Page 58 of The Bratva Betrayal

The bathroom door opens before I can answer.

Artem walks out shirtless with a white towel hanging low around his waist, dark hair still damp from the shower, and water trailing slowly down tattooed skin.

His gaze moves calmly over my brothers before landing on me.

No embarrassment or awkwardness.

“Well,” he says evenly. “This explains why the apartment suddenly feels like a bar fight.”

Rian slowly turns his head in my direction. “This is Artem Makarov.”

My nostrils flare. “I’m aware.”

“What the hell is he doing here?”

Artem doesn’t even look at him. “I’m using the shower.”

“Fuck off, Makarov,” Killian barks back. “This is a family conversation.”

Artem steps into the kitchen, unbothered by the fact that he’s dripping onto my hardwood floor.

“Which one are you dating?” Rian asks. “I’m confused.”

“Misha.”

“Still confused.”

I sigh and jerk my thumb at Artem. “He’s crashing.”

“Why?”

“Because she can’t make up her mind which one will get her more information,” Artem quips. “Me or Misha. I’ll fuck her harder, though.”

My brothers move toward him, each one taking a side of the kitchen island.

“What did you say?” Killian taunts. “You’ll do what now?”

“I said I’ll fuck her,” Artem enunciates every syllable. “Hard.”

Killian moves first, more like instinct than thought, and Rian follows a beat later, slower but no less certain in where this is headed.

Artem stays where he is, shoulder still angled toward the counter, posture loose in a way that feels wrong given the two men across from him.

He’s waiting for them to decide how stupid they want to be.

Killian steps in first.

It’s fast, direct, and meant to land clean, but Artem meets him halfway. There’s a dull impact of bodies colliding near the edge of the island.

Rian is right there after him, trying to pull Killian back, but it doesn’t matter. This is all instinct and ego and something older than all of us combined.

Artem is still not reacting as if he’s outnumbered.

I move without thinking, cutting straight into the space between them before either of my brothers can fully reset.

Artem’s hand finds me before I even make it into the gap. He lifts me in one motion and sets me back onto the kitchen island like I weigh nothing.

Before I can react, he’s already turned back to them.