Page 33 of Pregnant Prisoner By the Bratva
I held back a snarl behind gritted teeth. She couldn’t know how much her words were starting to piss me off. “I’d watch my tongue if I were you.”
“Oooh, did I strike a nerve?” She chuckled lightly, her tone laced with sheer mockery. “Hate to break it to you, pal, you’re not half as clever as you think you are.”
Easy, buddy. She’s playing you,I reminded myself, anger shimmering behind my locked teeth.
Ester continued, “You know, I hear the Bratva’s got legendary interrogation techniques. After what I’ve seen so far?”She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Yeah…either the legends are exaggerated, or….” She drew closer, her lips curving into a pesky little smirk. “…you’re just the discount version.”
I watched her quietly, amused by her sharp tongue and how well she weaponized it. Impressive. I should be pissed—hell, I should be furious. But instead, her little defiance only ended up igniting a flame within me.
“Are you done?” I asked, a faint smirk playing on the corners of my lips.
For a moment there, I caught a glimpse of shock flickering in her eyes, like she didn’t expect me to shrug off her challenge the way I did.
“You see, Ester,” I began, drawing closer to her while she retreated, slowly. “When you’ve lived this life as long as I have, you tend to know the difference between a real threat…and a scared little girl playing tough with broken words.”
She swallowed, her back meeting the cold, damp wall behind her.
I watched her expression tighten, that flicker of confidence she wore like armor starting to crack. “You’ve got a sharp tongue,” I whispered, placing a palm next to her head, my eyes locked to hers. “That’s cute. But it won’t save you now. Not from me.”
She steeled herself and locked her jaw when my eyes dropped to her lips.
The air switched from aggression to something lighter, calmer, more sensual. She tried to mask her nervousness, but her heaving chest betrayed her. The tension was thick around us, and I could swear I almost heard the sound of her racing heart. This wasn’t fear. No. It was something else. Something molten.
I pulled away before I ended up doing something I’d regret later on. This close proximity was dangerous, and I could lose myself if I hung around much longer.
Funny ideas were already brewing in my head. It was best to walk away.
“Don’t test me, Ester,” I whispered in her face, my breath against her skin.
She glared at me, masking her true feelings with anger and hatred.
Without a word, I walked away, leaving her to the cold and darkness of her new room. This situation might turn ugly much sooner than I thought, considering how drawn to her I was. She was supposed to be my prisoner, the means to get my revenge on Marco Moretti.
Now, it seemed the line between the mission and my growing obsession with her was starting to blur.
And that wasn’t good at all.
Chapter 13 – Ester
How long had it been? Five, six days? I wasn’t sure anymore. Time went by like a blur down here, and with each passing day, I felt the life draining out of me. At first, I thought it was hunger and that maybe if I stopped rejecting their meals, I’d feel a little better.
Well, my stomach was grateful to finally have something inside it after all this time. But then, I realized that it wasn’t just the lack of food that drained my strength. It was something else, and whatever it was, it was starting to get worse every day.
I felt dirty inside and out, my body arched all the time, and I was constantly nauseous. Something was wrong with me. Perhaps I was sick; perhaps it was a result of being confined here with limited air and sunlight exposure.
Every cell in my body was weak; my back hurt, my breasts were full, and my head was constantly aching. My lips were dry, cracked, and I felt heavier, slower, less and less agile every day. This place was slowly draining the life from my body; the walls felt suffocating, and I always felt like I could barely breathe.
I fought to stay alive, struggled to sleep every night, and hated waking up to my aches every morning. I didn’t think I’d ever miss my room back in the Moretti manor. But here I was, dreaming about my comfy bed, the fireplace to keep me warm, and the liberty to move around.
My father’s mansion might have been a prison, but at least there, I was respected and wasn’t treated like an animal. Sure, Dad was another monster on his own, but Yulian was worse, and it sucked to be his victim.
Every day, my hatred for him waxed stronger and stronger. The fact that he left me here to rot only proved how heartless he was. If I ever got out of this mess in one piece, I’ddrive a knife through his fucking skull. His beef was with my father, yet I was the one paying the price. How was that fair?
Both men were monsters, and I was unfortunate enough to be one caught in the crossfire. I wished I hadn’t listened to Laura when she asked me to stay back. I wished I’d fought more when Franco and those two idiots came after me.
I was only in this mess because my father’s men found me, because I let them take me back home.
I was losing not just my strength, but my sanity too. Maybe it wouldn’t be long now before I’d start hallucinating and eventually lose my freakin’ mind. It was freezing in here, and the thin blanket tossed to me two days ago did little to prevent the unforgiving cold from seeping into my bones.
