Page 73 of The Bratva's Bounty

Unfortunately, Igor didn't even give me a second of reprieve. His grubby hand fisted the back of my hair, forcing my head back to an unnaturalangle that caused pain to stab at my neck. "You fucking bitch, you are going to regret that." He seethed at me, earning a bloody ball of spit to his face from me, which in turn got me a slap from him that split my lip open.

Shoving my face into the rough, concrete ground, he pressed my face into it until I felt the prickly ground scrape my face raw. "You know, I was going to wait until after we left the States to start breaking you, but I guess there would be no harm in starting early."

The feeling of his hand snaking under my shirt and grabbing me instantly kicked my body into survival mode. My legs kicked wildly like a herd animal fending off a predator while my arms clawed and pushed at Igor's heavy body to try and keep him as far from me as possible.

Screams of protest scratched my throat raw until it felt like my vocal cords would snap if I made even the faintest of sounds.

Then, my poor eardrums deafened after a while of hearing myself along with Lev's protestant shouts.

But, no matter how hard I fought… I couldn't stop every person's worst nightmare from coming true.

Chapter 32

Lev

I'm gonna kill him.I'm gonna fucking kill him!

It fucking killed me to see Nicole like this—broken. My heart broke into so many pieces being forced to watch… Watching her walls be torn down and smashed to nothing, for her to be reduced to…

Forcing the ordeal into a burning pit, I focused my attention back on my empress. "It's okay, I got you, it's okay." But was it? Would it ever be okay? Would we ever be okay after this? Was recovery possible?

"I'm sorry." All of this was my fault. None of this would have happened if I had been more wise back at the cabin. I should have tried harder to save Nicole, too. Yet, I did nothing; I was fucking useless while the damn bastard… "I'm so sorry."

After Igor was done, he threw Nicole back into the cage and left with his men. I managed to struggle myself over to Nicole, and she undid the rope that bound me. It hurt like hell to kick in the cage door enough to budge it open, but I gritted through the pain. Besides, I had no right to complain or give up. Nicole needed me, and she literally went through Hell. So I could endure some nonsense pain.

I don't know how long we stayed in each other's arms; not like it mattered to me. As long as I had her in my arms, that was all that mattered. Also, giving her comfort and being there for her was all I could do for her.

No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't take her pain away. There was no way for me to erase what happened to her from her mind. Nor could I ever take the trauma away from her body.

A muffled noise from Nicole made me look down at her as I pulled her head back. "You'll still love me, right? You won't leave me, will you? I didn't want him or liked what he did. I only thought about you, I swear." Her frantic words spilled out of her nonstop with her tears that burned my skin like acid when they fell on me.

Immediately, I shot her down and shushed her gently as I held her face in my trembling hands. "Nicole, no, never. I would and will never think or see you any differently because of something like that, ever. I swear on my life and my mother." It hurt me so much to see her in shambles like this.

Giving her a stern look, I kissed her deeply. "And don't you ever question me and or anyone like that after the fact. And if anyone ever leaves you or changes the way they look at you because of something like that, then you punch them in the face and throw them into a landfill." I tried to lighten the mood a little by forcing out a bit of a serious joke at the end, along with a smile.

Hesitantly, Nicole cracked an awkward smile and chuckled very dryly. "I'd rather blow a bomb in their face, but I guess your way works, too." Her words were a little choppy and forced, but at least she was trying.

Although, as soon as it left, it came back. Her eyes darted away from mine to the ground, and her face fell completely. The air around us turned somber again as she slumped against me almost lifelessly. "How can you even see me the same after that?" Her worries reared its ugly face again.

Kissing her temple, I rubbed her arms soothingly. "My love, no, I don't see you the same, and I never will." Curling a finger under her chin, I lifted her face. "You aren't the same, not after that, but not for the reasons you are probably thinking about." Brushing a thumb across her lips, I smiled at her proudly. "I will always see you as better than me, the strongerperson."

As I continued to hold her, I slowly brushed my fingers over the marks that marred her once-pristine body. Bruises in various stages of forming littered her extremities and face from where she was grabbed and held. Scrapes and cuts from the ground reddened her joints and face, making her look really battered and battle-worn. To be fair, she fought like a hellion until the very end, so I would've been surprised if she didn't up with battle scars.

God, I hated how she had to fight alone. I was fucking useless, tied to a chair. All I could do was scream and shout helplessly while she suffered.

Taking a deep breath, I kissed her cheek. "You literally got dragged to Hell and left there, but you pulled yourself out without giving yourself any time to grieve. You fought the damn devil tooth and nail throughout it all, despite knowing the end result, and never once did you give up." Nuzzling her face, I gave it tender kisses. "I will always see you as the better between us from now on, and I will always see you on the higher pedestal. I wish I could say I'd do the same in your situation, but I know for a damn fact that I wouldn't."

As much as I wanted to say otherwise, I would've been in a worse state than Nicole if someone forced themselves on me in front of my significant other. I'd be broken, inconsolable, and mentally unaware.

"You are so strong,zhizn moya, and I couldn't be more proud to call you mine," I said against her lips, kissing her deeply. "You are a fucking survivor who crawled out of the depths of hell with a crown of victory."

Hugging her tightly, I swore to her, "We'll get out of this together, and we'll burn the bastard alive."

The only problem now was how all of that would happen.

"Are you sure your body can handle that? You're still pretty banged up." Nicole eyed my various injuries with concerned eyes.

Taking in a controlled breath, I nodded my head in confirmation. "This is the only chance we got. The moment they move us to the new location, we'llbe at a huge disadvantage," I whispered in a hushed voice as the two of us sat in the back of the car.

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