Page 24 of Bratva Hostage

The compassion in his tone rattles me more than the violence I witnessed. I draw in a ragged breath, trying not to reveal how much that simple statement affects me. For years, no one truly protected me. Seraphina tried, but Father always had the upper hand. Now, Dimitri stands between me and the men who want to drag me back.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I whisper, more to myself than to him.

“I know. Neither did we.” He rises and comes to a stop near my chair. “But it’s the situation we have. Thorne won’t stop, so we have to be ready for him.”

I tilt my head to look up at him. “And if your readiness involves more bodies on the floor?”

He doesn’t flinch. “Then so be it. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Silence stretches between us. I can still picture Leon’s final moment, the gunshot echoing in my ears. I try to reconcile that brutality with Dimitri’s unwavering intent to protect me. Somehow, I can’t view him as just another monster.

I stand, still hugging myself. “I should probably go to my room.”

“Alright. Get some rest. I’ll have one of my men stand guard outside. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Okay,” I manage as I step around him. At the doorway, I pause, glancing back. “Thanks…for stopping Leon before he could do more damage.”

He gives a slow nod. “I promise you, Cecily. I won’t let Thorne take you.”

That vow weighs on me in ways I can’t begin to describe. I slip out of the room and head to the staircase with the lingering aftermath of Leon’s betrayal churning in my mind. The Barkovs have shown me violence beyond anything I wanted to witness, but they’ve also shown me they won’t stand by while someone endangers me.

It’s a strange sort of balance.

I return to my suite and shut the door behind me. My pulse still races, and I doubt I’ll find rest anytime soon, but I sink onto the bed anyway. Today, I learned just how far Dimitri will go to ensure I remain out of my father’s reach. It terrifies me, but it also sparks an odd sense of gratitude.

Despite the horror I just witnessed, my father would have done far worse to me, and Leon was helping him. Dimitri made sure that particular threat won’t ever rise again. A bitter taste coats my tongue, reminding me that I shouldn’t be thankful for such violence.

Yet I am.

I lie down with my eyes fixed on the ceiling, replaying the scene in the storage room. The shot, the look of finality on Dimitri’s face. The swirl of conflicting emotions—revulsion, relief, fear, admiration. I’m trapped in a world where men like Dimitri mete out ruthless justice for the sake of family. And now I’m part of that family’s daily reality, whether I like it or not.

And through it all, my confusion about Dimitri only grows. I’m torn between recoiling from his lethal methods and appreciating how fiercely he defends me. I close my eyes, hoping that sleep might dull the memory of his gun firing. Deep down, I sense this is only the beginning. Violence begets violence in this world, and I have no idea how to free myself from it.

Yet I can’t deny that I feel safer when Dimitri stands watch.

Chapter 9 - Dimitri

I’m done waiting for Thorne to make the next move. If he comes at us again, he’ll find our walls fortified and our men ready to take him out. This estate is my responsibility, and I refuse to let anyone slip through a second time. Leon’s betrayal still burns, but I won’t let it poison our entire operation. We’ve purged the weak links and tightened every aspect of our security, yet there’s a restless energy simmering around every corner.

I start my morning in the newly reorganized security office, where three of our men hunch over monitors that display live camera feeds. I approach the console as I inspect each screen for signs of suspicious activity.

“Any anomalies overnight?” I ask in a clipped tone and set my coffee mug on a side table.

One guard, a tall man named Mikhail, rifles through a report. “None. We cycled through the new patrol schedule, and the rotations went off without issue. A handful of workers arrived early to restock the kitchen, but they were cleared at the gate.”

“Good. I’ll be doing an inspection of the perimeter myself this afternoon. Until then, stay alert. Thorne has resources we can’t underestimate.”

Mikhail nods and returns his focus to the monitors. I stand there for a minute longer, verifying that each feed covers the estate’s vulnerable angles. Everything looks in order, so I pivot and exit into the hallway to see if the new protocols are being followed as diligently as the reports claim.

As I walk, I pass through corridors where guards stand at intervals. Each one offers a greeting, but I keep my responses brief. A few cast curious glances my way—no doubt they’veheard the rumors swirling about an impending wedding. Gossip spreads quickly in a place like this, and I can almost sense the questions they long to ask. I’m not in the mood to satisfy their curiosity. I’m still working through my own doubts about that plan, even though I know it’s the best choice to keep Cecily safe.

I round a corner and stop near the east wing, where the attack nearly succeeded, thanks to Leon’s tip-off. Fresh bullet holes have been repaired, and new locks installed on the doors. The sight of the patchwork paint triggers a reminder of how close we came to losing everything that night. If Thorne had succeeded, Cecily would be gone, and who knows if we’d ever find her again. The very notion stirs anger in my chest—an anger I direct into ensuring such a breach never happens again.

One of my men, Makar, stands watch near a narrow window that overlooks the courtyard. He straightens when I approach and offers a quick salute. “All quiet so far,” he says.

“Keep it that way,” I reply as I place a hand on the window ledge. “When’s your next rotation?”

“In two hours.” He flips through a clipboard. “I hand over to Vadim at midday. Then I move to the outer gate for the afternoon shift.”

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