Page 138 of Bratva Jewels Box Set

“We might have been naïve in believing what the jewels really were,” Sergei states.

I think he’s right. This is not at all the reputation of the jewels as portrayed in the underworld. Anger bubbles through my veins as my fist slams down against the desk.

“How did we miss this? It’s our job to know every detail about our marks. We let our focus slip on this one, old man.”

He claps me on the shoulder. “We know now. She’s safe here with us. That was our one rule, we never involve the women. We broke that rule for her. We made assumptions and thought we understood the object. We were wrong, Max. Now that we know we are, it’s hard to ignore it. Let me investigate this for you. Your responsibility now is that girl upstairs.”

I give the old man a nod. He’s right. Grace is my priority now and especially after tonight where she thinks I’m throwing her back to the monsters. I understand her desperation that she tried to harm herself.

I stare at the video on my screen.What the hell happened to you, Grace?Next thing I know, I’m googling her name. Up pops her smiling face and information about her time at the International Court of Human Rights. What hits me is the life behind those jade-green eyes—they sparkle.

Something I’ve only seen when she’s fighting with me.

I promise you, Grace, I will protect you. You’re safe with me.

Then I hear a blood-curdling scream.

8

GRACE

“Ilike it when you put up a fight, Gracie,” Dmitri snarls at me. I’m tied to a bed, there’s nowhere for me to go.

“It doesn’t seem like a fair fight, does it?” I sneer as I pull against the restraints, which makes him laugh.

“True, but I like you this way. To do with as I please.” The look in

his eyes is murderous.

There’s no escape.

“Now, I need you to be a good girl for me tonight. Do Dmitri proud. Show them a good time like you do for me. If you are good, I’ll reward you.”

“There’s no reward you could give me that would make me do what you want me to do.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Really? Not even letting you stay the night with your sister?”

I freeze. I miss Zoe. I need her strength. I need her. I can’t keep living in this nightmare.

Dmitri chuckles. “See, I knew there would be something. Now, behave and be a good little jewel.” Then he opens the door, and I scream.

“Get off me!” I scream, pushing against the strong arms wrapped around me. I punch and scratch at them. I won’t do it. I won’t go and fuck those men.

“I’m trying to help you, Grace,” a deep, familiar voice yells at me.

But I’m too far gone in my nightmare to pull myself out. My instincts have taken over as I try and scramble from the danger.

“Please, don’t touch me, not again, please.”

“I would never touch you. I told you that, Grace. I made a promise, and I’m going to keep it. You’re safe. I’ve promised to protect you from these monsters. You will never have to fear them again.”

That familiar voices words still me. I blink once, twice, and the dark fog surrounding my vision seems to lift. Maxim is standing before me, his chest bloodied from my nails. I’m huddled in a corner of the bed as far away from him as I can be.

“I thought ...” I start trying to explain myself, but the way he is looking at me with such sadness and pity behind those black eyes embarrasses me. I burst into tears as my emotions are still running high after my nightmare.

“Hey, Wildcat,” he says as the bed dips near me and he pulls me into his strong arms. “I promise I will never touch you like that.”

I look at him through tear-soaked lashes, my tension slowly releasing. There’s something about the way he’s looking at me, something in the tone of his voice that makes me believe him. He’s still the enemy, but ... I trust his words. He sat with me while I detoxed, he fed me a beautiful dinner, he held me as I broke down after trying to hurt myself, and here he is again, helping me. He tightens his arm around my shoulders, and I sink in against his hard body, enjoying the first bit of affection from another man in a long time. I was jealous of the way Mateo and Tomas would scoop Zoe up into their arms when she had amoment. They would give me hugs, but it wasn’t the same. There was a fleeting fling with Enrique, but once I was back, he didn’t know how to be around me. I felt like he thought I was tainted after being violated, so whatever was once there was gone.