The Bratva’s Knocked-Up Forced Bride (Fokin Bratva #5)

Chapter 1 - Ivan

Never in my life had I experienced such potent, blinding rage before. But at that moment, it was astronomical. So sky-high, I clenched my fist down at my side in an attempt to stay grounded. Every nerve-ending I possessed was on edge, hanging on by a thread like my barely contained restraint.

Dima and Olivia were safe, which mattered above all else. That fact should’ve quelled my lust to hit something. It should’ve been enough for me to watch as our guys hauled Rurik Kuzman off in cuffs to keep him locked up long enough to figure out what to do with him long-term.

Watching the bastard breathe the same air as us tipped my mental scale in favor of putting him down, but as much as I liked the idea of handling the task myself, I wasn’t in any state to make that kind of decision on my own.

At the very least, to cover my ass in the long run, I had to consult Aleks and the others. For the time being, he could enjoy being sealed away somewhere, eating scraps, and sleeping on the cold, hard ground if he was allowed to even do that.

Still, knowing all of that should’ve helped cool me down, but it didn’t.

Because, in reality, not that deep down beneath my skin, I knew he wasn’t the cause of my fury. He was a piece of it, yes, but he was so far from being the whole picture.

No…that image stood before me with her hands behind her back, pinned there by one of my guys who easily dwarfed her. The deceitful, conniving woman I once would’ve done anything for—the sweet little thing that had me impulsively acting like a completely different man.

With her brother out of the picture, leaving her to face the music in his absence, I knew immediately that she was the one who made my blood run so hot that it took every fiber of my being to hold back.

Daria Kuzman was the very source of my anger, and regardless of what I could potentially do with her, my mind was already long-set.

I was seeing red all the while I gazed at her, eyes raking the length of her body in a complete sweep. The faintest part of me nearly shook at the prospect of having her contained and in my control. Knowing she couldn’t get away in that moment even if she wanted to stir that previous longing I had for her—the uncontrollable lust I couldn’t temper regardless of how hard I tried to.

And yet, in that moment, the pure agony and seething rage of being lied to eclipsed that wrath of mine. It, in fact, could be controlled after all. At least enough to distract me from every reason I was attracted to her in the first place.

I was used to being lied to by shady people in the business…I could come back from being one-upped by a rival and brush it off after evening the score. But those circumstances were different.

She made me drop my defenses and stepped all over me—using my attraction to her as a means of disarming me and my family. It wasn’t something I could turn the other cheek to.

The slightest consolation came from the vague hint of fear gleaming in her eyes, and the way she looked up at me with a maelstrom of emotions. In one moment, she looked afraid of what I would do with her since the scheme of hers was completely unraveled, and in the next, she almost reflected my anger back at me.

It both amused and irritated me…she had no right to match my feelings. Not when she was the cause of it.

Even if a part of me still longed to know what her plump, pink lips felt like against mine, and regardless of how I wanted to ghost my thumbs across her freckled cheeks, I couldn’t escape the reminder of her deception with every second, my gaze lingered on her.

Another wave of frustration hit me, and I snarled under my breath to the guard, gripping her wrists behind her back, “Get her out of here.”

If I looked at her any longer, I knew I’d lose another piece of my resolve, and there was no telling what I might do if my deep-seated attraction to her collided with my fury.

At my words, a flash of panic raced through her features, and the moment she was pulled away from the scene and taken to one of our vehicles, it was like a switch had been flipped inside her.

She thrashed and pulled in a sore attempt to get away from that iron grip, only to find the tension pinching even tighter against her skin. Daria growled and shouted like a wildcat to be released, but at the very least, she was ignored by our employees.

Soon enough, she was stashed in the vehicle, cuffed to the back seat, and unable to break away, regardless of her struggle. Even as the door was shut, I could hear the residuals of her screeching that leaked from within the confined space.

Despite the tightness in my body, wound up still by the thought of Daria taking me for a fool while she played my family, I got behind the wheel in my own vehicle and led our small convoy to the hangar.

My knuckles were white while I drove, lashing at the thought of her pulling a fast one on all of us again and again. I couldn’t quiet my mind despite knowing she could do nothing to keep up the charade anymore. She couldn’t cause more damage—not from within my clutches.

It was all a shame, and I couldn’t drop that notion.

I knew her as Zoey not that long ago…she had been so intriguing. She was a ray of sunshine I found myself keening for like a plant desperate for even a drop of her attention. She had me completely captivated by her flirty glances and words. In the moment, I had every reason to believe she wanted me like I wanted her.

She made me think of thoughts I never let enter my head before. She sent me into complete turmoil, making me question my past and everything I once believed about myself.

Zoey—Daria—had that power over me, and it both fascinated and terrified me before.

But all the while, I pulled her out of the back of the tinted SUV once we reached the hangar and lugged her behind me towards the jet; there was no use in fighting the bitterness that consumed me.

