Page 45 of Bratva Bride

Lukyan inclined his head behind me and I turned to find Dimitri striding towards me. He was dressed in a tailored light blue suit (weird for one o'clock in the morning, but alright) and black tie. Aleksandr and Nikolai were at his side, stony expressions on their faces.

"You're not even here for five minutes and you've already pissed her off. Not a smart move," Dimitri said, stopping in front of me.

He ran his light blue eyes over Christian and Luca. They both stood up straighter and puffed out their chests as Dimitri examined them. It was clear he was assessing them, determining their worth. They may have looked young, but they were deadly. And I'd never come across a set of people who worked so well together.

After he scrutinised them for a few more seconds, he gave a subtle nod of approval. "I'll make sure she accepts them, but she won't be happy about it. She's never needed guards before. I taught her how to protect herself, so she'd never have to rely on anyone."

Christian scratched the back of his head, his brows pulled together in a frown. He leaned over and whispered into Luca's ear.

"Something to say, boy?" Dimitri said, arching an eyebrow.

The twins immediately separated, standing up as straight as they could. "No sir."

Dimitri tsked, shaking his head in disappointment. "I don't like liars. Care to try that again?"

Christian and Luca looked at each other intently. To anyone else, it would look like they were having a staring competition, but I knew better. They had this uncanny ability to be able to communicate without using actual words. Like they could read exactly what the other was thinking by just looking at their face. It's what made them so lethal in a fight.

Luca grabbed Christian by the arm and shoved him forward.

"Uhm, we-"

Luca kicked him in the shin.

"Ow, fuck!" Christian scowled at his brother, rubbing his leg. "I mean I - was just a little confused about something you said, that's all."

"Let me guess," Lukyan interjected, "you don't believe she can protect herself?"

Christian looked down at the ground, not answering.

"Show them," Dimitri commanded.

Nikolai moved instantly, heading down the long corridor and disappearing into a room. Aleksandr motioned for us to follow him as he made his way through the house. He led us to the kitchen and took a seat at the large wooden table in the middle of the room, gesturing to the empty seats.

Lukyan plopped down next to him, kicking his feet up onto the table. The twins, Lorenzo and I all exchanged looks with one another before slowly sitting down on the opposite side of the table. Dimitri stayed standing.

"Want some advice?" Lukyan asked, leaning back casually in his chair and humming softly.

"Not really, but I have a feeling you're going to give it to me anyway," I replied.

"She's fucking crazy. Get out while you can."

Aleksandr slapped him on the back of the head. Lukyan grunted and scowled at his older brother, massaging his head.

Christian and Luca snickered.

Nikolai came back into the room carrying a laptop, his square jaw clenched and eyes narrowed in concentration as he typed away. He placed it down in the centre of the table.

"The alleyway Illayana and Lukyan were attacked in had surveillance. The owner of the convenience store on that block installed a camera after his staff got attacked while taking out the trash one night. I hacked into the CCTV system and deleted the whole thing. But not before I made a copy."

He clicked a button on the laptop and took the empty seat next to Aleksandr. Christian, Luca and I leaned forward, watching as a video started to play. The quality wasn't very good, the video grainy and heavily pixelated. But the second Illayana and Lukyan stepped into view, I forgot all about it. Adrian and Lorenzo were following close behind, right on their tails.

Suddenly, five men sprung out from behind a dumpster and stood in front of them. One of the men stepped forward and started talking. Of course, there was no fucking sound though.

Cheap ass camera.

Another five men came from where they entered from, essentially boxing them in. Raw anger shot straight through me at the events unfolding before my eyes. Even though I knew she was okay and wasn't hurt, it was still difficult to just sit here and watch.

In an instant, the men pounced. Four on Lukyan, three on Adrian, two on Lorenzo, and one walking slowly towards Illayana. Rage pulsed through my veins as I watched him slowly descend on her.

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