Page 71 of Bratva Bride

A large explosion ripped through the Volkov Estate, throwing Illayana and I into the air. I curved my body around hers, shielding her from as much of the blast as I could as we tumbled to the ground.

Screams erupted from all around us, the sounds of bullets whizzing past and men yelling in Russian and Italian filling my ears. Another explosion rocked the ground beneath me, debris raining down like confetti all around me. Blood spilled down my face and my body ached beyond belief, but I couldn't think about that right now.

"Illayana?"

I could feel my eyes beginning to close, the blood loss starting to take its toll on me. I fought the haziness as much as I could but it was no use. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Illayana's unconscious body lying beside mine.

ChapterSeventeen

Illayana De Luca

All I could feel was pain.

All I could see was smoke.

All I could hear was an incessant ringing in my ears.

I blinked, trying to get my eyes to focus, but it was like I was stuck in a haze. Nothing was coming through right. I could taste blood on my tongue, and I knew that at least on some level I had internal injuries.

Don’t worry about that now. Worry about it later.

I heard someone calling my name over and over again. Could see them standing over me but my senses still weren’t working properly. All I saw was a blur. All I could hear was ringing. That damn ringing.

A sharp slap to my face knocked my head to the side. That momentary sting somehow managed to snap me back to reality.

Who the fuck just slapped me?!

“Illayana!”

My eyes began to focus on the figure standing above me, the blurry-ness slowly starting to fade until Aleksandr’s worried face came into view. I blinked rapidly, fighting the last bit of obscurity from my eyesight.

“Did you just fucking slap me?” I rasped, my voice rough and thick.

Relief flooded his face as he leaned forward and wrapped me in his embrace. He sat me up, squeezing my body tightly.

“Can’t . . . breathe,” I choked.

His hold immediately loosened but he kept his arms around me as he leaned back to study my face. “Don’t do that again. You scared the fucking shit out of me.”

I scanned my surroundings, taking in all the destruction and chaos around me. Smoke and the scent of blood tainted the air, nearly overcoming all my senses. Bodies littered the ground, their limbs grotesquely contoured from being hurled into the air by the blast.

Bile rose in my throat from the sight and stench of all those bodies, and I had to work hard to keep it all down. People I knew, people I had just spoken to only moments ago, lying dead all around me. I had grown up familiar with death, had seen more dead bodies as a child than most people see in a lifetime. But this? This was fucked.

Now isn't the time to get squeamish, Illayana! Pull your shit together!

Fire blazed from our house, the entire front section crumbling as Cosa Nostra and Bratva men worked together to try and put it out while others fought against masked invaders.

I looked around, panic setting in when I couldn't find my father, brothers or Arturo.

"Where are they?" My eyes darted rapidly around my surroundings, searching for them.

Oh God, please let them be okay.

The longer I went without seeing them, the worse my panic got. My heart started to beat faster and faster, my breathing turned erratic.

"Sestra,"Aleksandr said sternly, gripping my shoulders and shaking me lightly. “Snap the fuck out of it before I slap it out of you. Again.”

I narrowed my eyes and wretched my body out of his grasp. “Do it and you’ll be fucking sorry,” I snarled.

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