Page 32 of Lies He Told Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 1)

I’m fucking sick of it.

“That’s mine!” I yell, and clamp my hands onto the pizza so that, despite Rainbow Hair’s tearing, she only gets a thin sliver of crust.

The surprise throws up her penciled-in red brows for only a half second, before rage bares her teeth. She scrabbles over the table, broken-nailed hands out for my neck.

Well, that escalated quickly.

I jab a fist into her chest, but that only stops her for a few seconds. She charges up and over the table, coming at me like a buffalo, wide frame poised for the inevitable crash. I have just enough seconds to stash the remainder of the slice into my Walmart plastic bag, bracing myself.

Although it’s already too late.

She crashes into me like a runaway train, and she smells gamey and sweaty and sweet, like she thought twenty spurts of some Coco Chanel knockoff perfume would hide the fact that she hasn’t showered since the invention of the Internet.

All around us, the world is screaming, yelling. Pain crashes into me like a mallet from the impact of her knees and fists and elbows. I’m on the ground now, fighting back as best I can. Arms, legs flailing.

A man is yelling. Everyone is yelling.

I’m fighting with everything I have—and, like always, it isn’t enough.

8

Gavril

Not on my watch.

I clench my teeth so the curses won’t break free. This is supposed to be a publicity event,mygood publicity event, and these fucking wretches are trying to ruin it.

I stride past the hobos all chanting and hooting and wailing, stop in my tracks.

There she is. My girl.

Notmine, of course not, but…

And throwing a fist at her is…

No.

I grab the rainbow-haired woman’s fist in midair. The bitch lets out a primal scream, but I throw her aside and turn my attention to the wide-eyed girl she was attacking. “What happened?” I demand.

Joy is crouching away, breathing hard. “She was trying to steal my pizza.”

“Asshole!” Rainbow Hair screeches from the ground like a banshee.

I nod to Ludmil. He and some boys slide over to where I’m standing. By the time they’ve reached us, Rainbow Hair Crazy Bitch has wisely decided to shut the fuck up and recede into the background.

“You okay?” I ask Joy.

She’s still on the ground, finding her breath, the shock and fear and rage on her face slowly ebbing away. “I think so. Thank you.”

I offer her a hand. “It’s only right.”

The look she gives me is almost amused. As if I don’t get how rare even that tiny kindness is.

“Come on.” My hand is still out. This is going to look stupid soon if she doesn’t take it. “I know a place.”

Her face doesn’t change. I dip my head off to the side, to the picnic table where Ludmil and I were going to talk business, but fuck it, that can wait. This is more important right now.

One more appraising look—God, those hazel upturned eyes, and that face, a pale oval with plump lips parted like …

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