"I am done playing by your rules, Hanna. I've given you your damn space, respected your boundary for us, but not anymore. I am going to show you that you belong with me starting tonight, and I won't stop until you have my ring on your finger and my collar around your neck."
- Stepan
Hanna, The Beast, is the Enforcer for the Qing Triad, Angel's, from The Bratva Bride, right hand woman. She is small but mighty, physically scarred and tatted, and has the attitude of a brat. She doesn't let others, especially men, get too close due to her childhood trauma and burn scars. She and Angel are best friends, have been since Angel's dad took her in when she was just a child.`She was trained under the Qing Triad to protect Angel, the Qing Triad heir.
Stepan, the Silent Volk, is the Volkov Bratva's Second in Command and second oldest brother of 6 siblings - 5 brothers and 1 sister. Stepan is the CEO of Volkov Services, a bounty hunting and security service. He runs the business with the third oldest Volkov brother, Lev.
Stepan and Hanna meet when she applies for a job at Volkov Services. Stepan wouldn't usually hire someone with Hanna's shoddy employment history, but he offers her a trial period with the possibility of hiring should she show promise during her trial period. Stepan and Hanna both feel drawn to one another, but Hanna lays down a boundary that they can't be together because Stepan is her boss. Stepan isn't too keen to the idea of having to stay away from the woman he's highly attracted to.
Eventually, Stepan convinces Hanna to give into her desires. After doing so, all hell breaks lose regarding Hanna's past and childhood trauma. Her Aunt Lilian returns requesting Volkov's protection. Hanna is not able to move past her childhood trauma, but Stepan makes it his life's mission to hunt down and destroy all those whom had a hand in hurting Hanna as a child. Hanna is overwhelmed by his tenacity to protect her and help her through her trauma, not realizing that Stepan has childhood demons he's also fighting.
Stepan and Hanna's story is the second book in the Volkov Bratva series. Stepan and Hanna have a very emotional story; so if you're a crier, you'll need tissues. I certainly did. Just like Nikolai and Angel's story, I couldn't put down my kindle for Stepan and Hanna's love story. You do need to know that there are a lot of triggers in this book: BDSM, rape, CSA, childhood trauma, mental health issues, and more. Please, protect your mental health. That being said, it's an amazing story. I actually favor Stepan and Hanna's story over Nikolai and Angel's.