AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Roman’s shoulders relax when I lean closer and kiss his neck. He lets out a breath and says in a much calmer tone, “Fine, sounds good,” and then hangs up.
“He has some men on their way to clean up the mess. We should get out of here,” he tells his brothers.
“Gladly,” Lev says, giving one of the bodies a not-so-soft kick on his way out the door.
I look at his brothers, seeing them as they truly are. The man I love is in a Bratva with these men. They’re killers, the blood covering their hands and chests is proof of that, but I’m not scared of them. They saved me, just like I know they’re going to save Alina. No matter how long it takes them, I know they’ll find her and bring her back. I got a very small taste of what she must be enduring every damn day, and my heart breaks for her. Just like the men around me, I’ll never stop trying to find her. Roman might not allow me to do it in quite the same way, but I’m not going to give up. Not now. Not ever.
We leave the farmhouse covered in blood, and as soon as Roman carries me over the threshold and out into the fresh night air, I smile and cling to him tighter. He walks me past the spot where Frank had dragged me through the dirt, but I don’t bother looking over at it. I keep my face pressed close to Roman’s neck, breathing in his scent, and when he puts me in the SUV, I curl up in his lap, not caring about my lack of a seatbelt. I’ve survived way worse tonight, and I trust his brothers to get us home safely.
“Let’s get the fuck away from this farmhouse from hell,” Vitaly says, getting in the driver’s seat and starting the engine.
“Yes, please,” I say. Lev looks back and smiles, and there’s just enough light for me to see the glint of his lip ring. Roman told me before that he’s into underground fighting, and I caught a glimpse of that tonight. I’d shut my eyes, but I could hear the fast punches that were coming from where he’d been standing. I’m pretty sure everyone else used a weapon of some kind, but I think Lev just used his bare hands.
“Did you learn anything else at the club?” I ask.
“Baby, don’t worry about any of that,” Roman says.
“But I want to know. You can’t not allow me to go back to the Red Viper and keep me out of the loop.” I cup his cheek and turn his face to mine. “That’s not going to work for me.”
I hear Vitaly give a soft laugh from the front before Danil smacks his shoulder, trying to get him to pretend that not everyone can hear our conversation.
“Don’t shut me out.” I lean my forehead against his and whisper, “Please.”
“I’m not trying to shut you out. I just want you safe.”
“And I will be. Tonight was a slip.”
He lets out a harsh laugh. “A slip? You were beaten and almost raped. That’s way more than a fucking slip-up in the plan.”
“But I’m okay,” I remind him. “I admit I wasn’t expecting that level of evil from Brandy. I won’t make that mistake again, but what’s the next step? Where do we go from here?”
He sighs, knowing it’s a losing battle and says, “Danil thinks he’s found out some new info about the upcoming auction.”
“Really, what did you find?” I turn my face so I can see Danil sitting in the passenger seat.
He looks back at me. It’s way too dark to make out his features, but I can hear the excitement in his voice when he says, “I found a conversation on the dark web. I’m pretty sure it’s David, or maybe Aaron, but either way, they were talking about an upcoming auction and that they expect the bidding to break all previous records. They’re really trying to build up some hype for it, and it’s working. There’s a lot of curious men who want in on this.”
“That’s creepy to hear,” I say, and Roman tightens his grip on me.
“It is,” Danil says, “but we can use them to get what we want. I’m still digging around. I should know more soon.”
“If we can find out who’s suppling the girls, then hopefully we can find out if they’re the ones who took Alina,” Roman says. “There has to be a way to find her. Someone knows where she’s at.”
“We’re going to find her.” I kiss his cheek and run my thumb over his stubble. “We’ll find her, Roman. I promise. We won’t stop until we do.”
He kisses my hand and then gently brings my head back to his shoulder, holding me and stroking my hair for the rest of the drive. Thankfully the parking garage is empty, so none of the other residents get a view of us walking to the private elevator covered in dried blood. Once we’re inside, the others spread out among the three levels, each going to their own wing of this enormous place to shower and change clothes. Roman carries me into our room, and as soon as we’re in the bathroom, he starts the shower and then turns to me.
He watches me as I brush my teeth and then use mouthwash, keeping it in my mouth way longer than necessary. If I think too much about using Johnny’s toothbrush, I’ll just get sick again.
“I want to hear every single detail of what happened, starting with you in the bathroom at the club.”
“Roman,” I start to say, but he cups my cheek and tilts my face to his.
“Solnishka, I have to know what happened to you, every single detail.”
He slowly starts to unbutton the shirt I’m wearing as I start from the beginning. He undresses me as I talk, running his eyes over my bruised body. I tell him everything, every single detail of what happened, and by the time I’m done, his jaw is clenched so tightly that it’s making the veins in his neck and temple stand out. He looks like a man who wishes like hell he could bring Frank back to life just so he can kill him again.
He guides me into the shower and then very slowly starts to wash me clean. His gentle movements are at odds with the murderous glint in his eyes. He doesn’t say anything for several minutes, just runs the soapy sponge over my body, washing away the dirt from when I’d been dragged, but also washing away the memory of their touch, the feel of their hands on my skin.
