Page 35 of Broken By the Bratva

I didn’t turn when I felt his presence behind me. I stared out the open window with the cool evening breeze coming in. It was all that kept me together. I knew if I even tried speaking, I would not be able to control my tears any longer.

Vadik’s hands gently rested on my hips as he pulled my back. Leaning against his chest, I felt my throat closing up. I wanted to turn and let him hold me. But I didn’t want to cry like a baby before him.

“I didn’t think they would be so hard on you.” He whispered.

“But you allowed it, you didn’t even try stopping them,” I huffed between deep breaths.

Vadik spun me around. Taking my face into his large hands, he lifted my head. Looking into his eyes, I could see the fear, and regret he had as he spoke. “If I did, they would have known something was up. I am so very sorry for all the pain.”

Blinking rapidly, I tried to swallow the knots but there was no stopping the flood. My tears rolled freely as I tried swallowing the air around us.

Vadik pulled me into his warm embrace. Holding me strongly, he caressed my hair. “I didn’t mean to cause you any pain,” he said kissing my head. “Will you stay with me tonight? In my room?”

Glancing up at him, I bit my upper lip nodding in agreement. Vadik picked me up into his arms and carried me to his room. He kicked the door open and walked to the side of the bed. Laying me down gently, he stroked my hair before moving to close the door.

“What can I do to fix this?” he asked sitting down next to me.

Smiling softly at him, I replied feeling a tad calmer. “Maybe a massage and then just holding me?”

Vadik nodded as he rose and collected a bottle of oil from the bathroom. “Right,” he said coming back. “Lay on your stomach with your top off.”

I did as he instructed. Vadik sat down next to me lathering my back and shoulders in oil. He massaged for about half an hour. After wiping the remaining oil off with a towel, he assisted me in putting my top back on.

Most of the tension had left my muscles and I felt tired. Moving to the side, Vadik got in behind me. He pulled me into his embrace and kissed my cheek. Laying in his bed in his warm embrace, I felt safe and comforted.

Chapter 19 - Vadik

“Come, you need more training,” I told Tasha as I led her out back. I had to keep her safe and protect her at all costs. Training her further would ensure she could defend herself should I not be around.

My feelings gravely impacted everything I did these days. I was struggling to keep things all business. I decided to teach her some SYSTEMA today, but I need my brothers. As we entered, I noticed they had not arrived. “Wait here for a moment,” I said as I went to look for them.

It didn’t take me long to find them. Pavel was in the kitchen. I spoke before he even spotted me. “Hey, aren’t you coming to help?”

“Yeah,” he replied through a mouth full. “Let me just finish this,” he added holding up his ham sandwich.

Shaking my head, I replied slightly disappointed. “Sure, and thanks.” Sometimes I had to ask them two or three times, they seemed to have brains like goldfish.

“Bring Makari with you,” I added as I was leaving. Glancing back, Pavel nodded and continued devouring his sandwich. Returning to the training room, I saw Tasha sitting on one of the mats.

Taking a seat next to her, I tried to explain the technique. “Right, so we will be taking this session a bit slower. There are a lot of moves you need to learn, each powerful and precise. We will focus on the hand-to-hand combat section.”

Tasha nodded as I took a breath. I could see she was listening with great interest, which was good. “We covered alittle bit in our training up to now. To some, it may seem a little goofy, but it can deliver powerful results if used correctly.”

She smiled turning her head to one side as she responded, “Why is it goofy?” I could hear the curiosity in her tone.

Grinning, I replied as I got up and held out my hand to her. “You’ll see soon enough.” Pavel and Makari came strolling through the door, and Tasha took my hand, and I pulled her up. “Welcome guys,” I said, turning to them. I just need some assistance to show Tasha some of the moves.”

Turning back to Tasha, I continued to explain. “The first thing to keep in mind is to breathe. Breathing is vital. You must be relaxed. You can use your own body weight and theirs against them.”

Smiling, I took her hand and folded it into a fist. “You want to make a loose fist. Imagine holding an egg in your palm. This allows you to use most of your knuckles. Instead of only using two knuckles, you will now use all of them to do damage.”

Turning to my brothers, I nodded. They slowly showed her how they folded their fingers and then mockingly hit each other. Tasha laughed so I decided we would join them. “Right, fold in your fingers and punch at me,” I said lightly tapping her shoulders with my fists.

Pavel and Makari stepped in next to us. They did the move repeatedly as we practiced. “Let’s move to the wall,” Pavel suggested.

“Yes, good ideal,” I agreed. Moving to the wall we lined up next to each other. “Place your fists against the wall and do a couple of push-ups.”

“It hurts,” Tasha said after doing about twenty.

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