Page 50 of Bratva Bride

“You fucker! Stop it!” Again Miguel tried to break free, but it was no use.

“Why? You tried to do much worse to my daughter. Why should I spare your daughter pain when you weren’t going to do the same for mine?”

“Because she’s just a child!” Miguel begged.

“Illayana is a child! MY CHILD!” Dimitri roared, trembling with rage. “It doesn’t matter if she’s ten or a hundred. She willalwaysbemy child! And you tried to take her from me. Tried to hurt her! Had she not had protection, you may have succeeded.”

The little girl started sobbing uncontrollably, trying to get free of Dimitri’s ironclad grip. The two women and the man looked on in horror as Dimitri roughly handled the little girl.

Miguel looked frantically around the room, his brown eyes jumping from person to person, looking for something, anything, that might help him.

Aleksandr, Nikolai and Lukyan all stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, their faces impassive. If he was looking for help from them, he wasn’t getting it.

Miguel lowered his head in defeat. “What do you want?”

Dimitri smiled and released the little girl. She immediately buried herself into the women next to her, trying to hide. He sat back down in his seat across from Miguel, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“You have two choices. First choice, you tell me everything you know. I want everything. Why you tried to kidnap Illayana, what you planned to do with her once you got her, every goddamn thing. Do that, and I’ll give your family a quick and painless death.”

Huh?Usually when people cooperated, their reward wasn’t death. Unless death was the better option?

Miguel frowned. “Why would their death be an incentive for me to tell you what you want to know?”

A malicious smile crossed Dimitri’s face. “Because of your second option. If you don’t talk, I’ll sell your sisters to sex slavers.” Miguel paled, all the colour draining from his face. “I’ll keep you alive, so you can live every day knowing that men are defiling the ones you love. Your brother, I’ll chuck in the fight pits. Perhaps he can make me some money,” Dimitri shrugged. “And then, when you can’t bear to live any longer, I’ll sell you too. So your body will be just as broken as your mind.”

Holy fucking shit. This man was fucking ruthless! Note to self: never hurt Illayana.

“I personally am not involved in the skin trade,” Dimitri continued. “However, Illayana’s God Father is. You may have heard of him. . . Mikhail Vasolv.”

If it was even possible, Miguel’s face turned even whiter, and I couldn’t blame him. The Cosa Nostra aren’t involved in the skin trade either, but we know all the key players.

Mikhail Vasolv was a man of horror, the type of man people have nightmares about. He’s the guy you go to if you’re looking to buy or sell women. Or even men, if that’s what you’re in too. Rumour has it, he likes to break in the girls first before putting them on the market. And he’s completely viscous about it. Vincenzo told me he once heard that Mikhail had broken a woman so bad, she committed suicide. Slit her wrists with a soda can.

Tears burst from Miguel’s face as he looked at his family. “Please,” he begged. “Just let them go and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I swear it.”

“Net,” Dimitri shook his head. “There is no scenario here where your family lives. You went after my family, now I go after yours.” The women started to sob loudly at Dimitri’s words. “The only choice you get to make is whether your family dies quickly, or slow and painfully. And I can guarantee you, Mikhail would make it painful.”

Miguel slumped forward, all the fight in him evaporating. His eyes ran over his family, filled with so much regret and sorrow. I knew 100% what I would do in his situation. There’s no way I’d let Illayana be sold to a sex slaver.

Dimitri started tapping his foot, his patience wearing thin. “Decide. Now,” he snapped, narrowing his eyes.

“Option one,” Miguel said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Dimitri smiled, flicking his wrist. Lukyan and Nikolai grabbed the chains holding the prisoners together and started leading them out the way they came. Miguel watched as they left the room, his face filled with sadness.

Dimitri leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked at Miguel. “Why did you try to kidnap Illayana?”

“Because Nero ordered us to.”

I fucking knew it. That old shitfuck of a Gambino tried to steal my fiancé! It took everything in me not to leap across the room and pummel him for more information. I clenched my fists at my side, determined to stay in place and exert my self control.

Dimitri narrowed his eyes. “Why? Why did he want her?”

“To keep you from interfering.”

“Interfering in what?”

“His crusade against the De Lucas. He doesn’t want you helping them, arming them with your guns. He wants you to butt the fuck out and mind your own business. He planned to keep her and threaten her life if you got involved.”

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