Tempted by the bratva

pte

ph

er how many obstacles stood in my way. But as I stood in the dimly lit alley behind La Rouge, the exclu

e steady, measured footsteps approaching me. A chill ran down my spine, a warning that I wasn

beneath it, he was the kind of man you noticed, the kind of man who could have stepped out of a crime thriller. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, and his face.

he sound of velvet, smooth but carrying an undercurrent of danger. Something about th

yself, but I couldn't. I forced myself to stand t

eady despite the racing of my pulse, "but if yo

flicker in his eyes. "Trouble, printsessa?" His voice was rich, smooth l

I hadn't expected that. I

e route. I had spent my entire life keeping a low profile, staying out of trouble. And now here I

y neck stand up. "I do not make mistakes," he said, taking a step closer. I instinctively took a step back, but he moved faster t

illiams," he said, his

inning. "Debt? I don'

gh considering my words. Then, s

hadn't seen in years, a man I barely spoke about anymo

was already coiling in my stomach. The panic that started to rise in

cted this answer. "Mikhail Ivanov," he in

head of the

ried to process what he was saying. A part of me wanted to run, to scream, bu

ricks. My father's debt had caught up with me,

-

kh

t in the way men with guns and knives lurked in the shadows, waiting for a misstep. No-Sophia Wil

g for mercy, to plead for leniency, but she stood her ground, chin raised high in defiance.

" she hissed, trying to ya

gh to hurt, but enough to mak

She was scared, but she didn't want to

ng from the Bratva and thinking he could outrun his debts. He hadn't paid with m

onversational. "And he left behind something far more valuable than money." My t

s the way her breath hitched. Fear?

rmur, "I don't take what isn't mine.

ether to fight or run. I watched, entertain

, her voice small, but with a q

words hang in the air. "Becaus

g around us. She trembled, and I knew it wasn't fro

tching her steady herself. Let her think she

hia," I said, my voice promi

steps echoing as I disappeared into the night, le