Page 53 of Cruel Bratva King

“It’s the Italians, isn’t it?” Maxim asked. Of my three brothers, Maxim was the tallest and had the prettiest and innocent looking face. Behind that face was a monster that ripped to pieces anything that stood in his path.

I downed my drink, ignoring them. All three of them were unmarried and still held to the idea that women were nothing more than breeders for the men in our world. They wouldn’t understand even if I explained to them like they were three years old.

“Marriage problems,” Nikolai announced. “Brother has changed. You would think he’s in love.”

“Iyubov’?” Maxim chortled. “I’d sooner become a priest than the chances of that happening. Right,brat?”

He looked at me, expecting an answer, but I silently swallowed my drink instead, refusing to engage in self-mockery. If I gave my brothers the slightest hint that I cared for Lilianna, they would grip it like a straw and taunt me with it for the rest of my life.

Four strippers walked in and settled on each of my brothers’ laps. The last one tried to sit on mine but moved to Maxim when I glared at her. Maxim tapped her ass and pulled her to his legs, his eyes filled with excitement. Him and his love for women. It was a miracle our enemies hadn’t gotten to him yet.

“It’s strange you aren’t looking at any women,” Vlad noted. “How can you resist an ass like this,” He licked his lips, and I almost threw up.

“Marriage is a curse,” Maxim answered. “Our poor brother has withered with his commitment tonevestka.” The three of them laughed heartily. If they weren’t my brothers, they would be corpses by now.

My phone rang from where it was tucked inside my pocket, and I removed it. Viktor’s name flashed on my screen. When I answered, he was panting at the other end of the line. “Boss.”

“V chem delo?” I asked, getting riled up. I could sense something was wrong, and I didn’t like that he was making me wait to find out what the matter was. Lilianna was at the mansion, and she was going to get hurt if anything happened. “Govorit’!”

“It’s the Italians, boss. We’re being attacked.”

I heard the sound of a shotgun, and the line went dead.

Chapter 23 - Lilianna

I awakened from sleep to the sound of shots being fired. I heard voices, some Russian, the others Italian. All of them sounded angry, as if there was a war going on, and I wasn’t aware.

I had been so exhausted I fell asleep as soon as Sergey left the room hours ago and now I was frozen in fear, not knowing what the hell was going on. Another shot sounded in the air, startling me so much that I fell off the bed, clenching my stomach and trembling.

What was happening? Where was Sergey? Something was up; I knew it. Sergey wouldn’t leave me in here alone unless… I quickly shook the thought away. He wasn’t hurt. Sergey wasn’t the kind of guy to get hurt that easily, right?

I heard footsteps down the hall, followed by a maniac whisper that drew nearer to my room each second. I glanced around, looking for a place to hide, but there was none. There was no place to escape to either.

My chest tightened, my heart rate skyrocketing as I rammed my brain for a way to keep myself alive. My gaze darted to the floor, and an idea lit in my head like a lightbulb.‘

Under the bed. I can hide under the bed.

Before I could climb down from the bed and go under, the door handle twitched, and the door flew open. I froze, cold sweat forming on my forehead as a man stepped into the room, still whispering.

Terror trickled down my spine as I stared at the man standing at the door with a gun in his hand. He looked like he was eight feet tall at least, big and baldheaded. He had the evilest smile on his lips as he edged the bed.

He was terrifying, not as terrifying as I thought Sergey to be, but terrifying nonetheless. Sergey wouldn’t kill me, but this man right here looked like he had the intention of torturing me until I begged for death.

My lungs deflated from lack of air, my heart hammering against my ribcage as I shifted into my bed until there was nowhere else to shift into. Forcing a deep breath, I muttered, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” My fear bled into my voice.

The man stopped just at the end of the bed, twirling his gun around his fingers. My eyes refused to move from his hand. My entire life flashed before my eyes. One bullet was all it would take. Just one bullet and I was dead.

He smiled, and I noticed he was missing a tooth. “Ciao, amore.” He walked around the bed to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He raised his hand, trailing his finger on my neckbone. I flinched from his touch. “I don’t know who you are, but you better leave before Sergey comes.”

“Sergey?” His horselaugh vibrated in the room, lingering in the air even a minute after he stopped. “Even him can’t save you,mio amore.It’s just you and me here.”

More footsteps loomed in the hallway. Before I knew it, there were three more men standing there, all of them Italian. They all had guns, and all of them peered at me with strong disdain that made my skin crawl.

My chest constricted as if the walls had drawn together, crushing me in. I was getting dizzy from the panic churning in my stomach. Afraid I’d pass out from fear before they even pulled the trigger on me, I took deep and slow breaths.

“Did Giulia send you to do this, huh?” I was engulfed with raw fear, but I couldn’t let it show. If I had to die tonight, I would rather stand tall than be on my knees, cowering in fear.

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