Used By the Merciless Bratva (Yezhov Bratva #10)

Chapter 1 – Kat

I sighed for the hundredth time in the past ten minutes.

Laundry wasn’t fun, but I found it bearable. Folding laundry, on the other hand, was unbearable for me. The mundane task was necessary in an unnecessary way; skipping it doesn’t harm the clothes, but, unless you fancy a freakish or homeless look, you have to.

It was a Saturday, and I was halfway through folding the small heap of clothes at the edge of my bed. As always, I had decided to tackle the most difficult tasks first. I’d rather think of anything but folding laundry while I had drinks with friends.

I couldn’t finish quickly enough. The kitchen didn’t need much cleaning- probably the only upside of the cereal and takeout lifestyle that almost dominated my cooking life. I only had to clear out my refrigerator before making a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

I sat at my four-seater kitchen table, savoring my scrumptious meal. My mind drifted to my recently abandoned workout routine. It wasn’t my first time temporarily abandoning the concept of working out altogether.

I could use my packed schedule as an excuse for the past few days, since my boss has been bombarding me with another series of mandatory reports.

Another excuse that wouldn’t be second-guessed was my tiredness from dragging my girls to the gym every time.

But the real reason was neither of the excuses.

It was the simple fact that I sometimes found myself needing a reminder of the whole point. The slightest amount of occasional weight gain made me abandon my workout routine, which was ironic, considering that maintaining my slender frame was, by the way, an additional perk.

I glanced at the sitting room, toward the back of the couch where my few pieces of gym equipment lay, and then resisted the urge. I didn’t feel like going either. So I went back to my bedroom.

Hours later, I was tossing my phone into my purse as I sat back on the edge of my bed to put on my black boots. Running my fingers through my auburn curls, which still looked just as wild, I took a quick look at myself in the mirror.

The green polka dots on my knee-length white dress nearly matched my forest green eyes.

My boots coordinated with my purse, making my hair stand out.

I hurried out of the room, not because I was scared of being late, but because I couldn’t delay my girls’ Uber that would be waiting outside any minute.

In another ninety minutes, the three of us were climbing out of the car toward the soon-to-be-busy diner. The plan was to have a late lunch together before heading to the club. As usual, whatever happened from thereon depended on individual alcohol intake.

I gravitated toward Jasmine as we neared the glass door.

It was something I did even without thinking.

At 5’7, Jasmine was just an inch shorter than I was.

That made walking beside her comfortable, a stark contrast to how it felt to walk beside Hannah, who was 5’5.

While both could be described as crazy, Hannah was more reserved.

“Do you think James will join us today?” Jasmine asked, pushing the door open.

“We’ll see,” Hannah said as she came in behind us.

“Has he decided to man up yet?” Jasmine asked, facing me.

I scoffed, taking a seat at the corner table.

“Oops,” Hannah remarked.

James and I used to be friends; now, we’re probably just as good as strangers.

We should have kept our relationship at friendship; taking it further destroyed everything.

I still remembered how surprised I was when he started talking about being secretly in love with me several months earlier.

Chalking up my initial resistance to fear of the unknown, I decided to take the dive with him.

But the chemistry wasn’t there, and, after a few months, I called it quits.

He claimed to understand, and we were cool—until I mentioned going on a date a few weeks earlier. Then he decided not to be okay with it.

“Not that I’m saying his attitude is cool or anything, but I don’t think we can totally blame him,” Hannah started as the waiter left our table. “It might seem easy to let go of someone you like until you see them actually moving on.”

“Not gonna lie, it stings like crazy,” Jasmine admitted. “But it’s been months. Acting like a jealous schoolboy doesn’t suit him. If he doesn’t apologize to Kat, he might be losing not one but two friends.”

“I’d rather he didn’t. I can’t imagine us being friends ever again,” I disclosed.

“Real shame,” Hannah commented.

It really was.

I called Jasmine and Hannah ‘my girls,’ but we all knew it was a casual term.

Jasmine had been at Sty Tech, the IT company where the four of us worked, as long as I had.

However, it wasn’t until Hannah joined the company about a year ago that the three of us started hanging out together.

Still, we weren’t so close. Aside from weekend outings like these and gym meetups once or twice a week, we didn’t see each other outside work.

James and I were much closer, even as friends.

Our friendship didn’t start at work; we knew each other before then.

