Page 30 of Claimed By River

He lifts the receiver. “Penthouse.”

He pauses to listen. Then the corner of his mouth twitches. “Oh, yes. Sorry about that.” He glances toward the bullet hole in the wall. “No gunshot. We opened a bottle of champagne.”

Roman snorts. Royal ignores him. “Yes…rather enthusiastically.”

He hangs up. “They bought it.”

Raiden shakes his head. “I don’t even want to know.” Then he turns to face me. “Take Nadia. We’ll handle this.” He nods toward Damir. “You’ve got somewhere else to be. Take my car.”

I give them a nod of thanks, then look down at Nadia, who still hasn’t let go of me. I slide one arm beneath her knees and lift her into my arms. She immediately curls against my chest.

“I’m taking you home,” I whisper.

Chapter Eight

Nadia

The drive home passes in complete silence.

I sit in the passenger seat with both hands wrapped around the seat belt, staring out the window without really seeing the streets slipping by. Every time I close my eyes, I’m back inside that hotel suite. I hear my father’s voice calling me worthless.

I hear him confessing to murdering my mother as casually as someone discussing tomorrow’s weather. Then I hear the crack of his hand against my face, followed by River’s voice cutting through the room like a lifeline.

By the time we step inside the apartment, exhaustion has settled into every bone in my body.

River quietly locks the door before checking every window without saying a word. I recognize the routine now. It’s become second nature to him ever since I moved in. Once he’s satisfied everything is secure, he walks into the kitchen, fills a glass with water, and brings it to me before sitting beside me on the couch.

Neither of us speaks immediately. He gives me time. Finally, he asks softly, “How are you doing?”

I stare down at the glass in my hands. “I don’t know.”

He waits.

“I thought I’d gotten stronger. But the second I saw him…” My voice grows quieter. “I wasn’t twenty anymore. I was seventeen again.”

The words hurt to admit.

“I wasn’t the woman who ran away from California. I wasn’t the woman who found a job, made friends, or built a life here.” I blink away fresh tears. “I became that scared little girl who spent every day trying not to make her father angry.”

River slides closer until our shoulders touch. “That’s not how it works. You don’t get to pick the day something stops having a hold on you.”

I look at him. “It felt like I’d never escaped.”

“You did.” His hand gently covers mine. “But you weren’t alone this time.”

No, I wasn’t. River came for me. They all did.

The realization nearly breaks me all over again. After several quiet minutes, curiosity slowly pushes through the haze. I’m not surprised River can handle a gun—he was a cop, after all—or that he knocked out my father. What I can’t work out is how they found me so fast.

“How did you find me?”

River leans back against the couch. “I wasn’t exaggerating when I told you about what we do.”

“I know.”

“After Royal checked the shop cameras and saw your father taking you, I remembered your phone and tracked it.”

I blink. “You can do that?”