Page 20 of Bratva Beast

ISABELLA

Cynric leaves our bedroom and tears stream down my face. Russell would have raped me and probably killed me if Cyn hadn’t found me. My heart is pounding. His bed smells like sex. Sin and Cyn. I chuckle through my tears. Papa is going to threaten all kinds of things when he sees me. I wipe my face. “You’re safe, Izzy.” I need to go back to the kickboxing gym and figure out how to be more safe, or he’ll never let me be what I want to be. I raise my head. “Where’s my phone? Damn it.”

The hallway outside Cyn’s door is lit up like Fort Knox. I touch the wall plate, which opens the door. Saxon, Cynric’s youngest brother, appears at the end of the hall by my bedroom door. I smile, and he smirks.

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“I don’t have my phone.”

He shrugs. “It’s broken. You’ll get a new one in the morning.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just grab my tablet so I can check my messages.”

Saxon opens my door so I can walk through. “So, you and the prince?”

“I guess.”

“I’m not sure Papa will be happy with the arrangement.”

If I restricted my life to what Papa liked, I’d be some wife to a low-level thug. I pick up my tablet. “Where’s my backpack?”

“Not sure. I’ll text Cyn.”

“Make sure he knows I’m going back to bed.”

He acknowledges me with a head bob as I head back down the hall, shutting the steel doors and climbing back into bed. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I take a deep breath. Tomorrow. I’ll think about all of it tomorrow.

Chapter 6

CYNRIC

A Bravikov enforcer stands at the large steel door leading into our smaller warehouse. If you were outside on the street, you’d never think anything nefarious was happening inside. The building appears to be vacant. I nod at a second enforcer, who tries to step into the elevator with me. My expression puts him back on the floor as I hit the button to go down. I itch. My hands tingle at the prospect of ripping Russell to pieces. Isabella’s bruises flash in my mind, and I crack the bones in my neck. “No one better have touched him.”

The doors open, and I step into a long, dark hall. The third enforcer tips his head at me, keeping his position still. That’s how they’re supposed to act.

I push open the door and the scent of piss hits my nose. Charging in, I bellow. “I told you not to touch him.”

Anatoly leans against the far table with a smirk. “I didn’t, but he knows what’s coming. He pissed himself the second he came to, tied to the chair.”

My eyes scan the room, finding him hunched over on a steel chair in the middle of the room, sitting over a drain. My brow raises at Anatoly.

“He’s ready for you to dismember him.”

I charge at the man who injured Isabella. Fear permeates the air and competes with the smell of urine for the overall stench of the room. Russell thrashes in the chair. The fabric gag in his mouth is tied tight enough that he can’t close his mouth. Bruises cover his face, but nowhere near what I’m going to do to the man. I reach for the gag and use my knife to slice through the dark, wet cloth.

“Please. Please. I didn’t know she mattered.”

His cheek drips blood and I smile. I wipe the blade on the rag Anatoly hands me. I lean against the table in front of Russell. “You’re an idiot, and you’re going to die a slow, painful death for hurting my woman.”

He shakes his head. “No. I didn’t know.”

I catch the expression on Anatoly’s face as he smirks. “Don’t play with your prey. Just kill him.”

I select the small garden shears off the metal table next to me. I open and close the two sharp blades, like scissors and cock my head. “What to cut off?”

My brother, Wystan, enters the room. “His nuts.”

I laugh. “Don’t tempt me. He tried to rape Isabella.” I stare at the man as he cringes. “Out of curiosity, why didn’t you?”

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