Bought by the Russian Mobster by Bella Rose Page B

insisted. “I am my own. I chose to give myself to Nicolai. I would never give myself to a man who wants me to sell my body to pay off a debt that wasn’t even mine!”
    It was on Nicolai’s lips to warn her not to push Vladimir any further. His brother was trembling as though he were having some sort of mental breakdown. Nicolai took a deep, calming breath. “Vladimir, please. You’re not well. Let me take you someplace where you can get the help you need.”
    “I’m fine!” Vladimir screamed the assurance across the restaurant. “This is because of that episode I had when I was twelve. Isn’t it? You think I’m crazy!”
    The men were staring at Nicolai with confusion on their faces. Anatoly exhaled a deep sigh. Only he was aware of the details behind that particular family secret. Nicolai pursed his lips. It was like dealing with a wild animal.
    He gingerly approached Vladimir with his hands held out as an offering of peace. “Nobody has mentioned the hospital, Vladimir.”
    “I’m not going back to the loony bin!” Vladimir shouted. “I’m not! I’m perfectly fine. Ask anyone.” He pulled a gun and trained it on Lily. She gave a squeak of surprise but didn’t move.
    ***
    Lily was still reeling from the knowledge that Vladimir had apparently been a patient in a mental ward for a period of time in his adolescence. It certainly explained a few things.
    “Tell them!” Vladimir shouted at Lily. “Tell them I’m fine.”
    “Of course you’re fine,” she crooned. “But you have to put the gun down or nobody will realize that none of this is your fault.”
    For the span of a few seconds she thought she had managed to get through to Vladimir. His gaze cleared just a bit, only to harden once again. He began waving the weapon in the air and walking in energetic circles. “You slept with him! You slept with my brother! How could you do such a thing?”
    Lily glanced at the other Pasternak men, but they were useless. All wore varying expressions of shock. She had a really bad feeling that this was going to get ugly. “Vladimir, when was the last time you took your meds?”
    “What meds?” The question seemed to momentarily derail him. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
    “Because you aren’t thinking clearly and I think medication would help.” She had to keep the conversation focused on him. “Maybe the medication would work a little bit like a translator.”
    “You’re crazy.” Vladimir lowered his gun. “What sort of sense does that make?”
    “When you take the medication, other people will understand what you’re trying to say and do. Perhaps then you would not feel so misunderstood and put upon.”
    “Ha!” Vladimir curled his lip in disdain. “I remember when I was in the hospital as a young man. The doctors gave me medication to take. It made me feel slow and sleepy. I realized then that I was smarter, faster, and better than all of them. That is why they wanted to medicate me. They wanted to be better than I am.”
    The enforcers were getting restless. They kept staring at Nicolai and shifting toward their guns as though they were waiting for some sort of signal. Soon someone would draw and the shooting would begin. Vladimir looked eager for the bloodbath to come.
    “Brother,” Vladimir began, “when did you lose your balls? Really. Do you keep them in a jar under the sink? I never figured you for a coward and yet that is exactly the way you are acting.”
    “I suppose to a deranged individual like you, my hesitation in ordering my own brother to be killed would seem like weakness.” Nicolai shook his head. “Have it your way then.”
    Vladimir acted just as Nicolai gave a nod to Anatoly. The big enforcer barked orders at the men, but Vladimir had already snagged Lily about the waist. He spun her into place before him like a human shield. Her surprise wasn’t enough to stop him.
    “Shoot and you kill Nicolai’s woman!” Vladimir shouted.
    Dragging Lily backwards,