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His eyes glazed over as he bit his lip, shaking his head. “Fuck, I’ve been doing so well.” He hung his head, still gathering items from one of the bags I had stashed in the back. Seeing Valentyn break down was terrifying. We didn’t have all our supplies but the few weapons here would have to be enough. “Just… leave it. We get Dmitri and Rhys back and then we figure it out.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Both of our men had better be alive because I’m not sure what I’d do otherwise. Hell, I wasn’t sure what Valentyn would do. I just knew I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the guy when he finally cracked.
Chapter twenty-seven
RHYS
My entire body was sore as I woke up, my face raw from the pain Chester had inflicted. My eyes trailed over to Dmitri who was shooting daggers at Ada, both of them in some sort of spat that had started before I woke up. I couldn’t do much other than blink without crying out in pain, watching my man sit there as if he hadn’t been stabbed in the side.
“Ernest already has your kid, you witch!” Dmitri punctuated it as he spat at Ada’s feet and I had to reel in my horror that Tia was with the man none of us wanted to be around. I knew it wasprobablya ploy that didn’t make it any easier to hear. “We’ve been trying to lay low but all this is doing is putting us right where that bastard wants us.”
Ada sobbed but she didn’t get to cry over Tia now. She should have done that years ago before Owen and Ernest became a problem. “You don’t understand,” she whined. “There’s other forces in play. Other people that want that program. Rhys-”
I averted my eyes from her, refusing to give her anything. Dmitri grunted, “You want it to placate that fake husband of yours but we’re not stupid. Handing it over means we lose our lives.” Ada opened her mouth to protest but Dmitri shook his head. I envied the strength he had in a situation like this when all I wanted to was wither and crawl into a hole. “You’re here on your own, aren’t you? The only man standing beside you is the one you’re currently running from. Which means… that when the other two get here, you’re as good as dead.”
Ada took a step back, shaking her head. It was the first time I had seen so much fear in her expression. Did it make me a sick bastard that I kind of loved it? “The rest of the Kolas crew? You think you’re so special. That all this is going to work in your favor but-”
“I’m not special,” Dmitri chuckled. It came out with a rasp, the only inclination that he was in pain. “But your brother is and you just fucked with him. You’re not getting your daughter back, Ada. You don’t fucking deserve it.” He pulled his hands into his lap, my eyes widening as I realized that whatever restraints had been used were now on the floor.
He struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall with a devious glint in his eyes. He looked down at me, smiling softly before it turned murderous when he looked back at Ada.
“You’re going to kill me.”
I’m sure she meant it as a question but it came out as a statement. Dmitri shook his head, that easy but terrifying smile slipping back onto his lips. I didn’t understand why until I heard Valentyn’s voice coming from behind Ada and the click of a gun.
“No, you get to live and explain to Tia why in the world she’s lost her entire family. She’s going to see the news in the next couple of days and not understand. She’ll want her mother to explain all the bad things they’re saying. You’re going to be alive for that.”
Ada slowly turned around as Valentyn entered the small space and continued Dmitri’s thought, “You’re going to look her straight in the eye and explain that you’re the reason behind all of this.”
The sob that fell from her lips this time warmed my heart. I really was a sick bastard, wasn’t I?
Chapter twenty-eight
GIANNI
My heart dropped into my stomach as Valentyn emerged from the warehouse, Rhys dangling from his arms. I scrambled from the car and transported two groggy kids to the third row in the car. They protested a little but a few ‘shhh, you’re okay’ sent them right back to sleep as they curled up in each other’s arms. Fuck, we were not prepared for two kids. We were barely hanging on with Paval in a life like this.
I turned around as Valentyn came up to stand beside me, the damage along Rhys’ body truly coming into focus. A gasp escaped me as I grabbed Rhys as gently as I could. Cradling him against my chest, I stared at his bruised face, anger rippling through me at the pain his family had caused him. I fucking hated the way he curled into my arms when I walked outside, his entire body shaking with what no doubt was another traumatizing event. We couldn’t keep doing this to him.
Meeting Valentyn’s eyes, he merely just shook his head, silently telling me that I couldn’t dismember the woman who had done this to him. Finding out that she wasn’t the head honcho meant that keeping her alive was in our best interest. I just hoped that when it finally came down to making her pay for everything she’d done, I’d get at least one slice in.
Valentyn leaned down and pressed a kiss to Rhys’ forehead. “They’re both going to need time to heal. Gia,” his hand moved up to settle on my shoulder. “Dmitri’s going to need a hospital. I’ve made a few calls. I’m just going to patch him up a little before I bring him out.” He kissed me as well, the taste of salt mingling with his musk.
He returned to the warehouse as I situated Rhys in the middle row. “Where are we going?” Rhys asked in a small voice as I set him in the middle row. “They’re coming right?” He clung to my arm, looking into my eyes with the saddest expression I’d seen to date. I noticed that when I picked him up, he immediately started looking for something. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was Dmitri. I couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Rhys to lose sight of him.
“They’re coming, baby. We’re going to rest and lay low before we figure out what’s next.”
“And Tia and Paval and-”
I could see him working himself into a panic attack so I pulled him against my chest and dragged my hands through his hair. I pressed a kiss to his forehead, shushing the sobs settling his chest. “Everyone’s okay. See? Right there. Sleeping. Everyone will be alright.”
“Maybe we should just-”
“That fucking program isn’t worth your life, Rhys. We’ll figure this out and then it’ll just be us and wherever we want to go in the world.”I knew he didn’t believe me but he noddedanyway, Rhys visibly relaxing when Valentyn and Dmitri exited the building. There was going to be so much healing to do.
Chapter twenty-nine
