Bratva Bride (Bratva Series Book 1)

I’m not going to do it.

Nope. Nuh-uh. No fucking way.

I’m Arturo Giovanni De Luca and I chase after no woman, not even my wife.

Okay, if that was even remotely true, then why are you halfway to the warehouse right now?

Sometimes, I wish I could bitch slap my own damn brain.

This was unfamiliar territory for me. Usually when I had an argument with a woman, all I’d have to do is click my fingers and they’d come running back.

But not Illayana.

What pissed me off the most was that I kinda liked it. I liked that I couldn’t control her. I liked that I had no clue what she was going to do next. It was…refreshing.

When I walked into the warehouse, the atmosphere was electric. You couldn’t tell that mere hours ago, a devastating event occurred on these grounds.

Excitement buzzed in the air as people crowded around the boxing ring, cheering for more bloodshed. All the people injured during the attack had been moved to another room within the warehouse, freeing up the space that allowed our soldiers to blow off some much needed steam.

Illayana sat between Lorenzo and Luca, legs crossed underneath her and face smiling. I bristled at the closeness of their bodies and glared hard at my men.

Christian and Lukyan were in the ring, trading blows. Nothing too serious, that much I could tell. Just a friendly sparring match.

The crowd went wild, everyone jumping to their feet and clapping hard when Christian struck hard, his fist connecting with Lukyan’s face. His head snapped to the side, blood trailing from his now split lip and down his chin.

Lukyan turned his head back to face Christian and the fucker smiled.

A feminine voice called my name and I turned. Gabriella strode towards me, her eyes red from crying and still wearing her white ball gown from earlier, except now it was covered in dirt and blood. She hugged me tightly, laying her head on my chest as she cried hysterically.

“Oh my god, Arturo. Mum’s still unconscious, she hasn’t woken up yet. I can’t believe this is happening.”

I hugged her back stiffly. “She’ll be alright.”

“But what if she’s not? What if she dies?” she hiccupped, burying her face deeper into my chest.

“She won’t.” I pulled out of her arms and took a step back, putting some distance between us. Her face dropped for a second and then she covered it with a small smile.

She glanced around the warehouse. “This is a little crazy, isn’t it? Can you believe they’re this barbaric? Fighting each other while people place bets and cheer them on?” she said, shaking her head in disgust.

“I think it’s pretty awesome actually.”

She threw her head back in laughter. “Of course you would.” She took a step towards me and brushed her fingers over a small bruise that had formed just under my eye from the impact of the blast that threw me in the air. “Poor baby, you’re hurt.”

Illayana’s gaze found mine over the crowd and the smile on her face vanished, eyes narrowing into slits.

Fuck.

Before I even had the chance to back away from Gabriella, she rose to her feet. We stared at each other for what felt like bloody hours, but I knew it had barely been ten seconds. I quickly stepped away from Gabriella but the damage was done.

She broke eye contact first, moving with determination towards the ring. Lorenzo and Luca immediately stood, following close behind her. Once she reached the ring, she slapped her palm twice on the hard floor to get her brother’s attention.

Lukyan straightened from his defensive position and moved to the edge of the ring, bending down and sticking his head between the ropes so Illayana could whisper something in his ear. After a few seconds, his eyes locked onto me from across the room and he smiled. He gave a single nod before rising to his full height and making his way over to Christian.

Illayana moved quickly to a wall on the far side of the building that housed a variety of different weapons. Knives, daggers, swords, axes, fighting sticks, staffs, batons…the list went on and on. The whole thing was actually pretty damn impressive.

She picked up a pair of fighting sticks and a long, wooden staff and made her way back to the ring.

Christian had already jumped down, joining his brother and Lorenzo in the crowd. Lukyan stood in the centre of the ring shirtless, blood and sweat dripping down his torso. He wrapped his long hair up into a high bun to help keep it out of his face and jumped lightly up and down on the spot, keeping the adrenaline pumping through him.

