Page 80 of Forced & Owned By the Bratva Boss

For years, I’ve mastered the art of not giving a fuck. I knew how to keep my emotions in check, and if I ever needed to lash out, I knew exactly when I was able to do so. I didn’t give anyone the satisfaction of drawing a reaction from me unless I dictated the terms. I hate the feeling of being helpless or lacking control.

But I learned something else over the years: life has a way of giving you the middle finger just before it flips the whole fucking table on you.

Today is a day like that.

It’s the day I watch Audrey collapse on a chair in the corner of the office, sniffling hard, with her phone nearly crushed in her clenched fist, and I’m unable to do anything. I know she’s trying hard not to cry.

I want to go to her, to do whatever I can to reassure her, but my feet are heavy and rooted to the spot. Seeing her in so much anguish rattles me in a way that stirs a destructive whirlwind of emotions.

My whole world flips upside down, and the first thing I want is the blood of the bastard who caused this.

“I’m going to fucking kill him.”

Audrey’s head snaps up and she glares at me through red, puffy eyes. “And then what?” She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “When you kill Serrano? What next? What’ll happen to my brother?”

I don’t hesitate; I respond with the first thought that crosses my mind. “We’ll get him back.”

“Before or after you kill Serrano?”

Her eyes are shining with a distrust that makes my stomach turn. She doesn’t believe me. There’s no spark of hope in her voice or the slightest belief that I can make this better.

And that realization hits me like a punch to the gut.

Sighing, I rub two fingers over my eyes. “Audrey…” I’ve never needed anything as much as I need her to believe I won’t let her down this time. “I’m going to rescue Simon.”

“How?”

“What do you mean how, Audrey?” There’s an edge in my tone that shouldn’t be there, but I can’t help it. I can’t stop it. Not when frustration eats deep into my bones and a wave of helplessness threatens to swallow me whole.

The feeling makes me want to punch a hole right through the fucking wall.

“I’ll get him out of this. I’ll bring your brother back to you, alive. I mean it.”

“By doing what you know how to do best?” she fires back, anger seeping into her gaze. “What’s the plan then? No, wait, let me guess: starting a war, then blindly running into a building to snatch Simon out of danger? Right now, we don’t even have the slightest clue where he is. This is, sadly, real life, not freaking movie, okay?”

I raise a hand. “Listen to me,” I say. It’s a small attempt to calm her down. I know she’s panicking and scared for her brother’s life, but she doesn’t pause to hear me out.

“Look, Igor…I know Serrano.” Her eyes glisten with tears, but she blinks them away. “I wish I didn’t know him or the way he works, but I do. And that’s problem: I know exactly what he can do. My brother is in real danger. Serrano is ruthless. He’s meaner than the devil, and he doesn’t bluff. He said forty-eight hours—”

“I know that.”

“Two days, Igor,” she repeats, her throat closing up with unshed tears. “If I don’t turn myself in, he’s going to kill my brother.”

I clench my jaw and grit my teeth hard.

For a moment, the room remains silent. We stare at each other with the weight of her unspoken words hanging in the air between us. I heard her loud and clear, and I know what she’s not saying.

I finally force myself to move, crossing to room to where she’s seated in three long strides, and stand a few inches away, holding her gaze.

“You’re not offering to trade your life for his,” I state firmly.

Audrey rolls her eyes, then scoffs. “It’s so easy for you to stand there and say that, isn’t it? You’re so used to giving orders and having things go your way that you don’t know when to just stop.”

I narrow my gaze. “You can say whatever you want. You have the right to be angry, but that’s a problem. When you’re angry, you can be irrational. So I’ll repeat what I said: you are not fucking doing that.”

She shoots to her feet with her shoulders squared and her eyes blazing intensely. “Oh, but I am, Igor. I will turn myself in to save my brother’s life.”

Her defiance hits me harder than any physical blow, and a cold spike of adrenaline pierces my chest.