But I’d be lying if I said his friendship was too big for me to do without.

The arrival of our food marked the end of the topic.

“I can’t believe I’m finally getting my leave!” Hannah randomly proclaimed.

“I, for one, can’t wait to be met with your absence at the office. I’m tired of witnessing your preparatory excitement,” I confessed.

“Thought I was the only one,” Jasmine revealed.

“Whatever,” Hannah remarked, then broke into a grin. “I really can’t wait!” She added, “A solo date under a cabana is the first item on my bucket list.”

“Of course, you have a list,” I uttered, chuckling.

“Speaking of dates, Steph, my neighbor, was assaulted by her date yesterday,” Jasmine revealed.

“What?!” Hannah exclaimed, her pupils dilating.

“Like a date rape?” I questioned.

“Thankfully not,” Jasmine answered. “The guy insisted on walking her home. She said she had to give in because he was being forceful; apparently, he had gotten drunk. The bastard kept touching her inappropriately at every chance he got as they passed every dark street. She had to fake a call when she got close to the apartment building to get him off her back. She was so scared when she eventually came in. She could already see herself getting raped.”

“She must have been fucking hysterical. Is she okay now, though?” I asked.

“Hm, she’s better.”

“She should file a restraining order. He might come back, since he knows her house,” Hannah pointed out.

“Yeah, her brother mentioned that. I just hope bastards like that get all the punishment they deserve,” Jasmine sighed.

“Not to allocate blame or anything, but it could have been avoided if she had left him at the bar when he started sounding threatening or forceful,” Hannah dropped, looking from me to Jasmine with a small shrug.

“Well, you just did,” I remarked with a dry chuckle. “But you’re not wrong. Thing is, some people are kinda drawn to dark sides, you know, a little hint of danger.”

What I didn’t mention was that I fell into the category I just cited.

“Following that attraction might send one to an early grave; it’s not something you should explore with someone you don’t know or trust. Imagine she couldn’t escape him or he even forced himself on her against the wall in a dark alley,” Hannah explained.

“True,” Jasmine breathed, emptying her plate.

***

“Okay…on a scale of one to ten?” Hannah pressed, glancing not-so-subtly at the guy two seats away from us at the bar table.

“He’s okay…a seven, I guess,” I drawled, lifting my glass to my lips.

“Maybe an eight. His lips are so perfect,” she practically crooned.

We had been at the bar for close to an hour, and Jasmine was too interested in dancing to join us for another round of drinks.

“Looks like he’s heading over,” I informed Hannah before whisper-yelling, “don’t look!”

I couldn’t help but smile at how hard it was for her to hold in her excitement.

“Hello, ladies,” the guy’s smooth voice cut through the loud music.

“Hi,” I replied for both of us, since Hannah was busy admiring him.

“Hannah, gotta use the restroom,” I whispered, rising to my feet.

With a small smile, I gave the guy a polite nod as I excused myself. I knew without any iota of doubt that she wouldn’t be in the same seat when I got back.

I thought of Max, the guy I went on two dates with a few weeks after ending things with James. When he literally listed delicacies his partner ‘must’ be able to make and laughed when I mentioned my love for animated movies, I knew he was everything I didn’t want in a man.

My phone vibrated in my purse as I slipped out of the restroom cubicle.

Unlocking the screen, I saw that it wasn’t a text. It was an email.

The ‘Notice’ subject jumped out at me before my eyes caught the sender’s email address.

J.T. Lockers.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me it wasn’t routine mail.

But what could this be about?

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I read the first line in the pop-up notification.

Nothing good ever comes out of an email starting with ‘We appreciate your patronage in the past….’

I decided that, whatever it was, I would deal with it later, after tonight.

***

The strong smell of my citrus shampoo and conditioner followed me as I sprinted to my dresser. Just as my phone’s ringtone was about to end, I picked up.

“Kat,” my dad’s cool voice filled me with its usual warmth.

“Hi, Dad,” I greeted, squeezing my towel-covered hair as I put the call on speaker and dropped my phone on the table.

“I was starting to think you went out and mistakenly left your phone behind, as usual,” he disclosed, humor clear in his tone.

“Dad!”

It happened only once. Perhaps I often forgot my phone’s location, but I only went out without my phone once, when I was still a teenager. My dad wouldn’t ever let it go; there was always an opportunity for him to bring it up in conversations.