Page 149 of Bratva Menace

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out. I had to get away from the voices—not only Lev’s, but my own. The constant reminder of what I’d done. In an attempt to forget, I had gotten myself a job. A job that was meant to distract me. Keep my thoughts from slipping. But it wasn’t working.

Nothing was working.

I couldn’t get the voices to stop. The guilt to ease. I just wanted the guilt to go away.

A shadow fell over the counter. “Pack of Marlboro Lights, please,” a light, familiar, feminine voice said.

I looked up and stiffened.

Fuck.

Illayana De Luca stood in front of me, looking as beautiful and badass as ever in a red pencil skirt, black blouse, black trench coat, and black stiletto Louboutin heels. Her hair was down and straight. Makeup flawless and perfect. A gold Cartier watch dangled from her wrist. A huge diamond ring sat snugly on her third left finger. Her earrings were gold, and probably worth more than anything I owned. Illayana looked like she’d just walked off a model fashion shoot.

We stared at each other, absolute silence reigning between us. I didn’t know what to do. What to say. Seeing her brought forth an avalanche of thoughts and emotions I’d been trying my hardest to bury for months.

Long dark hair. Crystal blue eyes. Mischievous smirk. Lukyan’s face flashed in my mind before I could stop it, along with pain and anguish.

I killed my brother for a man who left me.

I shook my head, mentally demanding the voice to leave me alone again. I cleared my throat, turned around to retrieve the packet of cigarettes, and faced her again. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too. It’s nice to officially meet you.”

“Is it?” I highly doubted that. My gaze swept the counter, looking for a weapon. Something sharp and pointy I could use to defend myself. Scissors. A ruler. Even a goddamn pen would do⁠—

“There’s no need for that. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“You’re not?” I frowned. “You’re not here to kill me for what happened to your father?”

“Nope.” She pulled some cash from her pocket and held it out to me. “I’m here to talk.”

Talk? Just…talk? That surprised me. Part of the reason I was running was because I was sure the Bratva were hell-bent on revenge for what had happened to Papa D.

I scanned the cigarettes through the till. “Talk about what?”

“You and my brother.”

Another bout of pain hit me. I killed my brother for a man who left me. “There is no ‘me and your brother’.” As much as I wished there was. I took the cash from her and opened the register. I quickly put the money away in its designated slots, got out her change, and handed it over to her, along with the smokes. “Have a nice day,” I said, plastering a big, fake smile on my face, trying as hard as I could to just move her along.

My identity was burned. I would have to run again. Granted, I wasn’t that upset about it. This life sucked. Mainly the job. For the next one, I would be avoiding any customer service-related jobs like the plague.

She chuckled, not moving a muscle. Humor danced in her eyes. “You got a break coming up?”

“Negatory. I’m really quite busy.” How the fuck did she find me, anyway? Does that mean Lukyan is looking for me too?

Don’t be ridiculous, that voice in my head said. He left you, remember? He doesn’t care about you. It was all a game to him. Lukyan played you, and the first chance he got, he escaped, just like Autumn said he would.

I didn’t want to listen to the voice, but it had a point. I thought we were soulmates, but after what had happened, I was questioning everything. Questioning every interaction we had. Every word he said.

“Yes,” Illayana dragged out, glancing around the empty store. “You sure look it.”

“I am!” I didn’t know why I was getting defensive. I had nothing to be defensive about.

Her face suddenly turned serious, any trace of humor disappearing in an instant. “Ten minutes. That’s all I ask. Ten minutes.”

“I don’t have ten minutes.”

“Sure you do.”