Page 29 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

For now, anyway. Who were those men, and why were they here? I tuck those questions to the back of my mind for the moment and urge Ella to her feet. She’s unsteady, legs wobbling, and I gather her into my arms to support her before she falls again. Shit. Did she get a concussion when she went down?

“Look at me, Ella.” I take her chin gently between my fingers and lift it until she’s forced to look into my eyes. I search hers for any sign of confusion, then hold up a finger and wave it slowly back and forth in front of her face, checking for any delay. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

She sniffles. “One. Just one.”

“Good, that’s good.” I wrap my arm around her and feel her tremble. Shock. This scenario is so far out of the anything she’s ever experienced that her mind and her body are completely freaking out. I should’ve prepared her. Shouldn’t have thought I could shield her from this forever. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to sit right here and drink some water while I make a call. Then we’re going to get out of here. You’re safe now, I promise.”

Another promise. I hope I can keep it like I kept the last one. I’ll do everything in my power to. I get her seated on a kitchen chair, as far from the bodies as I can maneuver it, and pour her a glass of water, making sure she takes a sip before I grab my phone and dial Anya.

It rings and rings, then goes through to voicemail. Panic flares again. Did they get her, too? She’s not defenseless, but this was four against two, and if they sent the same numbers over to her room, then I don’t know how she could have fought them off.

I dial again, praying to anyone who will listen that she’ll pick up and be okay. This time, she does.

“I’m at brunch,” Anya says, and I can hear chatter from her end of the line. “You’re interrupting my mimosas. What’s up?”

I breathe out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Thank fuck. Where are you?”

“Back at the hotel with my friends. I couldn’t bail on the brunch plans; we made them when we got here. I would’ve invited Ella, but she was gone when I woke up. Is she with you?”

“Yes. Stay there.” My mind is moving fast, spinning at a hundred miles an hour as I try to figure out the best course of action. Is Anya safe there? It seems like they don’t know she’s in the area.

Anya scoffs, annoyed. “Excuse you? I’m not a dog, you can’t just tell me to sit and stay.” She picks up on my mood, finally, and her voice drops low. “What is it? Is something wrong? You sound moodier than usual.”

“We were attacked.” I don’t want to worry her, but I do need her alert and vigilant.

“What?” There’s a scrape of a chair being pushed back, and the noise in the background gets quieter. I think she’s moved away from the table. “What happened?”

“I can’t talk about it right now,” I say, glancing over at Ella. She’s staring down at the water glass in her hands like it has some explanations. “We have to move. I just needed to make sure you were safe. Be careful. Don’t take any risks. I’ll be in touch once I figure out what’s going on.”

I click off and turn my attention back to Ella, wishing they were both here so I could protect them more easily. Hopefully, Anya being surrounded by a group of people, as she is all the time, is enough protection for the moment. The hotel room istrashed. It takes me a minute to find Ella’s purse, phone, and laptop in the chaos, but they’re all there and intact. Clearly, this is not a robbery. So much for dreaming that this wasn’t entirely my fault.

The last thing I grab is my gun, which is sitting completely useless in the bedroom. Not that I would have wanted to use it with Ella in the room, but it’s a good lesson about vigilance. I let my guard down, and it could have gone worse. Much worse. My heart gives a painful stutter at the thought of what could’ve happened to Ella.But it didn’tand it never will.I’ll keep her safe. She doesn’t have to leave me. But can I reassure her of that?

“Time to move.” I ease the cup from Ella’s hand and set it on the table, then tug her to her feet. She’s not trembling anymore, at least. “We need to get out of here.”

“Do you think there’s more?” Ella asks, her eyes skipping over the bodies on the floor. She closes her eyes for a long, slow blink, and when she opens them again, her face is set. Determined.

I shoulder our bag and guide her around the scattered objects to the front door. No damage that I can see. Either the door was unlocked, or Ella let them in. We’re going to have to have a serious talk about security protocol if she doesn’t run away and never speak to me again after this.

“Unlikely,” I reply, hoping it’s true. My senses are on high alert. The hall is empty, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Anyone could come out of one of the other rooms. “But better to be safe. I’ve got a place for us to go and we can figure out what the fuck just happened.”

Since I’m covered in blood and Ella looks like she’s been through it, I take us out the back way, through theservice entrance, where there’s less of a chance of running into someone. On the way down, I message the car to meet us out back.

“You look like something out of a horror movie,” Ella says when we step out into the sunlight behind the hotel. She pulls her sleeve down over her hand and tries to wipe some of the blood off my face and chest. “I don’t know if they’ll let you in the car like that.”

“They will,” I assure her, pulling her close to my side. My other hand is on the gun in our bag, just in case.

When the car pulls up, I bundle her into the backseat and slide in after her, keeping my eyes on the surrounding area the entire time. Even as we pull away, I’m scanning, ready for another car to try and block us in, or ram us, or any other bullshit they might try to pull.

“Where to?” the driver asks. He’s one of our men, armed to the teeth up there, and a hell of a driver if the need arises.

I direct him to a tiny hotel thirty minutes up the coast. One of my old friends from school owns it, and he won’t ask too many questions. I shoot him a text to let him know we’re coming, then send another to Anya just to check in, my pulse slowing when she responds immediately.

Anya:We’re staying at the pool. Big crowd. I’m safe. Do you know what happened?

Not yet.

Ella reaches for my hand. I curl my fingers around hers and squeeze. There’s so much to say, so much I need to explain, but I can’t even give her that yet. She seems to know, doesn’t bother asking, just leans her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes as the car takes us up the winding road to the hotel.

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