Page 103 of Innocent Prey of the Bratva

“She’ll still sell,” the first man laughs. “Arina was right. She’s pretty. And now that everyone knows she was Rusnak’s little secret? They’ll bid just for the chance to ruin her.”

Laughter. Cruel. Sharp. Echoing.

I try to speak, but my throat is sandpaper and my tongue feels too big for my mouth. The drug is still in my system—clouding everything. Slowing me down.

I blink through the light, trying to make out faces, a doorway—anything. My hands clench, weak fists at my sides.

A voice cuts through the noise. Calm. Cold. “Clean her up. Get her decent. I want her looking good when the lights go on.”

I stagger. My legs finally give out, and I hit the ground with a crack. Pain shoots up my spine, but I don’t cry out. I don’t give them that.

I lie there, heart racing, breath shaky, the weight of realization slamming into me.

I should’ve never left Kaz.

I was so desperate to escape the monster, I ran straight into the slaughterhouse. And now I don’t know if he even knows where I am. Or if he’s already too late.

Suddenly, there’s shouting. A sharp yell. A scream. Then—boom.

The floor shakes beneath me. Dust rains from the ceiling. My eyes flutter open again, just barely. I can’t move, can’t lift my head, but I hear it—chaos. Panic. Gunshots.

The men who were laughing seconds ago are shouting orders now. Footsteps thunder in every direction.

Another explosion—closer this time. And then, through the blur of smoke and flashing lights, I see him. A shadowgliding through the wreckage. Fast. Precise. Dressed in black from head to toe, moving like a storm. Controlled. Deadly.

I can’t even see his face properly because of all the drugs pumped into my blood…but I know. Every cell in my body knows—it’s Kaz.

Something in me breaks loose at the sight of him. I want to cry. To scream. To run. But all I can do is lie here and feel.

Gunfire cracks in my ears. Someone curses.

Before I can slip fully into darkness again—he’s there.

Kaz. Kneeling beside me. Eyes wild, scanning my face like he can’t believe I’m real.

“You’re safe now,” he breathes, his voice shaking. His hands are on my face, my neck, gently brushing hair from my skin. “You’re safe. You were so wrong to think I wanted you dead.”

He leans closer, forehead nearly against mine.

“I would burn the whole fucking world,” he whispers, “just to watch you breathe. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now.”

Tears prick my eyes. My lips move. “I know,” I whisper back.

And then everything fades again, and I let go because I know I am safe.

Chapter 26 – Kaz

She slips in my arms, breath catching once—then nothing. Her eyes roll back.

“Maxim!” I shout, turning just as he appears beside me. Smoke curls behind him, screams still echoing down the hallway, and somewhere above us, the ceiling groans from the force of our explosives.

“She fainted,” I growl. “Take her. Keep her breathing. If anything—anything—happens to her, I’ll put a bullet through your skull myself.”

He nods, face grim, and scoops her from my arms with the care of someone who knows how much she means to me. He disappears through the chaos.

Now….

Now it’s just me.