Page 13 of The Bratva Sinner

“I don’t think so. She said they drugged her water. She’s only been with them for a few days.”

"Son of a bitch."

"Yeah." She watches me. "She's coherent but still sluggish."

"Whatever she needs. I’ll call the doc and have him run the usual tests.”

"She refused a doctor."

Fucking stubborn.

Cinder shakes her head.

"It was stupid," she says. "What you did last night."

"It worked out."

"It worked outlast night." She leans forward. "Maksim. We save who we can. That's always been the rule. We don't pull women out of someone else's deal and bring them home. We're not a shelter."

"I know what we are."

"Do you? Because last night, you kidnapped a girl from a man who is very dangerous and who does not share. Remember what happened the last time someone took a girl from his operation."

"She asked me to help her." The wordpleasecomes back to me. One word, barely a whisper, and I haven't been able to shake it.

Something about that word reaches into a place I keep locked. I know why, but I'm not opening that door right now.

"I couldn't leave her there."

"She was high."

"Cinder."

"I'm not wrong, and you know it." She's not angry; she's worried. "I don't care about Bekir. Bekir is a cockroach. Someone purchased that girl before we ever laid eyes on her. That person will not let this go quietly."

I don't say anything. There’s nothing to argue with.

"I'll handle it," I say.

"How?"

"I don't know yet."

Cinder gulps down water. "She's scared," she says, "but she's not broken. That one's a fighter. She’s beat to hell, but I think she gave as good as she got, which is why they knocked her around. She's got a cut on her head that should've had stitches, a nasty bruise on her cheek, and a few on her knuckles.

I don’t know why, but I smile. I like that she fought back.

"I'll talk to her,” I say.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I want her to know that she’s under my protection.”

She exhales. "Just be careful what you promise her."

I ignore her and walk back to the bedroom we’ve used in the past. It has a lock on the outside. I hate locking anyone in, but it’s necessary for their safety.

I knock before unlocking the door.