Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(24)

“Need privacy?”

She knew what he was insinuating, and though every part of her rebelled at the idea, she nodded.

Snow whispered something to the girl next to him, sliding off the couch. For the second time, she found herself trailing behind him, dreading what she was going to have to do to get the thing she wanted.

He shoved open a door, barking for the couple inside to get out before he had the door closed and her trapped inside with him. When he came toward her this time, wet lips pressing sloppy kisses to her neck as he fiddled with the zipper on her skirt, she didn’t resist, though she stood stiffly, unable to relax.

“If you f*cking relax, the shit’ll be better for you,” he whispered as he finally caught the back of her zipped and pulled it down.

She bit her lip, tears stinging her eyes as she turned her face away, not wanting him to see her about to cry, and not wanting him to kiss her. He didn’t seem to care about either.

“Go get on the bed.”

Forcing herself to move, Alex sat on the very edge of the bed, focusing her gaze on a hole in the wall. She could just see Snow undoing his jeans out the corner of her eye, and as her fingers fisted the comforter on his bed, she tried to forget all of this.

“Can I at least have the pills?” she asked, angry with herself for the shakiness present in her voice.

Snow chuckled, pushing her back onto the bed as he crawled on top of her, shoving her skirt up her thighs. “Payment first.”

When he reached for her hand, drawing it down his body so she could grasp the erection that was straining in his jeans, she snatched her arm free.

“Stop acting like a stuck-up bitch,” he spat at her, “You think shit is free around here?”

“No, I’m willing to pay for it. Any number you give me, I’m willing to pay. Just give me a number.” She looked at him, trying to find any glimpse of the guy she had met the first night at the compound. That guy hadn’t seemed so bad, but now that she was staring up at Snow, she didn’t see any of that in him.

“Except I don’t want your f*cking money. Got plenty of my own.”

So no matter what she said, he was going to force her to do this.

As he yanked on her underwear, pulling them down her legs, she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to detach from the moment, to pretend that she was anywhere else but there.

But he was between her thighs, nudging them wider, and the moment she felt him breach her, she bit her lip to stop from crying out. There was so much pain, not because he was particularly big, but because she didn’t want him and her body wasn’t ready.

He didn’t care however, just forced her to accept what he was giving, not matter how she winced, or how tears fell one at a time. By the time it was over and Snow pulled out of her, Alex didn’t think anything was worth that.

Snow reached into the pocket of his jeans, tossing her another little baggie. She held it tight in her fist as she righted her clothes, not able to meet his eyes as she headed for the door.

But even as she left this place, leaving behind Snow’s mocking laughter and the endless supply of the very thing she craved, a part of her knew she would be back because the pills were already calling her name.





13

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Happy Place

For a while, Luka had lived and breathed the Bratva, spending all of his waking hours working to prove himself loyal to those higher up, wanting to make a name for himself in a world where everyone was trying to do the same thing. Unlike most, however, he had been able to do this in less time than anticipated, but with the kind of name he’d drawn, people were less likely to break rules, and now, hardly anyone was willing to step out of line just in case Mishca sent his enforcer to straighten them out.

At first, Luka had been proud of this—fighting was all he knew, after all—but with less to do, he had a lot of free time on his hands and being idle didn’t work for him. It allowed too many opportunities for his thoughts to drift to the past, to blood and mayhem that made his hands itch to do violence.

It was for this reason that Luka found himself lost in a pool hall one night, a neutral location that was open to people from every walk of life as long as nothing went on inside the place. For a time, others had been nervous with Luka there, his predilection toward violence a well-known fact, but after a few weeks passed without an incident, even after a man purposefully spilled an entire pitcher of beer on him, he’d kept his cool. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t find said man across the city another night and break both his kneecaps, but as long as it wasn’t in the bar, no one gave a shit.

Once he’d come to this place, it had become his happy medium between taking his frustrations out and being with Natasha. He had grown tired of seeking her out many times, if only because she was beginning to think that he needed her, but this had yet to let him down.

“You’re playing like shit tonight,” Raj, Luka’s opponent for the night, pointed out as he leaned his weight against the pool stick he was holding.

Glaring at the man, Luka didn’t offer a response as he returned his attention to the table, contemplating his next move. He’d intended to get away from his thoughts, but Alex was still in there. Something was going on with her, and he wasn’t sure what.

And trying to get her to talk about it rationally didn’t seem to be working, but until he found a way to get to the truth, he’d give her her space.