I could hear Gabriella’s shrill voice still talking to me but I wasn’t processing a single word she was saying. My eyes were glued to the scene playing out in front of me.

Illayana threw the staff like a javelin and Lukyan caught it with ease, twirling it around his body effortlessly before landing in a fighting stance, facing Illayana. She had a fighting stick in each hand, a look of determination on her face as she stopped directly in front of the ring.

Oh, fuck off.

I took a step forward, intent on locking this shit down right fucking now when a strong hand gripped my shoulder. I turned my head slightly, curious to see who the fuck thought it was okay to stop me, when I saw Dimitri standing at my side.

He glared at Gabriella and she shrinked back, cowering. He flicked his head to the side, signalling for her to go away and she did, running back to the infirmary room where her mother was.

He eyed his children curiously. “You said something to piss her off, didn’t you?” he asked.

I was a little irritated that he figured out so quickly that I was responsible for her bad mood.

“Anything I say makes that woman mad.”

Dimitri chuckled. “True. She is quite temperamental, just like her mother. Word of advice?”

I grunted.

“She’s getting up there to prove a point to you and only you. Pay attention.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That sounds an awful lot like a command, Dimitri,” I sneered, my anger rising. I wasn’t in the fucking mood to be spoken to like I was one of his goddamn soldiers.

“That’s because it is. Trust me when I say she’ll be even more pissed off if she has to do this shit again just to prove a point to you.”

Illayana jumped into the ring and my focus snapped onto her. She twirled her fighting sticks around her body a few times before crouching into a position similar to Lukyan.

The emotions in the room were a mixture of excitement, confusion and worry. The Bratva men were talking to each other fast in Russian, placing bets on who would win and passing money around. The Cosa Nostra men, my men, were looking at my new wife in bewilderment.

Bodies facing one another, Illayana and Lukyan both turned their heads toward their father. After a few tense seconds, Dimitri’s deep voice could be heard throughout the entire warehouse.

“Nachat.”Begin.

Lukyan lunged, bringing his staff down hard and fast, aiming for Illayana’s head. Illayana didn’t falter, didn’t hesitate. She brought her fighting sticks up high, over her head in an ‘X’ formation and blocked his attack. She shoved forward, pushing Lukyan back a couple steps, and went on the offensive.

She struck quickly. Left, right, high, low, alternating between both hands, but Lukyan blocked each strike, matching her stride. Lukyan swiped his staff at her head and she ducked underneath. In a move almost too fast to track, she jumped, pressed her foot into his thigh and pushed off, spinning in the air and kicking him straight in the face. Lukyan’s head snapped back, the crowd cheered and Illayana landed on her feet with a cheeky smirk.

Damn. That was sexy.

My eyes were glued to the fight, to her. She was unlike any woman I’d ever met in my life. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her even if I wanted to.

Illayana didn’t give him a chance to retaliate. She ran at him, jumping into the air. She brought her fighting sticks together and struck hard, using her momentum and gravity to deliver a harder blow.

Lukyan brought his staff up quickly to defend, but the power of Illayana’s attack broke his staff in two, forcing him to stumble back.

Lukyan looked down at his hands, each filled with a piece of his broken staff, and then looked back at Illayana. They stared at each other for a few seconds before they both chucked their weapons to the side.

They ran at one another, meeting in the centre of the ring. Lukyan swung a brawny arm, Illayana ducked and delivered a solid punch to his abdomen. Quick as a cat, she followed with an uppercut to his chin and then spun on the balls of her feet, planting a kick to his chest and sending him flying back.

She pounced on him, wrapping her long legs around his arm and locking him into an arm bar. Lukyan struggled, his grunts of frustration loud enough for all to hear, but Illayana’s hold was airtight. He wasn’t getting out of it. She increased the pressure and he shouted out in pain.

Everyone was on their feet, clapping and cheering at the fight taking place.

