Lahat ng Kabanata ng Kings Of The Bratva: Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

MariaMy heart raced, and it made me wonder how I ever thought I’d be able to continue my father’s business.The park bench felt hard beneath me, and my leg bounced uncomfortably for most of the time I waited.Dimitri had given me my phone back at the house before we set out, and it was strange to have it again. Nothing was any different about it since the last time I used it several weeks prior and selecting Nera’s contact felt wrong.She had been my friend since we were little girls, and she was there for me when I needed it the most. But I’d been at odds with her cause ever since I started to fall for Dimitri. It was hard for me to see a world where I could have both of them in my life.Typing out that text felt like giving up on us as friends. I was about to use her to get to her family, all so that the brothers I used to despise could stop them from causing more harm.Even if it hurt, taking one look at Dimitri was all the confirmation I needed that I was making the right choice

- MariaPain split through my head as my eyes cracked open, sending sparks into my vision.Everything hurt. The pain was everywhere at once, but I couldn’t pinpoint where, or what it was.I registered the familiar back and forth of something moving before I could see it. It sounded fluid—lazy and almost soothing. It reminded me of that evening at the beach, when the waves calmed me.It was water. It had to be. The slow lull of the ocean hitting a dock.The smell of damp wood and steel hit me, paired with salt in the cool air.Something frigid seeped through my clothes and crept up my back. It bit into my skin, forcing my awareness into focus.Colors and shapes came into view as my eyes adjusted, and everything slowly crept back to me.My legs felt almost frozen from the cold concrete beneath me, which stretched into a dock with boats in the distance, anchored for the night.I had been right about the ocean.Weakly lifting my head as sensation returned to me, I found peeling blue paint

Dimitri Cutting the engine, Roman and I grabbed our gear and headed straight for Nikolai and Valentin. Yaro and Vik were standing not far away and had all the men organized for me.“We’ve located them, and everyone is in place. The drop-off hasn’t happened yet either,” Nikolai said, putting a supportive hand on my shoulder. “Give the word and we move in. Their numbers are bigger than we expected, but we have them surrounded.”With urgency flowing through my veins, I tipped my chin in Yaro’s direction.“Send them out. I’m not wasting another minute.”Everyone seemed to feel my resolve, and our forces were a wall of movement, leaving the shadows and bombarding the dock. Yaro was leading them with his rifle raised, using the training he had been taught.While Vik looked apprehensive about what was going down, he followed his older brother dutifully, armed and ready just like the others.The sound of guns cocking filled the space in one big wave, and warning shouts came from the Ricci m

Maria Despite my legs feeling numb, I peeled away from my place and hurried toward them. I couldn’t let her die too. I just couldn’t.“Drop your weapons!” Yaro shouted at the Ricci men, who were all cornered and at a loss. “Surrender and you won’t be killed.”Surrounded and outnumbered, they had no choice but to give in. Dying for a dead man was no longer worth it.Dimitri held his gun firmly on Nera, arm flexing as he contemplated ending it once and for all. But I was there in an instant, riddled with panic.“You can’t kill her,” I blurted, feeling as my eyes burned. “Dimitri, you can’t do this.”Not taking his gaze off her, should she do anything, he clenched his jaw. “She knocked you out, Maria. She worked with her father to kidnap you.”Another rush of burning fear coursed through me and sat heavily in my stomach. “I know, but we’re friends. We have been since we were kids. I would be crushed if she were to die too, even after what happened here.”Dimitri only glanced at me then,

- MariaThe hot sun beat down on the beach below and made the water twinkle beneath its rays.Sprawled out on a comfortable chair with a book in my hand, I felt my skin soak up that warmth. It was a beautiful day, and I was more than happy to cook in that sunshine, listening to the waves crashing and reading at my leisure.The beach was a private one that Dimitri had scoped for us and wasted no time gaining ownership of it the moment I said I thought it was beautiful.Dimitri was in the water cooling down since he couldn’t handle being in the sun as long as I could. He swam out as far as he wanted before slowly coming back in.The tanned skin looked ethereal beneath the sun, and I wondered how I got so lucky. How did I manage to be married to someone so reminiscent of a god?When the book lost my attention to the beautiful man wading through the water, I couldn’t help but watch him from over my sunglasses.Eventually, he stepped out and walked across the sand, dripping with water. His