Page 100 of The Bratva's Christmas Bump
Shoving past him, I stalk toward the door, then turn back and angrily point at him. “How can you talk like that? What kind of loyalty does that show the people I’m supposed to lead? Telling them they’re fucking expendable?”
“You can’t save everyone!” he yells suddenly, then catches himself and steps back. “You can’tcareabout everyone, Maxim. You can’t protect everyone. You can put things in place to keep people safe but at the end of the day, the only people who truly matter arefamily. Caring for everyone means caring for no one, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll be able to think about this objectively and stop this fucker.”
I want to tell him he’s wrong. That his words are cold and heartless, but deep down, I know he’s right. There are countless businesses and families under our rule, far too many to count, and I can’t keep them all safe. I can’t save everyone the moment there’s a lick of danger. I can’t be everywhere at once.
Defeat clings to my shoulders no matter how hard I try to shrug it off. “So what do I do?”
“Protect those you care about.” He brings his glass to his lips. “And Vinnie will come to you.”
Hollie.
I love her.
It’s the only certainty in my life and twice, that fucker has gotten too close to her. I need to get her out of his sight, especially if she’s pregnant. It doesn’t matter where we go, but it has to be away. Then, if Vinnie really wants to get my attention, he’ll have to follow.
“Shit.” I sink down onto the nearest chair. “How can one man cause all of this?”
“It feels big, but he’s just a pebble in your shoe, chipping away at you. We have to make sacrifices sometimes, and then we soothe over the pain left. We kill who we need to kill, we save who we can, and we make deals that stop us from sleeping but keep us afloat. That’s the cost we pay.”
My eyes close and I press my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “Hollie… she has this opportunity to go?—”
The sudden buzzing from my phone cuts me off and an unknown number flashes on the screen, derailing my thoughts. Exchanging a glance with my father, I answer. “Hello?”
“Maxim?” Susan’s trembling voice fills my ear. “Oh, Maxim, I didn’t know who else to call!”
I’m on my feet immediately as ice spreads its cold, killer fingers through my chest. “Tell me.”
“It was awful, oh God, it was awful!” Susan dissolves into tears and fabric scuffles over the phone, then Martin’s voice follows.
“He’s taken her,” he says thickly. “I don’t know who, but a man came. He’s killed your men and he’s taken Hollie. I’ve done what I can, but you need to bring my daughter back, do you understand me? I don’t care what this is, but you told me youmarried her to save her, so you'd better fucking save her, you hear me?”
The cold spreads like a fever throughout my body and my eyes lock with my Dad’s. “He’s taken her.”
“Move.” Dad abandons his glass and we’re rushing through the manor.
“I’ll get her back,” I swear down the phone. “Tell me everything.”
By the time Martin’s told me everything, I’m in the car with Stu driving and Dad in the backseat. Hearing Toto’s alive is the only good thing coming out of this current disaster, and my dad mobilizes several teams to secure Hollie’s parents. As the call ends, I’m about to ask Stu to take me to Rex when another call comes through.
“Hollie?” Despite barking her name, she doesn’t speak and all that comes through is the hum of a car engine. I place the call on speaker and Stu pulls over to the side of the road as we exchange a glance.
“Why him?” Hollie’s muffled, teary voice crackles through what seems to be a layer of fabric. “Why do you care so much?”
“Are you thick?” Vinnie’s voice follows, somewhat distant. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have your family wiped out because someone leagues away from you decides it’s the only way to move forward? People make mistakes but the fucking Krasnovs act like they’re above all of us!”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Hollie gasps. “He kidnapped me, remember? Forced me to marry him.”
“I’d believe you, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Vinnie sneers.
“How did you find me?”
“I was going to take you at the cafe but when you snuck away, I got curious. Is it his baby? Are you carrying his fucking spawn?”
Stu’s gaze locks on me and he mouths ‘no fucking way’.
“No,” Hollie gasps. “I was pregnant before I met him.”
“I don’t believe you.”
