Page 4 of Bratva Hunter

“Logistics? What does that mean?”

He lies next to me, stretching along the bed. His hand strokes my body underneath the sheet. “My family provides things for what companies need.”

“That sounds ominous.”

He chuckles. “It’s pretty benign, trust me.”

His words make me realize I do. “Where do you live?”

“New York, most of the time, but I travel a lot.”

He shifts the sheet to reveal my sex. “Where do you call home, Rosa?”

“I spend most of my time in Mexico with my mother, but I grew up in Texas.”

He nods. “I think I know enough for now.” He pulls the sheet off my body. The coolness of the room pebbles my nipples as he lands on me, pinning me to the bed. “I’m going to make you come so hard.”

I giggle. “Bring it on.”

Light is just creeping through the curtains of the expansive window. My phone buzzes on the table next to the bed. The beautiful man breathes deeply, sound asleep next to me as my body hums with sore muscles and chafed wrists and ankles from multiple sexcapades during the night. I can’t help but smile as I move into the bathroom and close the door. Whispering, I answer. “Hello?”

“Oh my God, Rosa. Get your ass back to the hotel now. Your father just landed. He’s on his way here, and your bodyguard is going insane trying to find you. Shit, you can’t stroll into the hotel in your dress from last night. What are you going to do?”

“I’m coming. Try to stall for me.” I stare at myself in the mirror, feeling more beautiful than I ever have. “Crap.” I step out of the bathroom and move to Rory’s bag. He’s got to have something I can wear. He’s fucking huge, but shorts might work. I could look like I was exercising. There’s a rubber band on the desk, and I snag it as I find a tight wicking athletic shirt and workout shorts. Scooping up my panties, I leave my dress pooled on the ground with my shoes. Slipping on the panties, shorts and shirt, I glance back at the stud in the bed. I itch to touch him again. Fear drives me out of his room and down the hall to the elevator. Using the key I swiped from his desk, I activate the elevator and pray I can get to the hotel in time. The bodyguard my father sends with me is an addict who passes out every day after my photoshoots. He wouldn’t have had any idea I wasn’t back if I hadn’t slept here.

The elevator dings in the middle of the ride down. A teenage girl, about my size, steps into the elevator. She’s wearing a track jacket and shorts and tennis shoes. Opening the phone cover, I slip out the fifty-dollar bill I always carry for emergencies. I hold it out. “I’ll pay you fifty for your tennis shoes, socks and jacket.”

The girl doesn’t even think before she’s kicking off her shoes and pulling off her socks. I reach down to get them as she peels off her jacket. Handing her the money, I dress in the elevator. This will make my exercise excuse more legit.

Ten minutes later, I run to the back of my hotel and smile at the cute man in the doorway having a smoke. I point to the door and bat my eyes. His language isn’t recognizable, but all men understand a woman’s meaning. He turns and motions for me to enter. The freight elevator takes me to the mezzanine level,which houses the gym. A man holds the door as I run inside and get on the treadmill. Let’s make this look good.

Voices speak behind me as I turn into the annoyed face of my father. “Why aren’t you in your room getting ready for breakfast?”

I reach for the towel on the rack and blot my face. “I’m sorry. I came to run.”

His brow lifts as his jaw tightens. “I want breakfast. Let’s go.” He picks up my phone and begins to flip through. I know this is what he does, so I deleted any incriminating texts or calls. He harrumphs and hands me my phone as we exit the room. “Hurry up and shower, so you look presentable. You shouldn’t work out. You’re a woman.”

I nod. There isn’t anything I can do and expressing any individual thought will only get me in trouble.

RORIC

My ringing phone wakes me from the deep slumber. I reach for my phone as my other arm extends across the bed. It’s cold. “Hello?” I turn my head to notice the opposite side is empty. A quick glance of the room confirms she’s gone.

“Roric. Come home now.”

“Yes, Papa. I have a ten o’clock flight, so I’ll be at your place by early afternoon.”

He ends the call without a reply. “Prick. He lost all manners after my mother died.” I throw my feet over the side of the bed, noticing the shoes and dress from the night before. My smile creeps up my face and dims as I notice my open duffel. Did she just take my clothes or my money, too? I rummage around. Everything important seems to be here. Why did she take shorts and a t-shirt instead of wearing her dress? I guess she didn’twant to do the walk of shame. If she’d stayed, I would have bought her a new outfit from the boutique in the lobby.

I collect the dress and shoes and toss them in my bag.

Chapter 1

A MONTH LATER

ROSA

The dark, dank New Jersey warehouse smells of mildew and sulfur. Is the stench from something that’s died in the building? Rodent droppings pepper the floor, with piles along the walls and in the corners. I can only imagine the diseases spread by the bugs and rats. Anxiety drips off my father like wax melting off a candle, and it raises my discomfort. I’ve learned to always expect the worst from him. He looks much older than he is, with thinning hair and pudge along his waist. His suit jacket is thrown on the dirty table next to his laptop. We’ve been standing around the deserted office for the last hour as his men mill around the ground floor of the warehouse.

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