Predator's Bait: Vicious Bratva, #1

By Sophia Verity

"You're perfect. I've always wanted a good girl."

 

Konstantin Vicious found me at my most vulnerable.

Waiting for a savior to come in and solve my broken life filled with abuse and no escape from my cage.

Tino took me for a fool.

Because while I told him every one of my dirty little secrets, he kept his skeletons in the closet.

He gave me a fairytale week with no promises after that, precisely what I wanted…

But when he disappeared, he left me to pick up the pieces. And soon, I found out the truth.

He was not the man he said he was.

He was a predator, and I was his bait.

 

Reader, do you like it toxic? This book is full of spice, steam, and darkness. TW: cheating.

 

Predator's Bait is the prequel to the Vicious Bratva dark romance series. These books are not standalone.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sophia Verity
• Release date: Jun 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223973454

Book preview

Prologue

BELLA ROSE

I knew it wasn’t going to be a good night as soon as I heard the front door unlock.

He always shoved in the key like a madman when he was angry. The already battered door nearly swung off the hinges when he slammed it against the wall. A chunk of plaster fell off when he forced it shut.

My heart sped up. Adrenaline filled my veins.

I hadn’t finished cleaning the kitchen yet.

But I could run for it if I had to.

I waited for him, half-hidden in the hallway. I prayed he’d be distracted, but the moment I heard him scream, I knew there was no escape.

Rose, he seethed, the words stuck between a warning and a lover’s call. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

My back straightened. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad night after all. Sometimes he liked to play games like that with me. He said he liked me on edge.

Are you hiding from me? He went on looking while I remained frozen, still unsure how he’d treat me once he saw the still messy kitchen. Got you!

A pair of threatening, muscular arms wrapped around me possessively.

My body was trembling, but I wasn't willing to admit it. Not to myself and much less to my boyfriend.

If he saw a sign of uncertainty or fear, he would make sure to use it against me. I knew that well enough - it had happened before. I didn't trust Jax with my weaknesses.

I forced myself to accept his hands around my body, leaning into his embrace and pretending everything was okay. My heart was still pounding, remembering the mess I'd left in the kitchen.

As soon as he walked in there, my life would be over. Jax hated messy things. He despised seeing anything out of place. And if there were so much as a smudge on the mirror, I wouldn't hear the end of it. Though I'd done all the dishes and cleared out the empty bottles, the kitchen was still messy. I'd left some pots and pans out that I still had to sort through.

My task now was to keep him out of the room as long as I could because the moment he set foot in there, it wouldn't end well for me.

He grasped my chin, pushing it back until my eyes met his fearfully. He stared at me with a look I knew all too well. It was meant to be love, I suppose, but it seemed more like an obsession. An insane desire to make sure I stayed tethered to him.

Nobody else could have me. That was his mission in life: to keep me caged, locked away from other people, and to ensure that no one ever interacted with me. He thought I didn't deserve it.

He thought I was his. He was wrong.

Come on, baby, he said. Pour me a drink.

Reluctantly, I followed him into the kitchen, anticipating him to lose it as soon as he saw the mess I’d left in there, but I was shocked when he didn't even mention the pots and pans littering the counter. He simply walked to the cupboard and picked out a half-full bottle from our booze shelf.

He didn't wait for me to make him a drink. He just took a swig right out of the bottle while his eyes hungrily devoured me.

I knew what was next. I'd managed to switch his mood, at least. He wasn't angry anymore, but he only had two moods anyway.

Angry and horny. He was going to fuck me soon. I wasn't sure I was ready for it. The past few times we'd done it, it had been exceptionally rough, and my body still showed marks from it.

It's not that I didn’t like it rough. But Jax always took it too far. I never felt safe with him, and he loved scaring me.

As he took swigs out of the bottle, my phone started ringing, and the color drained from my face. He hated when people called me. It was just another proof to him that I wasn't as isolated as he wanted me to be.

I glanced at Jax. He was so handsome. My parents loved him. He gave the perfect good guy image… But as I watched his expression change, I saw the monster within. Never mind the fashionable haircut, the expensive clothes, the perfectly trimmed beard. My boyfriend was not a nice person.

I glanced down at my phone and showed him the number, relief flooding my body.

Look, it's Amelia, I said excitedly. "Shit, Jax! I have seventeen missed calls from her. You want to say hi?"

A rare expression of uncertainty crossed my boyfriend's face. I still didn't know what he really thought about Amelia. She was a girl I'd only met in person once after we'd met online five years ago.

I'd filled Jax's head with stories about us meeting on a mental health website to help us deal with the diagnosis we'd been given as teenagers. He accepted it because he thought I was broken. Amelia wasn’t a threat.

But the truth was much different. We did meet online… but we met in a support group