Page 4 of Unbroken

My stomach knots.

“Well, is he taking care of Luka?” I ask sharply. My pulse feels too rapid, and there’s a strange ringing in my ears.

Zoya flinches. “Yes, he said he hired a nanny or something? And Luka starts school in a few weeks, so…”

He does? How did I not know that?

My heart hurts. I have to check in on them. Ihaveto. I turn fully away from Zoya to compose myself.

And that’s when I see her. Corner table. Too young and too pretty for her own good, wide-eyed but… brittle. Next to a man leaning in too close. His knuckles are tight, whitened around the glass, flirtation barely covering aggression and violence.

I’ve seen this type a hundred times before. Once is too many.

Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. Her fingers worry the napkin.Damn it.

I know that look. I’vewornthat look. And my sister did, too, though never because of Vadka.

I’m kind of grateful for the distraction.

Without breaking stride, I cross to the stack of clean glasses behind the bar and grab a fresh one, just like I’m minding my own business. I wink at her behind his back and jerk my chin to the women’s restroom. Her eyes widen before she sits up straighter.

Inside every stall and plastered to the wall of the women’s restroom is our safety protocol: a number to text if you’re in trouble or an order a woman could place. An “angel shot” meansI need help.

I watch her excuse herself and head to the restroom. I nod to Zoya, who’s watched the whole exchange. With a smile at me, she heads to the restroom a few seconds later.

Zoya loves helping a woman in distress, and she’s good at it. Rafail, her older brother, would lose his mind that she’s anywhere near a potentially volatile situation.

I watch the man tap his fingers nervously on the table, his jaw twitching, before he glances to the side and deftly pulls something from his pocket.Bingo.Son of a bitch slides the pill into her drink so quickly, anyone would’ve missed it if they weren’t expecting this exact fucking move.

Thank fuck. You can’t save a girl who doesn’t want to be saved, and she hasn’t called foul yet. But it’s against the law to drug someone, so this asshole’s just bought himself a ticket to hell.

Pulse racing, my hands stay steady enough to type a message to security.

Table six. Drugged the drink. Pull him

The response is almost instant. Seconds later, four of our bouncers close in. I watch the man stiffen, his gaze jerking up.

“Problem here?” Anton asks.

The man’s face drains of color. “No, I’m fine.”

Zoya exits the bathroom, the young woman behind her.

“Wh-what’s happening?” she stammers.

“This piece of shit tried to drug you, darling,” I say to her, my voice bright and sharp. “But not tonight.” Before he can respond, Yuri hauls the man up by the collar and slams him into the side of the booth.

“You think we’re blind here?” Yuri spits out.

“Yuri.” My tone is tight. “Take him to the back before the Kopolovs hear about this.”

Rafail’s instructions are clear: Anyone drugs a woman at the Wolf and Moon, we tell him, and Vadka pays a visit.

My heart beats faster. I know exactly what will happen if Vadka catches wind. It isn’t the man’s life I’m worried about, but I don’t want Vadka to get into any more trouble.

Rafail wants word to get out that predators aren’t welcome in his city. Letting Vadka loose sends a loud, bloody message: This place is protected. Women here are under our watch. You try anything, you disappear. Reputation management through fear.

Rafail doesn’t do it out of kindness. He’s protecting his assets. His city. His reputation. But it makes him look like a protector, and he’ll take that image—especially when it’s Vadka's fists that do the talking.