Stolen by the Mob Boss : A Russian Mafia Romance (Bratva Hitman) Nicole Fox (unputdownable books TXT) 📖

“Stop struggling. You’ll only hurt yourself.” He slides his hands into his pockets and meets my gaze. “I’ll call the police when I’m far enough away. I’ll let them know that you’re here. They’ll come and untie you.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I say. “Don’t you leave me here.”

“Lucy—”

“You never cared about me. You never cared about helping me stop Konstantin. You just wanted to use me. Is that what all this was?” I demand. “Did you just bring me here so I could be your little fuckbuddy until you had to kill him?” I’m crying, screaming, seeing Roman through the red glare of rage and a curtain of tears. This isn’t fair, this isn’t fair, this isn’t fair.

The thought of him using me this way makes my heart break, but I’m too pissed to acknowledge that ache at the moment. Right now, I want to throw him across the room and scream in his face. I want to take all those moves he taught me and ... and ... I don’t know. I just know that I’m practically shaking with anger.

“It was never like that.”

“Then what was it? Because you told me I could help you. You told me you would give this to me. After everything that bastard did to me and my family, you told me you’d let me see him pay for it.”

“And he will,” Roman says simply. “But not with you around.”

“I wish I’d never met you,” I say, tears in my eyes. I try to cover my face by turning into my shoulder, but it’s no use.

“Don’t say that,” he replies. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard him talk to me in any kind of way that sounds vulnerable.

“You’re the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” I continue. “Nobody ever gave me hope that I could stop him until you came around. You made me think justice really did exist. But then you did this. So fuck you, Roman. Run away like you always do. Tell yourself you’re a good person because you don’t hurt women. But you and I both know that’s a lie.”

“It’s not.”

“You’d never physically hurt a woman,” I say, sneering. “But you have no problem making a woman think she actually has a chance. You don’t hesitate to fuck a woman knowing you’re going to betray her the very next day. No, you don’t hit women, Roman, but I think right now, I’d much rather you hit me than do this.”

There’s a bitter silence hanging in the air, and I want to fill it with the raging scream that’s clawing its way up my throat. Venomous, that’s what it is. It’s poison, and I want to get it out of my system, but somehow, I manage to keep my composure.

For a brief moment, it seems like he’s going to change his mind. He’ll laugh it off and untie me and we’ll go finish the job he swore we’d do. He opens his mouth to speak.

“The police will be here soon.”

Without another word, Roman turns and leaves.

Even when he’s gone, I don’t give up hope just yet. There’s a part of me that expects him to go back on this decision. He’ll come walking through that door again, only this time, he’ll untie me. He’ll pull me close and tell me that he’s sorry for thinking he could ever do this. And maybe, after he’s done groveling, I’ll forgive him.

But he doesn’t come back.

I hear the sound of the garage door opening, and then a moment later, it closes. After that, silence. There’s nothing but the birds chirping and a distant lawn mower humming. Only then, when I realize that he’s gone for good, do I let myself fall apart.

The tears come again—hot, fast, and endless.

Chapter Fourteen

Roman

I’m a fucking monster.

I know that. I feel the truth of it deep in my bones. I shouldn’t care—I’ve spent my whole life learning how not to care—and yet, I care more than I ever could have anticipated.

Backing out of the garage, I know I should feel relieved that I don’t have to deal with Lucy anymore. I don’t have to worry about her safety. I don’t have to wonder if she’ll turn on me at any moment. I’m free from that responsibility.

I should be happy. I should be jumping for fucking joy.

Instead, I feel like shit.

There hasn’t been a single person in almost twenty years that could make me feel the way Lucy did, insulting me like that. I’ve been called every name under the sun. All that bounced off me. It was nothing, because I didn’t care about the people calling me those names. But Lucy telling me she wished she’d never met me?

It gutted me.

It was almost enough for me to untie her. I almost apologized, considered begging for her to not hold it against me. But then I remembered what she said the night before. It was a reminder that even after shooting the man at the diner, she’s still not built like me. She’s innocent. She’s good. Every good thing around me dies, so I have to leave her behind.

I grip the steering wheel tightly in my hands, trying not to think about her. She’s probably tugging as hard as she can, desperate to get out of those ties. Tying her to the bed felt like I was stabbing her in the back. She looked so peaceful in sleep, not worrying about the shitty world we live in. She looked happy.

And I have to spare her happiness. I have to do this on my own. Involving Lucy in any of my assignments would only ruin her purity. She has so many people depending on her, unlike me. Me? I can disappear for years if I want. Nobody is waiting on me to get home. Nobody cares about me. But Lucy has her grandmother and her friends. She has a life outside of this evil, and the only way I can protect her is by keeping her as far