Page 56 of The Bratva's Virgin Bride

“I never took you as someone who would fall for a Milov. When I first started following you, I thought you were such a timid little thing. Scared of your own shadow. Tell me, does sucking his cock give you courage?”

I glare at him. “My husband is twice the man you'll ever dream of being.”

“I doubt that,” Jimmy responds. “I doubt he'll be able to save you again. Maybe I'll sell you off to their biggest rival. They can hold you hostage and negotiate the terms. On condition that when they're done, I get you back so I can fuck your brains out.”

I clench my fists. “That's not going to happen.”

“Oh, yeah?” He lunges for my arm and I pull away. I use the palm of my hand to smash his nose, and then I kick him in the groin.

“You little bitch,” he cries out. He grabs his crotch and glares at me. “You're going to regret that.”

“I think you'll find you're going to regret it more,” I say quietly as I see Viktor turn the corner. Jimmy glances behind him and then tries to make a run for it, as best as he can while he's injured. Viktor cuts him off and presses a gun into his back.

“Hello, Jimmy. We haven't formally met. I'm Riley's husband.”

“Let me go. I have powerful friends,” Jimmy says. “They'll fucking kill you all.”

“I can kill you right now and there's nothing your so-called powerful friends will do to stop it,” Viktor says with a low growl. I can't believe how turned on I am by him right now. He's so dominant. It's as though he fills the room. “Did Isay you could hurt my wife? Did I say you could even look in her direction?” Viktor asks him. He points his gun down and fires a shot into Jimmy's leg. Jimmy screams and people outside scream and run away. “Martin, let's take this piece of shit to the warehouse on Fifth Street.”

Martin appears with the guards, who drag Jimmy away. Viktor comes over to me and smiles. “Well done. I see lessons are paying off.”

“I have a good teacher,” I say, kissing him softly.

“I have to go deal with this,” Viktor says. “But I'll see you at home.”

“No, I want to go with you. I want to see it through to the end,” I say quietly.

“I'm going to kill him, Riley. After I torture him, I'm going to kill him. That's not something everyone can handle.” He strokes a loose strand of hair out of my face.

“I know what you're going to do. And I want to watch,” I say calmly. “I'm figuring out I can handle a lot more than I give myself credit for. I'm a Milov.”

Viktor takes my hand and kisses it. “Yes, you are.”

We walk out of the store and I look at him curiously. “What about the cops?”

“The footage will mysteriously disappear, and any trace of Jimmy with it,” Viktor answers me. He leads me out of the mall and to his car. I climb into the back with him and we follow Martin's car. It seems so calm, so relaxed. As though we're taking a Sunday drive for fun. Nothing out of the ordinary. We pull up to a warehouse and we get out of the car. Martin drags Jimmy from the trunk of his car and we take him inside. Martin cable ties him to a chair, arms behind him, feet against the legs.

Rigor, Roman, and Anton are there already, standing to the side. Rigor looks surprised to see me but doesn't question why I'm there. I cross the room and sit on a chair in the corner. Viktor approaches Jimmy and slides a knuckle duster onto his right hand.

“You're going to suffer for what you did to Riley,” he growls. He punches Jimmy in the face. Again and again, he just keeps hitting him. Never letting up. Not stopping for a breath. He must punch him fifteen times before he steps back. “You're such a lowlife. Picking on a girl that's half your size. I hope you know I enjoyed watching her kick your ass.”

Jimmy spits blood onto the floor. “I'll give you money and I'll leave you alone. Just let me go.”

“No, I don't think so,” Rigor says. “You wanted to take on the Milov family, now you have our undivided attention.”

Viktor drops the knuckle duster and starts pummeling Jimmy in the stomach. He cries out, coughing up blood. I know I should turn away and not watch, but I can't help but be satisfied.

“Baby,” Viktor says. “What are some of the things he said he'd do to you?”

“He'd remove my fingernails,” I say calmly. “He promised that every day. Even brought pliers to my hand once.”

Viktor crosses to a table where a bunch of tools are lying about. He picks up pliers and goes behind Jimmy. He grabs his hand, and Jimmy tries to fight him, but he's tied too tightly. “Come on, man,” Jimmy gasps. Please, I can pay you good money. What am I worth to you?”

“Nothing,” Viktor says. “You're worth nothing.” He rips off one of Jimmy's fingernails and tosses it aside. He pulls off another two before he pulls out his gun. “This is boring. You'renothing more than a sniveling manbaby and it's going to give me great pleasure to forget you ever existed.”

I don't look away as Viktor puts the gun to Jimmy's head and pulls the trigger. Jimmy slumps in the chair and I get up, crossing the room. I feel slightly sick, but I keep the contents of my stomach down. Viktor holsters his gun and comes over to me. He takes my hand. “Come on Love, let's go do something romantic.”

“I'd like that,” I say. “My husband.”

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