Page 10 of Surprise Bratva Daddy
Monroe
I’ve never seen a man so attractive yet so terrifying at the same time. Zane is built like a tank, lean muscle popping from his fitting suit. His thighs are large enough to crush boulders with, and his hands are almost three times the size of mine.
His eyes are bright and piercing, and his jaw is set firm.
Despite all that, he has a softness to him that Maksim didn't. The blue in his eyes isn't so dead. It's crisp and clear, like a bright spring morning. The hair on his head is jet black, but the stubble on his face is a little lighter, with a slight tinge of gray.
But those eyes. Jesus, I can’t stop looking at them. Those blue eyes see right through me, stripping away all my defenses, leaving me bare and vulnerable. I feel naked in front of him, completely exposed.
He narrows his eyes, and they wrinkle at the sides. I know it's not just his age, however. It's the stress. He says he's in the Bratva and I believe him with every cell in my body. I've read about them in the papers and on the internet, but they're so much more real now. They're flesh and blood, not just names on a screen.
Zane's hand is wrapped around my wrist, and the heat of his skin is burning into mine. It’s electric at the same time, running through me like a powerful current.
His touch is gentle now, but I have no doubt he can be deadly. He's already threatened to kill me, but I have a bargaining chip. He wants the flash drive, which has apparently been destroyed in the gunfight, but I saw what was on it. I have the data right here in my head.
"Do you have any idea what's on the flash drive?" Zane asks, his eyes locking onto mine. "Did you see anything?"
"I could tell you, but I don't believe you're not just going to kill me and dump me somewhere after you have what you want," I reply, adjusting my posture to seem more confident. In reality, I feel like I'm going to throw up.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he says, acting like I’ve hurt his feelings.
That’s laughable, considering the situation we’re in. He can’t emotionally manipulate me when he has a gun. He’s not getting any sympathy for threatening my life.
Kiro returns to the kitchen, shaking his head. “Destroyed. There’s nothing left of it.”
The muscles in Zane’s jaw jump as he grits his teeth. “That bullet was meant for Maksim, and so help me God, he will get it when I find him.”
I can feel the weight of his words, eclipsed only by the heaviness of my current predicament. This moment has changed my life forever, like the crash that stole my parents from me.
Nothing will be the same anymore. The peace has finally ended.
“Let’s take her back to the office,” Zane says, wrapping his hand around my waist and pulling me up against him like I’m his date. “We can figure things out from there. We’ll probably take her to my mansion afterward.”
Kiro nods obediently. I doubt I’ll get any help from him or anyone under Zane. If I want to get out of this, I have to negotiate with the boss himself. There’s no other way.
I sink into Zane’s muscle frame, feeling his warmth and secretly reveling in how protective his body feels against mine. He’s like a grizzly bear who has decided that he wants to rip everyone’s throat out except for mine.
Whether he continues to spare my life remains to be seen, but for now I’m safer with him. He chased Maksim away, and he doesn’t seem as intent on ruining my life. He just wants what’s on that flash drive, and I’m the only one who seems to know what it is.
I do wonder what became of the person who created it in the first place. Can they not be reached? Do they not have another copy somewhere, or was this the final shred of evidence to a massive financial crime?
I can see why they wouldn’t want to make copies. Something like this could put someone in prison for the rest of their life.
Questions run through my mind faster than I can answer them as I’m swept away from everything I know and love, out of my quiet little house and onto the street. We rush past my old rusty mailbox, and I reach out and close it before Zane can pull me away to his car.
I doubt I’m going to be back for a while. Something deep within me says I might never be back, but I try to ignore that voice. I’ve been through hell before, and hope was the only thing that kept me going.
Now, when things are darker than ever, I need that little glitter of hope. But it’s difficult to have as Zane pushes me into the backseat of his car and climbs in beside me. It fades even more when Kiro pulls the car out onto the street, and we speed off.
Nobody will know I’m gone for a long time. Nobody will miss me. Nobody will come by looking for me. I’ve vanished, and I might as well have never existed in the first place.
8
Monroe
Zane lights a cigar as we cruise down the little winding road out of my neighborhood. Smoke plumes around his face, masking his expression, but it also hides his eyes from me. I can observe him more carefully before he sees where I’m looking.
My curious eyes travel over his torso, and I’m impressed again by the broadness of his chest. He’s so muscular, almost professionally so, which makes him bulky without having any extra fat tucked away. I keep looking around for it, at his thighs and midsection, but there’s only muscle. I can even see the outline of his abs a bit as he adjusts his posture.
