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“I don’t know his name, but he left me this necklace about a year ago. I came home, and it was just lying on my bed. There was a note that told me to always wear it and I’ll always be protected.” Her lips pressed into a hard line. “Something had happened not long before that, and we lost some people. My dad was freaking out and wouldn’t let Mila or me even leave the house without him or one of my uncles with us. So, I started wearing the necklace. It sounds weird, but it’s actually saved me a few times already… Well, not so much the necklace as…him.”
“Who is he?” I asked, lowering my voice because hers was so quiet.
Her mouth snapped shut, and she shook her head. “I’ve already told you too much. Please…just don’t say anything to my parents or Aunt Raven. None of them would understand. They wouldn’t even try.”
“Are you sure you’re safe, though?” She looked so upset that I didn’t want to push her, but I liked her and I didn’t want anything to happen to her.
Something changed in her. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something in her eyes was different, her smile softer. It was almost as if she was suddenly glowing. “He would never let anything harm me. If nothing else, I know that.”
“But your sister—”
“Is just as bad as my dad and brother. Just because I’m the baby—and only by two minutes—they all act like I can’t do anything without someone holding my hand.” Frustrated, she blew out a heavy sigh and sat on the edge of the bed beside me. “I’m not helpless.”
“They just love you,” I tried to soothe, and I surprised myself when I put my arm around her. “They love you and can’t stand the thought of something happening to you. You’re very lucky, Monroe.”
“You’re lucky, too. Theo obviously cares about you a lot. I overheard him talking to Lexa on the porch the other night. He said he didn’t know what he would have done if you’d died. He wouldn’t have wanted to live if you had.” Her hand went to her medallion, holding it through her shirt. “I hope a guy loves me that much one day.”
Chapter 13
Theo
“Ivan stopped two of Petrov’s men from taking Sofia this evening.” Pops’s voice was low, menacing. Deadly. Considering what he was telling me, I wasn’t surprised.
Rage was twisting my gut, making my blood boil. I wanted to wrap my hands around Adas’s throat and squeeze until I saw the life fade from his eyes.
The bastard couldn’t find Tavia or me, so he was targeting the only other person who might possibly know where his prey was hiding. My baby sister.
“She snuck out to go to a party, and luckily, Ivan followed her. Petrov’s men were watching the compound, waiting for their chance, and they nearly fucking had it.” The last words ended on a roar, but I just sat there, unflinching and waiting.
“Ivan took a bullet to the shoulder,” he continued after a few deep, calming breaths. “He will be fine. Sofia is unharmed, but shaken. Both she and your mom are now very much aware of how dangerous the situation currently is.”
“No chatter on if Petrov suspects where Tavia is?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he confirmed. “How is she?”
I glanced at the ceiling, picturing Tavia asleep in her bed. She’d had a lot of physical activity earlier in the day compared to the previous week. But by nine o’clock, she’d been exhausted and had crashed while watching television with Raven, Felicity, and Nova on the couch in the living room. I’d carried her up to bed and tucked her in, but after getting the cold shoulder from her almost all day, I left so as not to upset her more if she awoke and found me staring.
“She’s feeling better,” I assured Pops.
“Good to hear. And how are you doing, son?” he asked after a pause.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, fighting my own exhaustion mixed with frustration and lingering rage after hearing about Sofia’s near miss.
How was I?
I didn’t fucking know the answer to that question.
Blowing out a frustrated exhale, I told him what was eating at me the most. “I feel like I’m a pussy hiding from the enemy, Pops.”
“That’s bullshit. A man has to know his priorities, Theo. Loving his woman, protecting her, that has to be his number one. Fuck everything else.”
“Eliminating Petrov is the only way to really protect her. Staying here is not solving anything. The longer he’s breathing, the longer she’s in danger.” I stood and paced the living room. Everyone else was in bed, but I couldn’t sleep. Most nights, I walked around the first floor of the house, making sure it was secure. I rarely slept, catching an hour here and there whenever Tavia had a nightmare and wanted me to hold her.
“What do you want to do then, son?” he asked.
“I’m coming back,” I told him, having already made up my mind. “Tavia will stay here, where it’s safer. But I have to take care of Adas myself.”
“You’re right,” Pops admitted. “I’ll arrange for you to get back.”
