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"You know I have to."
"You don't."
"I want to. Now let him go and come stand by me. We'll do it together."
"No."
"Then leave the room. We'll talk about this later."
"Rook. I'm warning you. I won't allow it."
The room descended into a stark silence, then, when he spoke, pain etched his voice. "Are you threatening me?"
"Of course not."
"Then..." Once again, there was a silence, and when Rook spoke, his voice had softened. "Tatiana, you know I won't hurt you. But you need to do as I say. Let him go and come stand by me."
"If you hurt her, I will kill you," I snapped.
"You won't have a chance to even move," Rook growled. I could feel the renewed rage rolling off of him, the coldness that had crept into the room –– my death was imminent, if Rook had his way.
And with it, Tatiana's safety was at risk.
"It's okay," I announced. "I'll do what you want. Just let her go first."
"No." She squeezed me so tight, my face was pressed to the side of her face. I could barely breathe.
"Tati," my voice was soft, "it's okay. This is between Rook and me."
"That's not true. I have a say in this, and I'm saying no."
"Baby," I pulled out of her tight hold to look into her eyes, loving the defiance in them. And yet, I needed to keep her safe. "It's okay." I stroked a thumb across her cheek, then kissed her softly. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"He won't hurt me."
"You don't know that," I shook my head, brushing my lips over hers. "You don't know him, not like I do. He hasn't told you all the things he's done to me."
"He has." She shook her head. "And I don't care. This is about all of us, not just you two."
"Baby, I can't lose you. Not like this," I leaned down, kissing her again, inhaling her scent. Wanting to imprint this moment in my mind in case I never saw her again. "I need you safe, so please go. Let Rook and I work this out."
"Tatiana," Rook growled, "you know I'm not walking out this door until I get what I want. If you can't handle it, then you need to get out."
"Fuck you two," Tatiana fired back. "I'm staying."
"Then at least let me sit up, okay?" I pressed my lips to her ear, lowering my voice to a whisper, "I need to face the man who intends to kill me."
She hesitated, her tongue coming out to lick at her upper freckle, and her gaze moved between me and Rook. "You have to promise, Rook."
"I'll do no such thing. He needs to pay for what he's done."
"I swear, I will pay," I called back to him, showing my hands in a gesture of surrender. "Let's just talk about it, first."
"Please, Rook," Tatiana's voice was a soft pleading.
"Give me one good reason why I should listen to him."
"For me," she said, her voice subdued. "Do it for me."
