Page 43 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

“No, no. You’ve got it all wrong, you fucking bastard.” He eyed Addison and glared at me. “You fucking owe me.”

He was beating around the bush, diverting attention from himself, and trying to distract. I didn’t know what it was, but judging by his shifty eyes, it couldn’t mean anything good. But two could play that game, couldn’t they?

I coughed a laugh and gaped in utter disbelief.

“I owe you? You know, the problem is, you still have a mouth to spew fucking garbage. But go ahead; tell me what I owe you.”

“Fucking peace of mind?” He shouted. “What do you say to that? When are you going to leave me alone, huh? What’s all this chasing? Why don’t you just forget I exist and move on?”

Exhaling, I massaged my temples and stood up. I was fed up. Storytime was over. It was time to end this charade. I strolled casually forward, stopping only when I was close enough to see the anger swimming in his blue irises. Yuri fell beside me, clutching the pistol tightly and looking hard at the soon-to-be-dead man.

I tapped the gun against my thigh.

“Frankly, Mercer, you’re pissing me off. We both know how this is going to end. Nobody fucks with my family and gets away with it alive. I’ll make it quick. Two or three bullets should be enough to send you to the afterlife. What do you say?”

He spat, saliva flying from his mouth to the asphalt below, and snarled. “Fuck you.”

The dumbass had to make things more difficult.

“You’re nothing but a fucking speck of dust in the desert; insignificant, useless. I always wondered what Irina saw in you; what they all saw in you. But here I am, giving a worthless piece of shit like you a chance at quick redemption. Let Addison go.”

“You and your fucking chance can go to hell, Varkov.”

“If that’s what you want. You asked for it.” I shrugged and raised my gun as my veins glowed with determination. “You’re going to die an agonizing death, Mercer. Goodbye.”

My finger hovered over the trigger and ...

I barely blinked before I noticed a silver glint on Addison. A drop of red dripped over her olive skin and a maniacal smile slid across his lips. He had acted quickly and grabbed her, pressing a gleaming dagger to her neck.

My blood ran cold.

Time slowed down and the breath left my lungs. Yuri and the rest of the world around me blurred and I heard my heart pounding in my ears. I watched in slow motion as the stiffness in her gaze morphed to fear and her hands flew to his arm to push him away.

I eyed the trickle of red on her skin and pain shot through my body. But what hurt more was the anger that surged through my veins.

Her eyes called out to me, and I stood there, deciding how many bullets I should waste on the fucking bastard.

One. Dead.

Four. Slow death.

Fucking six. Make him suffer.

The sick grin on his face grew even wider as his gaze traveled from her to my face.

“I knew it. I fucking knew it! You fucking like her! So, you do have a heart beneath all that stone-composed gentleman façade you put up. She’s worth it, you know,” he said like she was anything less.

“Logan...” she choked, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he shook her violently like a lifeless rag doll.

“You shut the fuck up!”

The thunder in his voice echoed across the empty road. I saw the crazed look in his eyes, and I had to tread carefully. One mistake, one fucking act of recklessness, and it would turn to shit really quick.

Think, Mark.

But his violence taunted me, provoked my anger even further. It was like a switch had flipped inside me. All I could see was red, and overwhelming fury clouded my mind.

“I asked you, didn’t I?” He pressed the dagger deeper.