“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Lukyan,” Illayana grunted. “Tap. I’ve got you.”

Even from where I stood, I could see the smirk on Lukyan’s face. “Never,” he growled. Just one word, yet it was laced in pain.

Illayana hissed, increasing the pressure yet again and I knew she was only seconds away from breaking his arm.

“Illayana,” Dimitri called out. “Ne lomay yemu ruku.” Do not break his arm.

Illayana growled in frustration but relented, loosening her hold on her brother. She brought her leg down hard and fast, using the heel of her foot to strike him in the chest and rolled backwards, crouching on her haunches.

Lukyan gripped his chest, face contorted in pain as he slowly got to his feet. He rubbed his sternum, eyes narrowed in anger at his younger sister.

In the blink of an eye, he moved. One second, he was a few feet from her, the next he was directly in front of her, hand wrapped around her throat. He lifted her a few feet off the ground, snarled in her face and then hurled her to the floor.

I didn’t even realise I was moving towards the ring until a set of hands gripped my arms, holding me in place.

“Wait,” Dimitri said, eyes still on his children.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, fighting everything inside me not to run over there and kick that little shit’s head in. Lukyan was crouched over Illayana, his hand still on her throat and all I wanted to do was march over there and kick him in the face.

Moving like some sort of professional acrobat, Illayana flung her legs back towards her chest and then wrapped them around his torso like a spider monkey. With more force than I think even Lukyan was prepared for, she used her legs to fling him off her.

Illayana quickly scrambled to her feet and started blocking the tirade of blows Lukyan unleashed. Her lip was split and there was a nasty bruise starting to surface under her left eye, but at least Lukyan looked just as bad.

They were locked in a grapple, each trying to rise to the dominant position and then Illayana hooked her foot behind Lukyan’s leg and pushed.

He went down hard, his big body crashing to the ground with a solid thud like a stack of dominos. Illayana let him rise halfway off the floor before she pounced on his back, wrapping her legs around his torso and arms around his neck, locking him into a chokehold. The crowd went wild. Everybody screamed over one another, cheering them both on. The whole atmosphere was insane. Electric. Addictive.

Illayana squeezed, trying hard to make Lukyan either tap or pass out. He rammed his elbow into her side a few times, but Illayana wasn’t giving up. From the looks of it, neither of them would.

Through sheer force of will and determination, Lukyan slowly got to his feet with Illayana clinging to his back.

Dread coursed through me when I realised what he planned to do. “Scendi dalla sua schiena! Ora!”Get off his back! Now!I yelled in Italian.

Illayana must have heard me because mere seconds before Lukyan hurled himself backwards, she jumped off, rolled a few feet and landed on one knee. She pivoted, facing Lukyan as he got to his feet.

Just as they started running at each other to start all over again, Dimitri spoke in Russian. “Dostatochno.”Enough.

Despite the adrenaline coursing through them, they both froze instantly, fists raised in the air, eyes locked on one another, blood and sweat dripping from their bodies. You could tell they wanted to keep going, that they weren’t even close to being done, but it seemed they were both willing to let it go and listen to their father. At least, so I thought.

Illayana straightened, a lethal smile on her face as she approached her brother. She stuck her hand out for him to shake. He eyed it suspiciously for a few seconds before extending his own and giving a firm shake.

With a smile still plastered on her face, she punched him in the stomach and kicked his legs out from under him. Before he could retaliate, she quickly ran out of the ring.

“I win!” she yelled, weaving her way through the crowd and heading towards Dimitri and I.

I didn’t know if she was still pissed at me, and quite frankly I didn’t care. She fought just as good as any of my men would have, and it’s clear I’ve been underestimating her this whole time.

No more.

Illayana jumped and I caught her mid air, holding her tight as she wrapped her long legs around my body. She stared deep into my eyes, a serious expression taking over her face quickly. “If Gabriella touches you again, I’ll kill her.”

Yeah, and I had no doubt that she could do it, too.