Regardless of the part of me that wanted to leave Daria behind and make her fend for herself, my rage couldn’t just let her go like that. So, she was coming back to San Diego with me no matter what she wanted.

Even with my grasp on her small wrists while I dragged her closer, Daria fought me every step of the way.

It was hard to believe she had once been an obedient mouse in front of her brother, given how she was acting. Gritting her teeth and trying to find purchase in the concrete, she wrestled and pulled against me, but I didn’t waver in my hold on her.

Her struggle only made me grip tighter, determined to show her exactly how furious I was with her.

With some extra force from me and the few guys I had with me, we got her onto the jet and dropped her into one of the seats.

Daria huffed out several breaths, giving me a wild look as the others held her down while I strapped her in, doing so tight enough to make sure she couldn’t wriggle her way out, sure to keep her arms pinned. Once she was in, Daria gave me a poisonous look.

“What are you doing with me?”

Her clipped tone, sharp like the claws she seemed to develop so suddenly, grated against my nerves and made me clench my jaw.

Just barely holding back how badly I wanted to unravel on her for everything, I muttered with frayed control next to her ear, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Daria scowled. “That’s not an answer.”

“You don’t deserve an answer.”

The comment seemed to catch her by surprise, but she soon schooled her emotions and glared at me. I couldn’t tell if she was preparing to break down or pull another fit, but either way, she was at my mercy.

After a beat of frustrated silence, her eyes settled on me again. “You can’t just haul me around like this…”

I narrowed my gaze at her slightly, both intrigued and annoyed by her weightless claims. “No? And why’s that?”

“Because someone will find me eventually…you’ll get caught for human trafficking.”

My brows lifted slightly at the remark, unable to silence the snicker from coming out before it was too late. “Is that so?”

Despite trying to sound firm, a shred of uncertainty flashed in her eyes. “Yes…”

That vaguely irritated, vaguely amused smirk remained on my lips for a moment longer as I leaned in closer so she couldn’t avoid my presence by averting her gaze. Doubling down, I grabbed her chin and made her look at me with a slight turn of her head.

My expression hardened as she grit her teeth and tried to pull away, only making me grip her harder.

“I hate to break it to you, Daria …but nobody will find you. Nobody’s coming for you. You and I both know you’ve been living like a ghost for most of your life…nobody will even notice you’re gone.”

Immediately, her brows pinched faintly as she looked back at me, looking like I had slapped her across the face. I struck a nerve.

She held my gaze like that for another moment, allowing her pained expression to turn more venomous as she spat, “Fuck off.”

Those two words should’ve set me off completely—uttered from anyone else’s mouth would’ve sent me over the edge—but I couldn’t help but chuckle at that moment. It sounded bitter, at the very least.

I remained in her personal space for a moment longer, wondering if that fire had always been festering underneath that otherwise pleasant facade she had been playing up. Then, I muttered in a low, mocking tone, “Only because you asked so nicely.”

Letting go of her chin roughly, I stood and watched as she immediately looked out the small window beside her, features pinched in her tumultuous fury.

In all honesty, other than taking her back with me, I didn’t know what I would do with Daria yet. There were several things I could do—countless ways I could torture her over what she did, but at that moment, I was still too pissed off to work out the details.

While I didn’t know my next move, I did know I wanted revenge, and I wasn’t going to let her slip from between my fingers before I could achieve it.

The buzz of my phone in my pocket shook me from my scheming, and I grabbed it as quickly as I could to stop the incessant vibration before it could piss me off further. Seeing Aleks’ name on my screen made me accept the call with a gentle exhale to gather myself again while I stepped off the jet and hung around on the tarmac.

“Yeah?”

“I heard about what happened with the Kuzmins from Dima…how’s the situation?” Aleks asked with a hint of concern, but mostly his usual expectant tone.

“Handled,” I murmured, running a hand over my mouth while I glanced around as the sun began to set. “Both Kuzmins are being taken care of as we speak.”

“I hope that means this will be behind us sooner rather than later.”

“Yes…Rurik and his sister won’t be a problem moving forward. I’ve got it all covered,” I replied, not letting him think for even a moment that I didn’t have a complete grasp of the situation.

After a beat of silence, my brother hummed. “Good. I’m glad I can rely on you for this. Get your ass back home soon so we can go for drinks, yeah?”

The proposition broke through the wall of anger I had up around me for a moment, and I chuckled with a faint grin. I nodded to myself. “If you’re offering.”

“Cheap prick.”

Once we wrapped up the call and I felt somewhat normal for a moment, that light-hearted ease slipped away from me the moment I looked back at the jet and slipped my phone into my pocket. My lips fixed into a scowl again at the thought of getting back on and having to be near Daria again. Of having to work out the details of the non-plan I was following.

Reminding myself, I had to follow through with my desire to get back at her, I forced out a breath and went up the steps in a few smooth strides.

She lied to me and my family, stringing me along like a helpless fool, and I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.