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Poppy closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. When she opened them, intelligent eyes stared back at me. "Fine," she said. "But first, I would like you to sit, please." She gestured grandly, sarcastically, towards the sofa across from her. "I'm tired of breaking my neck staring up at the two of you."
I had the feeling that she wasn't just talking about today.
Dante scowled but I sat quickly, gesturing for him to follow suit. If we had to fucking sit in order to find Tatiana, we should fucking sit.
Once we were settled, she straightened her back, her arms crossed across her lap, and narrowed her focus in on me. "I'll tell you how to find her, but you have to promise me something first."
"And what's that?" I asked, growing agitated again. I'd swallowed my ego more times in the past twenty minutes than in the last ten years.
"You have to promise to give her a choice."
"What do you mean?"
She shook her head, giving me a sad look. "You have no idea, do you?"
"Just spit it out, Poppy."
"She loves you, ya know?" She leaned forward, clutching that pillow to her chest again. "But she doesn't trust you."
"She told you that?"
She chuckled humorlessly. "She doesn't need to; any woman with eyes in their head can see it." At this, her expression grew serious. "Tatiana is a wild creature. The girl's got wings. But the men in her life keep clipping them. All she wants is freedom and to be loved." She paused, her gaze moving downward to her hands. "People like me, we prefer security. I'd rather be owned by someone I don't love, than to live on the streets, worried about having food or being jacked in the middle of the night for my blanket or shoes. But Tatiana, she never cared about money. And she could handle herself. She's brave and strong and independent, but she has never had control over her own life." Her gaze met mine. "An exotic creature like Tatiana shouldn't be kept in a cage. She deserves to be loved, to be given the freedom to fly, without expectation in return. She wants control of her own life. To not be owned by anyone, yet still have a life full of love." She shook her head sadly. "But that's impossible in our world."
I suddenly realized with a shock that I was no better than her parents.
I may not have sold her but I had tried to control her. Tried to chain her to me, force her to be with me every second, instead of just letting her love me.
I hadn't trusted her, just like I hadn't trusted my brothers.
And how could she truly trust me, love me, if I was treating her like every other person had, her whole life?
God, I was fucked up. And it was wrong.
"You're right," I said.
Poppy's eyes met mine. "I know."
"Please," I said, feeling humbled. "Help me find her. I really do believe she's in danger. I at least need to make sure she’s okay."
Poppy nodded. "Okay," she pulled in a breath, her lips parting.
Suddenly Dante next to me jumped to his feet. At the same time, there was a popping noise. Dante was in motion while I stared in shock as Poppy fell sideways, her blood splattered across the sofa.
She was dead.
My shock quickly wore off and I raced after Dante, running towards the sound of the front door slamming against the wall.
Poppy's yard was too long as we chased after a brown-haired man, booking it across her front lawn. He was fast but we were faster, eventually tackling him to the ground.
Dante wrenched the gun from his hands while I slammed a fist into his face in rapid succession. He struggled, trying to fight me off, but I was enraged, uncontrolled.
My whole world was falling apart.
Tatiana left me.
Someone tried to kill Rose and her baby.
I'd been kicked out of the only family I ever loved.
