Page 21 of Tangled Souls (Bratva Souls Duet #2)

HUCK

Oaklynn is now in comfortable lounge pants and a tank top, her face free of make-up and her hair pulled up into a messy pile on top of her head.

It’s a stark contrast to how she looked just a short time ago.

I love our woman no matter what, but I do think I prefer her looking cozy and comfortable like she is right now.

Even though the conversation we’re embarking on is anything but peaceful, she looks relaxed and that helps to keep the rage inside of me in check. It’s simmering under the surface and waiting for the right time to make itself known.

Now is not the time.

We have to keep our cool for our woman. It won’t do anyone any good to get pissed and fly off the handle. Not when Mikhail is long gone and we need to hear what happened.

Oaklynn sighs and shakes her head slightly. “He caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting someone to come barging into the bathroom since I had just left Maxim in the hallway. He was so close, and I knew it; I felt safe stepping away while he talked to the guy who flagged him down.”

Kirill interrupts, his eyes boring into his brother, “Do you think it was a set-up?”

Maxim shakes his head. “I don’t believe so. He was just a client, and I was caught up at the wrong time which allowed Mikhail to have an opening.”

Kirill seethes, “An opening he should have never had.”

Oaklynn’s eyes flash, her tone hard, “None of that. We will not play the blame game amongst ourselves. I’m not some weak woman who always needs a man to ride in on his white steed to rescue me. I’m capable.”

Maxim begrudgingly admits, “Mikhail didn’t look so great as he pushed past me. It was fast, but he definitely had a broken nose.”

“And at least one cracked rib,” Oaklynn sounds smug as hell.

The smirk on her face falls quickly when none of us relax or even so much as have a lip twitch.

“Right,” she claps her hands together, “as I was saying, Mikhail came into the bathroom like he owned the place. I knew who he was instantly, which seemed to amuse him.” She huffs out a breath and rolls her eyes.

“He didn’t say much as he attacked me other than the usual misogynistic bullshit. ”

“What does that mean, Little Bee?” Baker’s voice is soft and calm, but it’s all a front; he’s just as on edge as the rest of us.

“He was glad I recognized him and called me a whore. He tried to taunt me by saying that I’d be on my knees for him eventually,” her voice is soft, but it’s not weak.

The rest of us growl and I have to clench my hands into fists. Tensions are high and it feels like I can’t breathe.

Being able to see our woman, right in front of me and whole, is the only thing keeping me sane at this moment. It would be so easy to lose my shit entirely.

“And he just breezed past you?” I try to keep my question neutral as I look toward Maxim, but even I can hear the underlying accusation in my words.

He looks away, shame coating his features. It’s so damn clear that it has me swallowing hard even though I’m the one who asked in the first place.

“Don’t do that,” Oaklynn’s voice is a warning.

“It’s not his fault. He had an impossible decision in front of him.

What would you have done?” I look up to find her brown eyes pinning me in place.

“I told him to go the moment he saw me, to track Mikhail down, but he saw me—against the wall, holding my ribs, bloody—and he made a choice.”

My eyes slide shut, and I tip my head back. It’s easy to picture the moment in my head.

“I would have done the same damn thing,” I admit knowing the truth of my words all the way to my soul. When I tip my head forward again, I look toward Maxim. “I’m sorry man, putting that shit on you wasn’t right.”

He nods, but I can tell by the way he clenches his jaw that my words haven’t landed. He’s obviously blaming himself. I just made it worse.

Oaklynn is looking at me in such a way that she might as well be screaming at me to make it right. All I can do is nod in understanding at the moment. It’s not something that’ll be fixed in a matter of minutes; there’s not much I can do to change that.

“What about the cameras?” Kirill’s voice is strained and showing just how on edge he is.

With a sigh, I run my fingers through my hair and admit, “The feeds were taken down. Either it was someone on the inside or Mikhail was watching and made it happen before entering the hallway to the bathroom.”

When the door opens, four guns are pointed toward the entrance to the living room where we’ve posted up. Wolfe comes into view and pauses for a heartbeat as he takes in the scene before he heads straight over to our wife. He drops down onto his knees in front of her, his eyes assessing her closely.

“I’m fine,” Oaklynn sighs, clearly done with saying the same damn thing over and over tonight.

From the look on Wolfe’s face, he doesn’t believe her any more than we do. I’m not surprised. He’s become very protective of our wife since meeting her. I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, but the more I watched them interact the more it became clear that they have a brother-sister relationship.

I never really thought it could be anything else because Wolfe—along with Dominic and Hendrix—are totally gone for their woman, Kirby. Still, I don’t like anyone other than us having their hands on our wife. Call me possessive. Call me an asshole. I don’t really give a fuck either way.

Oaklynn is ours. Our woman. Our wife. Our love.

And we aren’t going to allow anyone to get in the way of that.

