Page 98 of Bratva Bride

“My name is Nero.” He smiled, trying to go for friendliness but I could tell it was forced. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Wish I could say the same.”

I studied everyone in the room. Twelve men, including Nero, and all looking at me like I was their next meal.

Wonderful.

“Aw, I think you’ll like me once you get to know me.” He winked and waved a hand.

One of his lackeys – a bald guy with a huge gap tooth – pulled out a phone and started recording. “Smile for the camera, pretty,” he said, a sick, twisted smirk on his face.

I smiled brightly, flashing my teeth and he faltered, the smirk slipping from his lips.

I bet he expected me to cower, to cry. To beg them not to hurt me and let me go. That’s what any normal, rational woman would do in my position, I’m sure. But I’m far from normal. Or rational. I’d probably end up antagonising them further.

“My bitch of a cousin set this up, didn’t she?”

Nero smiled and walked about the room, hands behind his back like some general in the army. “I’ll admit, I was sceptical when she first approached me. I thought it was some sort of ploy you guys were trying to play. But one look at her face and I could see the hatred pouring off of her,” he laughed. “Never seen a chick that hot look so crazy. I swear, I was a heartbeat away from fucking her til she bled.”

I scrunched up my face. “Lovely. What exactly did she tell you?”

“Oh, lots of things. She was quite the Chatty Cathy once she got started.”

“Don’t believe everything ya hear. She’s a compulsive liar.”

“Funny. She said the same thing about you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course she did. Was she the one who planted the bombs at my wedding for you too?”

“For me?”Nero shook his head, laughing. “Oh, she didn’t do that for me. She did it for her. You see, it was her idea to hit the wedding. I thought it was idiotic, considering the place was going to be full of Bratva and Cosa Nostra men. But when she mentioned the arsenal you guys kept in that house, I couldn’t say no. She suggested planting a few bombs near your reception and timing them to go off at the same time as my men crashed the gates to increase the chaos. Then baddabing, baddaboom. The rest is history.”

“My uncle, he a part of this crap, too?”

“Maybe, maybe not. In all honesty it doesn’t really matter. You’re here for my agenda, not theirs.”

“And whatisyour agenda?”

He flicked his eyes to the phone and back to me. “To show your father and the Cosa Nostra exactly what happens when they cross me. Once they see the pain I put you through, they’ll be willing to do whatever I fucking want to get me to stop.”

“You overestimate my value to the De Lucas. You think they’d give a shit that you have me? All you’ve done is make yourself an enemy of the Bratva and trust me, they’re a worse enemy to have then the Cosa Nostra.”

“As wife of the future head of the Cosa Nostra, you’re definitely important to them. And the second your father got involved with them, he made an enemy out ofme.I not only want Alessandro to see his son suffer the same way I suffered when he stolemywife from me. I also want others to see what happens when they align themselves with the Cosa Nostra.”

“Fiancé,” I corrected. “She was your fiancé, not your wife.”

“Same shit, different name. She wasmine, regardless of her status.”

“Clearly not, since she ditched you to marry Alessandro. From what I hear, she couldn’t get away from you fast enough.”

Nero backhanded me. No harsh words, no build up of anger. Just a straight slap to the face with the back of his hand. My head whipped to the side, a sharp sting radiating over my cheek.

I turned back to face him, shifting my jaw from side to side. I wiped the small amount of blood trailing from my mouth to my chin with a finger, my tongue running over the bottom of my lip.

I exhaled in disappointment. “Well, that was uncalled for.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth on you.”

“So I’ve been told. I think it’s one of my best qualities, to be honest. What about Lucian and Theodora? Why try to kidnap them?”

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