Page 10 of BRATVA'S Avenging Bride
"That's not a no."
Despite myself, my mouth almost twitches. Almost.
I set the lamp down. "Fine. Talk. But stay over there."
He sits on the edge of the bed, keeping a small amount of distance between us. For a man who claims I'm his, he's surprisingly good at not touching me.
"Tell me about them," he says.
"Who?"
"The girls. The ones you saved."
I don't want to talk about this. Don't want to crack open the part of me that's still raw and bleeding.
But his eyes are steady, patient. Waiting.
"Lena," I hear myself say. "Sixteen. Boris broke her face because she didn't smile. Mira, twenty-one. He broke her ribs because she asked for her tips." I swallow hard. "There were others. Newer girls. I don't even know all their names."
"And you?"
"What about me?"
"What did he break?"
Everything, I want to say. But that feels too honest. Too exposed.
"Nothing that mattered."
His jaw tightens. "That's not an answer I’m willing to accept."
"It's the only one you're getting."
We sit in silence for a moment. I expect him to push, to demand, to use that cold Bratva authority to pry the truth from me.
But he doesn't.
Instead, he says, "My father broke my brother's arm when he was twelve. Said he was getting soft. That pain builds character." His voice is quiet, almost gentle. "I watched it happen and did nothing.”
I look at him, really look at him. Past the expensive clothes and the dangerous smile and the scars on his knuckles.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you think I don't understand." He meets my eyes. "But I do, Katherine. My cage just has different bars."
"You can leave anytime you want."
"No." He shakes his head. "I can't. My name, my family, my blood…it's all a chain. I was born into this life. You were dragged into yours. But we're both trapped by things we didn't choose."
"It's not the same."
"Isn't it?"
I want to argue. Want to tell him he's wrong, that his gilded cage and my burning hell are nothing alike.
But there's something in his eyes, something tired and resigned and almost sad, that makes me hesitate.
"Emil thinks you're a liability," he continues. "My father will agree. The Bratva doesn't take in strays. Doesn't protect outsiders. Doesn't risk exposure for a woman who burned down a building."
