Page 52 of The Bratva's Forced Kidnapped Bride
“No,” I said, pushing up enough to stare directly into his eyes with a fire he wouldn’t be able to ignore.
“What?” he asked, stunned.
“You’re not going in without me. Just try to tell me otherwise and you’ll see exactly what I can do, even in this battered state.”
He stared back at me, his brows shooting together, his mouth dropping open to give me a thousand excuses why I should stay behind. Maybe he was even wondering where he put his handcuffs.
Then he chuckled, which turned into a full-throated laugh, his chest rising and falling so that he had to hold on tight so I wouldn’t roll off. When he stopped, he pulled me close and dropped a kiss on top of my head.
“I’d never dream of leaving you out of the fun.”
Chapter 38 - Anatoli
Masha was asleep with her head tucked under my chin only a few minutes later, and I lay beside her, wide awake, fighting anger every time I noticed a new bruise. Also, almost shaking with the desire my insatiable wife could raise in me, even after she was brought close to death.
She was a powerhouse, resilient, and so adorably stubborn. I listened to her slightly rasping breaths due to the tight bandages around her cracked ribs, unable to drift off even though I was confident no one had a clue about where we were. The motel was close to the border crossing but far enough outside of the major tourist areas that only locals used the ramshackle motel, and even then, there was only one car out in the lot.
Was I actually feeling guilty for lying to her? It wasn’t even really a lie when I hustled her away from that horror shack by telling her others were on the way. That was the complete truth. The only thing I left out was that the other people were Daniil and his guys. Since he knew what was going on, that meant every other Fokin did too by now. It was mildly amusing thinking about how pissed off he must have been when he arrived to find I took off with Masha instead of waiting for him, but he’d be crazy to expect anything else. It was why he was so adamant about me hanging back and waiting for him to arrive.
There was no way I could have done that. When I kicked down that door, one of those animals was about to slice through her jugular. She would have been dead in seconds. I shuddered now, holding her closer until she murmured in her sleep.
No, I wasn’t about to wait, just like I wasn’t about to give her up. I couldn’t. Not for anyone, especially not whenshe seemed content to stay with me now. More than content, if her voracious display before she passed out again was any indication.
“My sweet wild thing,” I said, kissing the top of her head and easing lower onto the bed to get more comfortable. She didn’t stir, her whole, bruised and battered body completely relaxed in my arms.
Could it be possible that we were truly a team?
I fell asleep, wondering, not sure I dared to hope. Masha slept for forty-eight hours, only waking once to take a few sips of water, then collapsing back into the deep healing sleep she needed. I was antsy and impatient, but I promised her she could be part of the raid to take out Julio Santino. It was only fair that she got to smash some heads after what she went through because of the Collective.
My pilot flew into the nearest airfield with the crew he gathered, and while Masha recuperated, we went over all the information I had acquired and put together a plan. It wasn’t much, but I had the strength of a thousand men due to the rage that bubbled up in me whenever I saw my beautiful wife’s swollen eyes and split lip.
On the third day, she made a huge show of being perfectly fine, pulling herself out of bed like her ribs didn’t hurt, practically skipping to the leaky shower. By the time she emerged with her long hair wet and falling down her back, I had a big meal ready for her.
“It’s not exactly five-star fare,” I said, laying out the fruit and rolls from the grocery, along with a half-grilled chicken from a street vendor about a block away.
She tore into it with gusto, barely wincing. “I’m good, Anatoli,” she said. “Stop looking at me like I’ll fall apart from getting a shower and eating two bites.”
“A bit more than two,” I teased as she practically inhaled an entire chicken thigh.
I couldn’t figure out why watching her eat was so mesmerizing, but it was the relief that made me keep staring at her as she double-fisted the fresh rolls. I couldn’t help but worry all the time she spent in deep sleep, but now she was up and acting like her old, tenacious self. She gave me a sunny smile that caused a small cut to reopen, nearly breaking my heart.
And replacing my relief with another burst of guilt. Things might go smoother if I included Daniil in our plans to raid Julio’s hideout. But then I might have to face giving her up. I might have to face her choosing to leave.
I shook it off. That wasn’t going to happen, not with the smile still shining on her face. I couldn’t help myself and leaned across the cramped little card table in our motel room and kissed her on her cheek. She turned so our lips met instead, reaching up to grab the back of my head and hold me there for more.
No, she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Should we leave tomorrow?” she asked, finally finished with her meal and leaning back to pat her stomach. “Gosh, I feel like I didn’t eat for days.”
“You didn’t,” I told her. “You’ve been asleep for more than two days, and I don’t remember the last time you ate before they grabbed you.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That long? We really need to get going then.”
“I’ve got Julio under surveillance,” I said. “The arrogant bastard isn’t going anywhere.” Worry clouded her eyes, and I quickly told her that no one had been able to track us.
“Yet,” she said, not convinced and raring to go.
She would have left that night if it was up to her, but no matter how she tried to hide it, she was still shaky on her feet after the beatings she had taken. It was a miracle that nothing more than a few ribs were broken. I fired up my laptop and let her see the cameras I was able to hack into, my software recording all the incidents of Julio coming and going from his house.
