Page 41 of Unexpected Bratva Baby

I stumble, my knees hitting the pavement hard. Screams erupt around us as people scatter. Another shot rings out, closer this time. The rush of air as a bullet whizzes past my ear makes me whimper.

Suddenly, Nastya’s hauling me to my feet. “Run,” she commands, dragging me toward the limo.

My legs move on autopilot, adrenaline coursing through my veins. Mikhail’s there, yanking open the car door. I dive inside with Nastya right behind me. Mikhail follows, slamming the door shut as the driver floors it.

The limo peels away from the curb with a screech of tires. I’m thrown against the seat, my heart pounding so hard I think it might burst out of my chest. “What... what just happened?” I gasp, struggling to catch my breath.

Mikhail’s face is grim as he looks at me. “Phoebe, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“You think?” I snap, fear making my voice sharp. “We were just shot at. What’s going on, Mikhail?”

He takes a deep breath, exchanging a look with Nastya, and it’s clear he knows her. How? My stomach twists with a new surge of nausea.

“I’m not who you think I am. I’m the leader of the Russianbratvain Miami.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I stare at him, waiting for the punchline, but his expression remains deadly serious. “The... the what?” I stammer.

“The Russian mafia,” says Nastya quietly.

I whip my head around to look at her. “And you? Let me guess, you’re not really my new friend from Scotland?”

She shakes her head, her eyes full of regret. “I work for Mikhail. I was assigned to protect you.”

The world spins around me. I close my eyes, trying to make sense of what I’m hearing. When I open them again, Mikhail and Nastya are watching me warily, as if I might explode. “So everything has been a lie?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Not everything,” Mikhail says quickly. “My feelings for you are real. I never meant for you to get caught up in this, but?—”

“But what?” I interrupt, anger rising to replace the shock. “But you thought you’d date a nice, normal girl and keep your criminal empire on the side? How did you think this was going to end, Mikhail?”

He runs a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. “I didn’t think. I just...I fell for you, Phoebe, and by the time I realized how deep I was in, it was too late.”

“Too late for what?”

“Too late to keep you safe without bringing you into my world,” he says softly.

The limo turns sharply, and I grab onto the door handle to steady myself. Outside the tinted windows, Miami’s streets blur by, familiar landmarks made strange by the surreal turn my life has taken.

“The gunshots at the airport,” I say slowly, piecing things together. “They were trying to kill us?”

Mikhail nods. “A rival organization. They’ve been pushing into our territory for months. When they found out about you...”

He trails off, but I can fill in the blanks. I’ve become a target, a way to get to Mikhail.

“So what happens now?” I ask, hating how small my voice sounds.

“Now we keep you safe,” says Nastya firmly. “No matter what it takes.”

I look between them, these two people I thought I knew. Mikhail, the charming businessman I’d fallen for. Nastya, the friendly traveler I’d bonded with in Scotland. Both of them are dangerous criminals, apparently.

“And if I don’t want to be kept safe? If I want to go home and forget any of this ever happened?”

His expression hardens. “That’s not an option. They know about you now and have since that break-in at your apartment.”

I close my eyes, having mostly blocked out the sense of violation that accompanied that. I’d chalked it up to addicts looking for something to sell but finding nothing valuable. “Of course, that was you as well.”

“Them,” he says in a biting tone. “To hurt me. You’ll never be safe on your own.”

“So, I’m your prisoner now?”

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