the floor.

"I warned you," Abe growled, his voice barely recognizable.

I watched in horror as Abe's fist connected with Tony’s jaw, sending him sprawling. The brutality of it made my stomach churn.

"Abe, stop!" I cried out, my voice shaking. "He's down, it's over!"

But Abe didn't seem to hear me. He advanced on the fallen attacker, his eyes blazing with a cold fury. I'd never seen anyone look so menacing, so utterly lethal.

"You touched her," Abe snarled, emphasizing each word with a vicious kick. "You. Don't. Ever. Touch. Her."

The sound of fists meeting flesh, of pained grunts and gasps, filled the air. I couldn't look away, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. This was a nightmare, but I was wide awake.

At last, Tony was down on the ground.

“Abe,” I said, pleading now. “You can stop. He’s not moving.”

But Abe wasn’t listening. He grabbed Tony’s head, brutally smashing it against the concrete over and over again. I felt like retching, watching all that blood trail down the crevices of the road, Tony’s face now unrecognizable. I looked away and closed my eyes, but the sickening sounds got worse and worse. I tried to take deep breaths, to stop myself from hurling all over the place.

Finally, mercifully, it ended. I opened my eyes, knowing already that Tony was dead. Abe stood over the motionless form of my attacker, his chest heaving, his knuckles bloody. He turned to me, and for a moment, I saw something wild and unfamiliar in his eyes before they softened with concern.

"Pippa," he said, his voice gentler now. "Are you alright?"

I stared at him, my mind reeling. Relief washed over me—I was safe, the danger had passed. But mixed with that relief was a horror I couldn't shake. The violence I'd just witnessed, the raw brutality of it, left me shaken to my core.

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