Page 17 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
“One day I’m going to find out who did this to you and make them pay.”
Oh wow. He means it.
A throat clears, and Mateo drops his hand from me as we both turn around and see a very unimpressed Tomas standing there with our drinks.
“I will break you, lyubimaya. This is your life now, you cannot escape. There is no escape, no one ever escapes me. The sooner you realize that, the easier this life will be. Stop fighting me.”
“Zoe, Zoe.” I hear someone calling my name.
“Don’t touch me,” I scream, pushing the person away from me as I kick out in self-defense.
“Fuck,” the male voice yells.
I must get away from them. I jump up from where I am and bolt. Unfortunately, I stumble over my feet in my haste to escape and end up rolling on the floor taking someone with me. Strong arms are holding me against them.
“Please, don’t hurt me,” I plead.
“Zoe, it’s Tomas. Zoe, open your eyes and look at me, it’s Tomas. You’re safe. No one here is going to hurt you.”
Strong fingers grab my face, steadying me. His concise words clear the fog that clouds my mind. When I come too, I realize I am laying on top of him, my soft body pressed against his hard body.
Shit. I jump up and fix myself.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, feeling completely humiliated.
“It’s okay, you’ve been through a lot, and it sounds like you were having a nightmare.” He looks at me, his hazel eyes imploring me to give him details.
“It was dark, and I couldn’t escape.”
A tsunami of tears catches me off-guard as I try and contain them.
Tomas wraps his large arms around me, pulling me to his chest.
“You’re safe now,” he tells me as he strokes my hair.
It’s calming as I let out everything I’ve been holding in. I feel myself moving—he’s picked me up, and we’re crossing the pool deck back to the day bed I was on. He sets me down in between himself and Mateo.
“You’re safe now.”
Two sets of arms wrap around me, cocooning me between them.
“We’ll protect you.”
Then I fall asleep, feeling safe and secure.
7
TOMAS
“What do you mean she doesn’t exist?” I say loudly to Enrique on the phone. He and his team have been searching through the missing persons reports and databases around the world for any mention of Zoe.
“I don’t get how someone in this day and age doesn’t have any social media footprint,” Enrique adds.
“It’s as if someone wanted her to vanish.” My stomach sinks at that thought. “You think someone has wiped her online presence away?”
“Look at the facts, Tomas. She was found beaten up in a cocktail dress, seemingly far from home. Doesn’t appear anyone is looking for her. Add in that there is nothing online about her. Someone has gone to a lot of effort to make whoever this woman is vanish.”
What the hell is she involved in?
