Chapter 28

POV ILYA KRAVTSOV

For the third time, I pulled the asshole's head out of the fountain, and he choked, coughing and spitting water everywhere. I threw him to the ground, grabbed him by the collar of his soaked shirt, and punched him in the face with all my strength. With the first punch, he passed out.

I was about to go at him again, but both my arms were held back.

"Calm down, brother. Calm down," Hunter asked. He was on one side, and Joshua was on the other.

"Calm down? Did you see what her face looked like? Did you see what the hell her face looked like?" I replied, frantic.

The day had been incredibly stressful. I had already noticed Charlie's animosity toward me, his snide comments, and the mission that was supposed to take a few hours—just finding an enemy of Giovanni Caccini and gathering some information—had taken way longer than expected, all because the guy refused to follow any of my strategies, as if I were there to sabotage, not help.

In the end, everything was resolved, we got the information, and we were paid handsomely for it. Still, I was left with an immense hatred for the asshole. But that didn’t compare to how I felt when I realized Alejandra had been hurt by him.

"Caleb, you saw what happened, didn’t you?" I asked, managing to break free from the two of them. In my rage, not even three or four men that size could hold me back.

"I saw, but I couldn’t understand what was going on." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave a half-smile. "Your girl did really well. I rushed to try and defend her, but I didn’t even need to."

The feeling of pride burned inside me, but I had more things to figure out.

"He... hit her?"

"He shoved her against the wall. I think something hurt her that way. But I don’t know why. Only she can say what happened."

I looked around, already searching for Alejandra, but I didn’t see her. I was torn between taking care of the bastard lying unconscious on the ground or looking for her.

"We’ll deal with him, Ilya; go after the girl."

"He’s from the community, Caleb. I’m not," I said, worried. As my mind cooled, I thought that reaction might’ve been a huge mistake.

Charlie had been with Wildfire for a long time. I wasn’t even part of the MC – motorcycle club – I was just an outsider. A renegade from the Russian mafia. How were they going to side with me in a fight like this?

Maybe it was better to find Alejandra and think of a Plan B. I shouldn’t have gotten comfortable, believing we were safe there. There was too much at stake.

"That doesn’t matter to us. He assaulted a woman. You know how we deal with that kind of person."

Well... I knew. With everything that had happened with Jordana, I was well aware of how they, especially Caleb, dealt with abusers.

I nodded and hurried out of there, weaving through the familiar faces, starting to look for Alejandra.

Being taller than most, I stopped in the middle of the bar and took a quick scan, not spotting her right away. I asked Kellsier, who was at the bar, managing both gossip and orders, and he told me he hadn’t seen her since.

I asked Drake to help look for her, still inside the bar, and headed home, wondering if she’d gotten scared and gone back there.

When I arrived, I found the door unlocked, thinking maybe she just entered and forgot to lock it.

Everything was dark, though.

"Alejandra?" I called out, already preparing to head upstairs to search for her in the bedroom.

I hated that I might have scared her with my violent reaction, but she needed to understand I would do anything to protect her. If anyone hurt her, that person deserved to pay for it.

I had one foot on the stairs when I was surprised by a movement to my left. It was just a moment of distraction...

"Ilya Kravtsov?" I hated the way non-Russians pronounced my name. Especially people who weren’t used to saying it.

The light wasn’t on, so I quickly felt my shoulders tense.

The house had been invaded.

"Charlie told us you’re a damn traitor..."

I lifted my head slightly, still frozen in place. Another movement at the top of the stairs caught my attention, and I managed to see another person in my peripheral vision.

A man.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a low voice, filled with hate.

"We came to take you to Cosa Nostra. The bosses need to know they’ve got a Russian from the Bratva working for them."

"More than that: the Beast of the Bratva, right?" the other one at the top of the stairs said with a wicked chuckle.

This was my fear from the beginning, especially because of Hunter. But at that moment, my bigger fear was for Alejandra.

"Where is the girl?" I growled.

"She was taken for other purposes. We found out your pakhan was also deceived. Anyone who betrays their own boss can betray anyone, right?"

Holy shit! They had taken Alejandra to Pavel!

Just thinking about it, my body inflated. Seeing her hurt had already made my blood run hotter, but thinking about her being taken back to the Bratva to face the consequences would make me revert to being the beast they really accused me of being.

I completely lost it. I jumped from the stairs, making a leap that landed me on the other side of the railing, flying over the guy on the first floor, using my fists against his jaw. I tried to think that they wouldn’t shoot, because it would draw attention from the entire community. Even with a silencer, someone in the house next door could hear.

The community was united and well-trained. Of course, those sons of bitches had gotten in with Charles’ help.

My punches were so fast and hard that the guy was dizzy in a few seconds. Another one came at me, and I reacted, defending myself, fighting like an animal.

Soon there were two more inside my house, and I was trying to defend myself against four, though one of them was pretty beaten up. I could handle it; I had done worse before, but the sting in my neck was unfair, and I didn’t even know where it came from.

I woke up with a jet of water to my face, startled. My fists were chained, in the middle of a dark cubicle that I took a while to see clearly because of the poor lighting.

My knees were aching because I was resting on the concrete. They had taken my shirt and left me only in jeans.

Something snapped on my back, burning, and I knew I was being whipped. I didn't complain about the pain. I wouldn't give them that satisfaction.

"Who are you working for, Beast? It's not for the Bratva, is it?"

Since you betrayed your pakhan. — Another snap.

I growled, clenching my fists and grinding my teeth.

"Idi na khuy" — I spat in Russian, already knowing they wouldn't understand.

"Speak our language, you bastard!"

Another lash.

I could take much more than this if I knew Alejandra was safe.

"I can give you information if you tell me what you did with her," — I opted for English because I wanted them to understand that.