Hunted By The Bratva Beast: A Bratva Stalker/Captive Romance, Jagger Cole [good books to read for 12 year olds .txt] 📗

“Shut your mouth, Kostya,” the older man hisses.

“He was a loser. A failure. A drunk who spent his days bragging to two boys about his exploits.”

“I’m warning you, Kostya!”

“I didn’t avenge his death, Dimitri,” Kostya says thinly, smiling. “Because he deserved it.”

Dimitri roars as he whirls on Kostya. He storms over and slams his fist into his face, over and over. I scream, but he keeps going until he seizes his own chest again. He groans, knocking back even more pills.

Then he pulls his gun out again. He raises it up to Kostya, and my heart wrenches.

“No!” I scream.

“You left me to die once, Kostya,” he says thinly. “Allow me to return the favor.”

“NO!”

The gun recoils with a deafening bang. Kostya grunts, and I watch in horror as he slams back in the chair. Blood immediately begins to soak through his t-shirt. He looks down, his face white. Then he looks up at me.

“No!”

Dimitri chuckles. He puts the gun down on the table and turns. He starts to walk towards me, loosening his belt.

“I’m going to take my time with you, little whore,” he snarls. “This is not going to be fun for—”

“One good thing.”

The words wheeze from behind him. Dimitri frowns and turns to Kostya, who’s sucking in air, bleeding from the chest. But he looks up with savagery in his eyes at Dimitri. His gaze turns to me and softens.

“One good thing,” he whispers.

Suddenly, he lunges up. He roars as the chair creaks and wrenches. And suddenly, it splinters into a million pieces as his huge arms smash free.

Dimitri goes white and lunges for the gun. He snatches it up, but Kostya is faster. He rushes the older man like a furious, wounded bear. He roars, leaving a trail of blood as he smashes into Dimitri like a train. The gun explodes, and I watch in horror as Kostya topples into Dimitri. He slams him backwards, toppling the older man off his feet just as they hit the wall of windows.

The entire wall shatters, and I scream in horror as both men—Dimitri and Kostya—go crashing out and into thin air.

“NO!”

I lurch from the chair, sobbing as I crash into the floor. I claw at the binds on my wrists, finally scraping one free. I yank at the rest of the rope around my ankles and other wrist. When I’m free, I sob a wrenching cry as I rush to the shattered window. I look down, and my heart stops.

Kostya and Dimitri both lie in a heap on the concrete factor floor, thirty feet below. My head is still spinning and fuzzy from the beating. I turn, staggering and almost falling as I lurch across the room. I look down, and suddenly, I feel cold.

It’s not the punches that have me lightheaded and spinning. It’s the bloom of blood seeping into the shirt from my side.

I topple sideways onto the floor. I groan, tears falling from my eyes as I claw my way across the floor. I grab my phone from the bedside table. My vision is fading into darkness as I dial the number and bring the phone to my ear.

“Nina! Where—”

“Viktor,” I whisper. “Viktor, I—I—”

The phone falls from my hand. The room spins as I lurch to the side, dropping into nothing.

18

Nina

Slowly, my eyes open. Everything hurts; all of me. My head throbs, my body aches. There’s a stinging, stiff feeling in my side. I blink as my vision starts to blur back. But it stays blurry.

“I—hello?” I croak through a cracked, dry throat.

“Nina!”

It’s Fiona. I feel her rush to me, sobbing as she throws her arms around me. I wince, and she pulls back.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s okay… water…” I croak.

“Here.”

I feel a straw at my lips. I drink, wincing in pain. But the water cools the burning in my throat.

“I—everything’s blurry.”

She chokes a sobbing laugh. “You might need these.”

She slips my glasses on. I blink, suddenly able to see again. Fiona is standing next to my bed. When I look at her, her hand fly to her mouth, and she starts to cry.

“Fuck, Nina,” she sobs as she wraps her arms around me, gingerly this time. “I thought—we thought—fuck, hang on.” She pulls back and rushes to the door of the room. “VIKTOR! VIKTOR! She’s awake!!”

I wince at the yelling, but it’s okay. I look around and realize I’m in my brother’s house, in my old room from when I lived here. I hear pounding footsteps. Then suddenly, he’s there. Viktor chokes, fighting back tears as he rushes across the room and grabs me into a hug.

I groan in pain. But when he swears and goes to pull back, I keep him tight to me. He leans back into the embrace, holding me close as I suddenly start to sob into his chest.

“Viktor…”

“I’ve got you,” he whispers fiercely. “I’ve got you, Nina.”

“What…”

He pulls back, his face grim. “You were shot. Not badly, but it grazed you pretty deep and broke a rib.”

It all comes rushing back in a horrible blur. I remember the leering face of Dimitri. The smashed chair, the gun going off—

My heart wrenches in two as I suddenly pale.

“Kostya!!”

Viktor and Fiona glance at each other. My panic rises.

“Viktor, where’s Kostya!? Where is he?!”

“Nina—”

“Where is he?!!”

“He’s here,” my brother growls quietly.

“I need to—”

“He’s in surgery, Nina,” Fiona says quietly. “He’s…”

“He was in bad shape when we found you,” Viktor says, his mouth thin. “But I’ll be honest, Nina. The only reason we took him with us is because I want fucking answers.”

I frown. “What?”

“Nina, he kidnapped you.”

“He saved me. Multiple times.”

Viktor frowns. “I don’t think you’re seeing this through clear eyes. Nina, he took you—”

“To save me, yes!” I snap. “Vikor, I need to see—”

“You’ve heard of Stockholm Syndrome, right?”

I roll my eyes. “That’s absurd—”

“Is it?” Fiona says gently, coming to the side of the bed. She puts her hand on my arm “Nina, you’ve been through a lot. And it can be confusing when you’re so tied up