Page 66 of Forced Bratva Hostage

I peer into the darkness alongside us, trying to figure out if someone is following us or not. We’re so far away from home, it’s unlikely, but my intuition won’t let go.

“You’re very tense, little bunny,” he says, looking down at me.

“I have a bad feeling we’re being watched,” I sigh, hating how paranoid I sound. “Can we go back to the villa?”

“Of course, I don’t mind at all. I’ll make you a fruit salad. They delivered a bunch of fresh mangos this morning.” He turns me around and we start walking back towards our villa.

The creeping feeling doesn’t go away, and I encourage Andrei to walk a little faster. My eyes are darting left and right, my heart beating faster than normal.

The night seems darker than before, and a little colder.

We’re getting close to home, and I can see the lights of the villa casting a glow over the sand ahead of us, when a dark shadow steps in front of us.

I let out a sharp squeal of fear. Andrei stiffens next to me and moves me behind him, protectively pushing me out of harm’s way.

The shadow walks forward, and Andrei lets out a sigh of relief.

“Nico,” he huffs. “Jeez, man, you gave us a fright.”

I’m not so easily persuaded, and I stay behind him, holding tightly on to the back of his shirt. My hands are shaking with tension.

Andrei turns to face me.

“It’s okay, little bunny. I know him well. There is nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” I whisper in panic.

“I promise you,” he says, taking my face in his hands and looking directly into my eyes. His gaze is so confident that it reassures me, and I take a deep breath and let it flow out of me slowly.

“Would you mind waiting in the villa?” he asks me, and I scrunch my nose.

“Are you going to be long?”

“No, and we’ll stay in the light in front of the villa where you can see us.”

Biting my lip, I nod. I’m nervous to leave him, but at least I know who was following us. And I know I wasn’t being crazy or paranoid.

“I’ll be inside,” I say, trying to smile politely as I walk past Nico.

I have no idea who he is.

Chapter 19 - Andrei

Nico, appearing out of nowhere, is a complete shock. Especially out here, so far from home.

We stand in silence for a moment while Tia opens the villa and gets herself safely inside. The door closes behind her and I take a deep breath.

Nico walks a little down the beach, turning towards the ocean with his hands in his pockets.

“You’re not an easy man to find, Andrei,” he says. “We’ve been searching nonstop since you disappeared. We thought you were dead.” He sounds distant, melancholy.

Despite what I told Tia, I don’t know Nico very well. His brother and I may have been best friends, but Nico and I weren’t close.

I stand beside him with my hands shoved into my pockets, too. I have so many things looping in my head. Things I want to say to Nico and his family, but I don’t know where to start or how to piece the words together.

Looking down at the sand, my eyes trace over the shells lying here and there on the beach.

“I had to stay out of sight,” I say.

---