Page 34 of The Bratva Betrayal

Thank God I’m not emotionally attached to him. If I were, this would be the moment it cracked.

I’m the one who was standing there.

I’m the one who felt the glass.

I’m the one who could’ve…

I cut that thought off before it finishes.

Because it doesn’t matter.

What matters is that this wasn’t random.

And as Misha keeps talking, pacing, and making it about himself, I realize something that settles in my bones a lot heavier than the shock ever could.

That bullet wasn’t meant to miss.

“I didn’t fuck that guy’s girl,” Misha barks out through my thoughts. “It was his sister.”

I’m going to kill him in his sleep.

“Does it matter, Artem? I was almost killed. …No, I won’t calm down. …This is bullshit. I’m going out shopping with my girl and… of course, I fucking do. She’s right here.”

He’s pathetic.

Misha has no one to call but his brother. It just shows how much power he doesn’t wield. He just reaps the rewards of his brother’s criminal career.

“Why would I do that? Are you fucking kidding me?” Misha rolls his eyes. “See you then,” Misha says before hanging up and walking toward me. “You alright, babe?”

No.

You’re a clown. I can’t stand you. I don’t think I could stomach sleeping with you again after this, and what the hell was all that?

“Caitlin,” he presses, reaching for me and gently grabbing my biceps. “Are you alright?”

I bob my head just so he bugs off. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“Wh—” Misha reaches for my face, and when I think he’s going to wipe it away, he pulls his hand back.

“We need a doctor,” he announces to anyone who will listen. “Right now.”

People glance over.

A receptionist straightens.

A security guard shifts his stance.

But no one moves fast enough for him. And that’s when I realize something I should’ve already known.

Misha doesn’t know how to handle this part. The blood, the fear, the freakout, and the consequences.

He just knows how to call someone who does.

Within seconds, he’s calling Artem back.

“We’ve got a problem.”