Page 26 of Bossed Around By the Bratva

“No, wait,” she huffed. “Let me finish before you say anything.”

Nodding, I waited as she inhaled slowly. “I think I was jealous and a little angry, so I left. I decided to walk home as it wasn’t that far. But about halfway, I noticed a man following me.”

As her words sank in, I felt my blood starting to boil. Not again, I thought. They were my enemies. Why were they harassing her? I was unknowingly placing her in danger. I had to make this stop!

I got up quickly as I wanted to call Alexandr and let him know we needed to act. But Zhen grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. Snapping out of my anger fit, I looked at her, realizing she wasn’t done. “Sorry,” I mumbled as I settled back in and held her hands again.

“Luckily, I noticed the gun in his hands and started running. He shot at me but missed, and now here we are,” she lightly touched her ear as she spoke. And then I saw the mark the bullet had left.

“He shot you?” I asked, hearing my tone rising. Reaching out, I softly touched the dried blood on the rim of her ear. My heart was pounding like a raging bull, and my chest felt tight. Pulling her into my arms, I spoke softly. “I’m glad you’re alive. I will take care of this.”

Guilt and anger flooded every inch of me. I wondered which of our enemies was so cowardly to come at her instead of directly at me. The only ones I could think of that would maybe do things this way were the Aslanovs. They must have realized I was the one that screwed with their alliance.

They must have been following me and watching. Realizing I cared for Zhen, they most likely decided to get back at me. But even so, this wasn’t the way we handled business. This complicated things slightly, but I would find a way to ensure her safety.

Pushing these thoughts to the side for now, I focused on what she needed. “Zhen,” I said, lifting her head. “I can assure you that the woman means nothing to me. I have no interest in her. She is a college, nothing more.” I hoped my tone conveyed the sincerity I felt, and I hoped it would reassure her.

But I saw the flicker of doubt in her eyes as she looked at me skeptically. Grinning, I continued. “I promise you I haven’t been with anyone else since meeting you. You have something special.”

Zhen glanced away, but I saw the blush spreading across her cheeks. Her luscious lips pulled up as she smiled. I was pleased to see her relaxing.

Glancing at me, she spoke in a soft tone. “Will you stay the night?”

I nodded without having to think twice. “Yes, I will stay with you,” I replied.

Getting up, she smiled at me. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked to one of the closed doors. I watched her as she went into what looked like a bathroom. She came out looking refreshed.

“A movie and hot cocoa?” she asked as she came past me, heading to the kitchen.

“That sounds nice,” I replied, getting up.

Looking around, I saw several photos of her and two other women arranged on the bookshelf. I wondered if it was her sisters. I realized I didn’t know much about her. There were a variety of books, but most appeared to be about business and marketing. There were one or two crime books and a couple of suspense fantasies as well.

These weren’t the kind of books I would have imagined her reading. I found it alluring. Zhen cleared her throat as she came back with two hot cups of cocoa. Taking the cups, I placed them on the small table before the couch.

“Are you feeling better?” I asked as we sat down.

She smiled at me as she picked up the remote and cuddled into my arm. “Yes, I am,” she replied. “What would you like to watch?”

Surprise me,” I replied, hugging her.

She scrolled through a list of movies for a bit before selecting one and pressing play. I felt her relaxing towards me as we started watching. My attention was so focused on her that I didn’t even notice what movies she had put on. I didn’t care much about movies, but I would watch anything with her.

Glancing at the screen, I saw that she had put on a cartoon movie. I smiled as I spoke, “You know,” Zhen looked up at me. “You are weird, but so cute. You’re like this crazy little package of jumping beans.”

She frowned, looking slightly confused. Using my thumb, I softly rubbed her frown, wanting her to relax her face. Pullingback, she spoke softly. “What do you mean I’m cute but weird? I can only be the one or the other, not both!”

Placing my hand on her cheek, I smiled at her as I responded. “You can be both silly. I called you weird as you selected a cartoon out of millions of movies…”

Zhen opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a syllable out, I placed my hand over her mouth. “I’m not done,” I said. “The reason I think you’re cute is because you know we are adults, and yet, you chose to watch a cartoon.”

She kissed my fingers, making me pull my hand back. “It’s soothing,” she huffed, settling back into my shoulder.

The movie was about halfway through when I felt her getting heavier. I was glad that she would be able to sleep. “Hey,” I whispered, lifting her head. “Lay on my lap. It will be more comfortable.”

By the time the movie was finished, she was fast asleep. Sliding out from under her, I used one of the couch pillows to prop under her head. I pulled the blanket over the back of the couch to cover her.

I stood for a moment, looking at her sleeping. Moving to the kitchen, I called Alexandr. “Akim, it’s late. What’s wrong?” I heard him say as soon as he picked up.

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