Page 8 of Broken By the Bratva

“We will ask her though if you give us Tasha back,” Anton added.

“No, I can’t do that,” Vadik replied sounding too calm. Turning to me I could see the sparkle in his eyes as he continued. “You see, we are married.”

Looking at my brothers I could see the shock and sheer hatred bubbling up in them. “You’re what?” Abram shouted, staring at me. He’s always looked after me. I lowered my gaze as I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to see the disappointment in their eyes.

“Tasha would never settle for someone like you,” Abram added.

“I didn’t, he forced me,” I replied softly.

I noticed Alexandr stepping closer as he spoke. “You had no right! I demand that you annul the marriage and hand Tasha back to us. If not…,” Before he could continue, Vadik interrupted.

“You’ll what? Kill me?” Vadik spat at Alexandr. He laughed. The terrible sound filled the air around us.

“You will be sorry, one way or another we are leaving here with her!” Anton chipped in.

“You won’t touch me,” Vadik breathed out. I could hear the anger building in his voice as he continued. “I’ll tell the Chernykh’s I have her. In fact, my brothers have been ordered to let them know should anything go wrong during our chat.”

Unexpectedly, two big guards entered the room from the side doors. They had their guns pulled and trained on my brothers. The situation had escalated at an amazing speed. Iswallowed hard as I glanced around the room. My body was covered in sweat.

“I suggest you make no sudden moves,” Vadik added. “They are instructed to shoot at will.”

Vadik took a step forward pulling me with as he continued. “As said earlier. I will annul the marriage and return Tasha if you do the same.”

There were clear signs of confusion, worry, and anger playing in all three of my brother's eyes. I knew they loved me, but this was an impossible standoff. As long as Nadia was safe, which was a sure bet. I knew I would be safe.

“I’ll give you a week to discuss and think about it. Then I want an answer,” Vadik uttered waving his hand as if they were flies. There was nothing more they could do. I watched in horror as they stepped back towards the front door.

Abram stopped turning back. “May I just give her a hug?” he asked. His face was smooth, he actually looked sad.

Vadik glanced at me and nodded. Abram came over quickly. As he hugged me, I felt him shoving something into my hand. Closing my hand around the small rectangular object, I realized it was a phone. I stuffed it into my jacket pocket and stepped back.

Watching them leave was one of the hardest things I had ever done. As much as they were protective of me, I knew they counted on my keen mind to keep myself safe for now. They would come back with a plan to extract me. Yet, I was the brains of most operations as I was the smartest out of us all.

Clenching my jaws, I stood frozen as I watched them leave. What was to come next, I didn’t know.

What am I to do with this caveman? How dare he force me into a marriage and keep me hostage. Who knows what else he would be expecting from me? I know he’s Nadia’s cousin, but he is a caveman.

I felt on edge as he turned to me once the door closed. My family was now out of sight.

“Right, back to your room,” he said waving me forward towards the stairs.

As I walked up to the room, I felt my heart dropping to my feet. It was undetermined how long my stay here would be. I fidgeted at the seams of my shirt as I entered the room. Once the door closed, I allowed the stream of tears that were building to flow as I paced up and down.

I had to think but my mind was blank. I couldn’t concentrate on anything at the moment. Sighing loudly, I flopped down onto the bed. Wiping my eyes I stared at the ceiling feeling very lonely. I will have a look around tomorrow. Maybe I could find a way out, I tried soothing myself.

Closing my eyes, I allowed the stress of the day to flow out. I hoped it would allow sleep to come and take me.

Chapter 5 - Vadik

This didn’t go as planned. The negotiations have been a failure like everything else lately. Pacing up and down the length of my home office, I tried to wrap my mind around it all.

The urge to hit something was so strong that for a moment I almost lost my temper. Turning to the wall behind my desk, my fist connected with it forcefully. A loud ‘bang’ rang through the office. Looking at the damage on the wall, I knew I had to get a grip on my emotions.

Shaking my head, I breathed in deeply. My mind wandered to Tasha and the whirlwind of a day. I felt a slight sense of relief running through me. I knew we still had her. She was our leverage and somehow it would come in handy.

My office door swung open before my mind wandered off completely consumed by her life force, essence, and beauty. My brothers appeared to be charging in. Pavel followed Maraki, stumbling over his feet as he tried to keep up. If not for their frowns it would have been funny.

Makari stood upright placing his hands at his sides like a woman would do when pissed off. I turned my head to the side as I studied the two. Before I could even think of asking the reason for their intrusion, Maraki spoke. His tone was not friendly. “When were you planning on telling us?”

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