Which is why Mikhail taking a shot at her tonight has me seething. I swallow down the words I want to bark at Wolfe to get him to back the fuck away because I know he’s here to look her over and make sure she’s okay.

He asks her some questions about what happened and how she’s feeling. She answers honestly, but it’s clear she’s more than done with this whole thing.

Our woman isn’t one to milk an injury or revel in the spotlight. It’s one of the many things I love about her, but right now she needs to let that shit go because none of us are going to be able to rest without knowing if she’s okay.

When Wolfe touches her side, his fingers gentle, she sucks in a sharp breath and winces. It takes all of my willpower not to jump out of my seat, but I manage to stay still. My eyes aren’t still though.

I share a long look with Baker who looks just about as ready to kill as I do. I’m just not sure if he’s looking to killing his brother or Mikhail. Probably both.

Wolfe spends time smearing ointment on her bruises as well as her knuckles which are clearly red and swollen. His touch is careful and clinical as he wraps her torso. The look in his eyes tells me he’s not entirely thrilled about just treating her here.

When he sits back on his heels, he runs his hand along his jaw and lets out a long breath. “I would feel a lot better if you’d go and get checked out which would include some imaging for your ribs.”

Oaklynn is shaking her head before he even finishes the words. “I’m not going to a hospital or clinic or wherever. I’m fine,” her words are fierce.

Wolfe isn’t one to be intimidated easily, “You’re strong, little sister, I get it, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need more medical attention than I can give you.”

“No,” she snaps at him, her eyes blazing with fury.

But before Wolfe can respond, her shoulders slump and her face crumples.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’m just pissed that this happened on such an important night, and I’m tired of having to insist that I’m okay.

Does it hurt? Yes. I had to kick some ass and I’m going to feel it. ”

“I know you’re badass, Oaklynn,” he assures her.

And he does.

Not only has our wife sparred with us, but she’s been in the ring with Wolfe, Dominic, and Hendrix. They wanted to assess her skills and give her pointers just as much as we did. Our woman impressed them, something which isn’t easy to do.

Even so, she should never have been put in the position she was in tonight.

I have to take a few deep breaths to get myself under control before I destroy our living room and then move on to the other rooms in the house. Losing my cool won’t help anything right now.

I know that.

But it’s hard to remember. Every time I look at Oaklynn, my gaze goes right to the bruise on her jawline. How fucking dare Mikhail attack our wife.

He needs to die.

Everyone’s eyes snap over to me, and I realize I said that last bit out loud. I have no doubt that I sound unhinged because that’s exactly how I feel.

“He will,” there’s a promise in Kirill’s words.

All I can do is nod my head. I’m antsy and on edge.

The need to go down to the warehouse and find out what the fuck went wrong tonight is riding me hard. I’m not sure what answers I’ll find, but I need to start asking the questions.

Since looking at the camera feed was a bust, it feels like I’m flying blind right now and it is not a feeling I like. It makes my skin crawl.

“Okay,” Wolfe sighs as he takes in the defiant way Oaklynn is holding herself. “Please take something for pain. If the over-the-counter shit isn’t touching the pain, then let me know.”

“I won’t take anything stronger,” Oaklynn insists.

One thing I’ve learned about our woman is that she’s stubborn as hell.

It makes her a good match for us because she won’t break under pressure, whether the source is outside of our little family or within.

She could stand strong in the storm and come out looking like the skies were clear and the wind was calm.

I’m in awe of her.

When Wolfe stands up, he looks at the way the rest of us are clenching our jaws or hands and nods with a knowing glint in his eyes. “The team working tonight is waiting at the warehouse. Dominic and Hendrix are watching over them,” he confirms with a smirk.

Yeah, I’m sure they’re just watching over them.

All three of the former military men turned mercenaries love Oaklynn like a sister. They would light the match we’d use to burn the world down for her. That’s just how it is.

I’m so fucking glad our woman has a family at her back now.

Maxim looks defeated, but I know what he needs. He needs to be useful because he already feels like he’s let our woman down.

Kirill looks like he’s on edge. His energy is feral and combustible. It reminds me of the night Adam approached her at the Heart and Home meeting. When it comes to Oaklynn, he’s no longer the stoic leader who doesn’t get rattled.

He’s a loose fucking cannon. One we need to contain.

“Kirill,” I call to him and wait until he looks at me. His eyes burn with an uncontrollable wildfire. “I’m going to go to the warehouse with Maxim and Baker. You’re going to stay here and take care of our woman.”

He narrows his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything. It’s clear he’s not happy about it, but I don’t think he’s going to fight me on it either. Not when she needs him and he needs her.

When I look at Oaklynn, she gives me a small nod. Is it gratitude or understanding?

Either way, I’m up and headed toward the front door knowing the guys will fall in line with me. Maxim’s too mired in guilt and it’s time for me to step up and get this shit done.

It’s time to see if we can get any answers. Mikhail should never have been able to get into the building, let alone that close to our wife. But he did and now heads will roll.