Loving The Bratva Boss

Chapter 3

A low murmur of voices drifts through the fog in my head, sharp syllables from a language I don't understand.

"Мы должны были просто убить их и избавиться от них..." one of the men mutters — harsh, clipped, irritated.

A groan slips out of me before I even realize I'm awake. My body aches in a way that feels deep in the bones, like I've been hit by a truck.

What happened?
Where am I?
Am I... dead?

I peel my eyes open, but everything is blinding white at first — harsh, sterile light pouring straight into my face. For a second, my dazed brain jumps to the most dramatic conclusion possible.

"Oh God," I whisper. "I died. I'm dead."

I blink a few more times, trying to make out the shape moving toward me. A shadow blocks the light, and someone steps into view, tall and broad and definitely not wearing angel robes.

"Are you God?" I croak.

A quiet, amused exhale leaves him, like he can't help himself.

"No," he says, voice smooth but edged with something darker. "I'm the devil."

That snaps everything back into place. Hard.

The club. The wrong door. The gunshot. Jade's scream. A body hitting the ground. Hands grabbing us. The prick of a needle. Darkness.

Oh God. I wasn't dead — I was kidnapped.

My panic surges so fast it nearly makes me dizzy. "Please don't kill me," I blurt out, my voice cracking. "I heard someone scream — you killed someone — and Jade—Jade! Where is she? What did you do to her? Please—"

"Calm down," he says softly, though the softness somehow makes it worse. "You're safe."

Safe? SAFE?

Before I can spit back something hysterical, he lifts his chin at one of the men lingering against the wall.

"Domenico. Fetch the girl."

Every nerve in my body freezes until Jade is finally ushered into the room. Her mascara is smudged and streaked down her cheeks, her hair a tangled mess, but she's standing. She's breathing. She's alive.

I let out a shaky, ugly breath.

The man — the one who called himself the devil — watches me closely, his expression unreadable.

"What did you give me?" I manage, rubbing at the soreness in my arms. "You drugged me."

"A light sedative," he says, as if discussing a mild painkiller and not... kidnapping.

"Who are you?" My voice comes out small, but steady enough. "And what are you going to do to us?"

He considers me, tilting his head slightly. "Well," he starts casually, "my associate suggested I kill you both and throw your bodies in the ocean."

Jade chokes. My heart stops.

Then he shrugs. "But I'm feeling generous today."

I swallow hard. "Please... please don't hurt us. We won't tell anyone. We swear. Just let us go home."

A slow smirk pulls at his mouth, like he knows a joke I don't.

"You aren't seriously suggesting I just let you walk away, are you, Isabella Cameron?"

My name on his lips feels like ice.

"How do you know my name?" I whisper.

His smirk deepens, infuriatingly confident. "I make it a point to know everything about the people who inconvenience me."