Page 154 of Bratva Jewels Box Set

“She can pick and choose her men. Nikolai and Dmitri treated her like a Queen. She was more like a friend than a kidnapped woman.”

Sergei frowns. “That doesn’t sound like Elena. She would never act that way if she saw injustice, she would fight for it.”

“Maybe you don’t know her anymore.”

“Maxim will kill you if you speak ill of his sister,” Sergei warns me.

“He needs to know the truth. She isn’t an innocent bystander,” I argue back with him.

“When the time is right, I will talk to him. Now, you need to get the hell out of his office,” Sergei states.

12

MAXIM

Ican’t forget the image of Grace’s face as I slipped inside her. I was expecting to see euphoria, but instead, it was nothing but pain and disgust. She thought it was that fucking asshole Dmitri slipping into her. She thought he was back attacking her, hurting her again. She was so far lost in her nightmare that nothing could pull her from it. Seeing her look at me as if I was the most disgusting person in the world flayed my black heart open. All night I had to listen to her sobbing as she broke down by herself, locked in a memory she couldn’t escape. I can’t wait until I put a bullet between Dmitri’s eyes.He doesn’t deserve a slow death. Not for all the pain he has caused Grace.It’s been a while since I’ve tortured someone, he deserves something drawn out for what he has done to her.

When this job fell across my desk that morning, I knew I had to get out of the house and give Grace her space. I needed to channel my anger and hurt into something more than the punching bag in the gym. I also needed to get my mind straight too. Ever since Grace has come into my world, she has turned it upside down, and honestly, I don’t know if I want it back to the right side up.

“Do you want some company?” a stunning blonde asks as she sits at the bar beside me.

“Sure,” I say, tipping my glass tumbler toward the waiter to get me another.

“Are you here for work or pleasure?” she asks flirtatiously. The word pleasure comes out in a purr.

Guess I’m an easy mark. A man in a suit, drinking alone at a luxury hotel bar, with no ring on his finger, and the weight of the world on his shoulders. She probably thinks I need a good time. The blonde’s hand slithers over my thigh aggressively. Maybe I will have a use for her after all. The bartender places my drink in front of me, and I take a large sip. Usually, when I’m on a job I don’t drink this much, but I do this time as I try and wipe away the images of Grace trapped beneath me as she thinks I’m going to hurt her, force her to fuck me against her will.

Turning, I smile at the blonde taking in her appearance. She’s dressed in a red designer dress that molds to her curves, her overinflated breasts are like mountains pressed against the material and she’s tanned as if she’s spent the last month on a yacht in St. Tropez—maybe she has. There’s not a line on her face even when she tries to raise a questioning brow at me. Too much Botox has left her expressionless. Add in her over-inflated bright red lips and she’s the perfect plaything for some single businessman at the bar.

She takes my smile as an opening and raises the stakes by sliding her hand down over my dick and giving it a good rub.Nothing.My dick is not coming out for anyone, especially not a woman like her.

“Wanna get out of here, big boy?” she asks suggestively.

“Sure, let’s go,” I say, throwing some bills on the bar as a tip before throwing back the rest of my whiskey. I motion for her to get up and she follows me through the hotel bar and into the lobby. As we cross the marble floor, the click clacks of her heelsgrate on my nerves. We arrive at the elevator, and it’s open ready for us to enter. She follows me in, I use my keycard to swipe to my level, and we both stand in silence waiting for the doors to close. As soon as they do, she makes her move, but I take a step back. Waving my finger at her, she gives me a pout which probably works on all the other men, but I’m not interested. The lift doors open, and I walk to my room and swipe my key across the lock, and it flashes green. Holding the door open for her, she saunters in, making sure I notice her sizeable asset as it sways.

“Nice room,” she says, admiring the suite before walking over to the window, pretending to look coy as she tries to work out how much I can afford to pay her to suck my dick.

“I know you’re a hooker,” I say, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“Oh,” she says, turning around seemingly surprised. “You’ve done this before?”

I nod. I haven’t, I don’t need to pay for sex. I take off my coat and lay it on the bed. Then I head to the mini bar, grab the small bottle of whiskey and unscrew it before making my way over to the sofa and taking a seat. “Just so we’re clear, I didn’t bring you up here to fuck you.”

This gives the woman pause, and I can see her calculating her escape routes.

“I want to hire you for someone else,” I state, sipping my drink.

She looks relieved. “My rate is five hundred dollars an hour.” She walks over to where I am seated and takes the seat beside me, those hazel eyes looking over me hungrily. “I’ll let you have one free hour to test me out if you wish, make sure I’m up to scratch for your friend.”

“No need. Honestly, I don’t care how well you do or don’t fuck.”

The hooker’s eyes widen, surprised that I turned her down.

“What I need from you is something so much more,” I explain to her as I reach into my pocket and pull out a listening device and earpiece.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a listening device and a camera.”