Loving The Bratva Boss

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Isabella's POV

The moment the door shut behind Nikolai, the room felt different.
Colder. Quieter. Too big.

He had escorted me back upstairs with that practiced precision all the soldiers wore like armor, their expression unreadable, their footsteps barely making a sound against the marble. They told me firmly—almost gently—to stay in the suite until someone came for me and that was it, the door locking behind them with a soft click.

And now I'm here.

Alone.

And Nikolai is... somewhere doing something I'm not allowed to understand.

I pace the length of the room, fingers trembling despite the warm air. The mansion feels wrong—like it's holding its breath. Every sound echoes too much. Every creak feels intentional. Every shadow looks like it's watching me.

Something happened. Something bad.

I replay everything in my head. The way his jaw had clenched. The way Domenico had appeared like a ghost carrying violence in his eyes. The way Nikolai's whole presence shifted—sharp, cold, lethal.

He didn't even have to raise his voice. His silence alone was enough to make the windows feel like they might crack.

I try not to panic.

I fail spectacularly.

"What is going on?" I whisper into the empty room, voice small and pathetic even to my own ears.

My pulse climbs up my throat as I walk toward the window overlooking the estate. The grounds are dark now except for a few dim lights lining the driveway. Movement catches my eye—several black SUVs leaving the property in a synchronized formation, disappearing beyond the iron gates.

He's in one of those.

Doing God knows what.

My mind spirals.

What if they were ambushed?
What if someone died?
What if... what if Nikolai doesn't come back?

I press my forehead to the cold glass, breath fogging the window. I didn't even get to ask him questions. I didn't get to yell at him, or demand answers, or understand why the hell my life has turned into a very glamorous kidnapping.

I didn't get to say goodbye.

The thought sends a painful shiver through me.

And then the longer I stand there, the more I imagine the worst. His body lying somewhere cold. Blood staining the ground. His men screaming his name. The empire collapsing in one night—

"Stop," I choke out. "Stop thinking like that."

But it's too late. The panic sinks its claws deep.

I crawl onto the bed, pulling my knees to my chest, gripping the comforter so tightly the fabric cuts into my palms. I can't sit still. My mind keeps racing. My heart keeps lurching. The room feels like it's shrinking around me.

Minutes pass. Maybe hours. Time distorts.

Eventually the panic burns out, leaving exhaustion in its place.

My eyes sting. My breathing slows. The world blurs until keeping them open feels impossible.

I don't remember lying down.
I only remember the moment everything finally goes quiet.

And then darkness.

⸻

Nikolai's POV

The forest is silent.