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“I’ll stop running. I promise. But I can’t guarantee I’ll ever stop fighting.”
His growl of approval came from deep in his chest.
“Good,” he said sharply. “But just in case you change your damned mind, we’ll do this.” He grabbed both my wrists in one hand and held the length of rope in the other.
When I realized he was about to bind me, I gasped. “Do you really think that’s necessary?”
“Yep. I really fucking do.” With quick, deft gestures, he wound the rope around my wrists. Yanking the ends of the cord tight, he then grabbed me by the hips and hoisted me up onto his horse. I felt slightly off balance there in the saddle, but by pinching my legs a bit, I found my center of balance again.
Vasile looked up at me, narrowing his eyes slightly, before reaching into his saddle bag once more. From there, he produced a small jewelry box, which he held out toward me. I blinked hard, trying to piece together if I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. With a flick of his finger, he popped the box open. And there, nestled in dark red velvet, sat the biggest diamond ring I had ever seen in all my life. In the center sat a massive diamond, as big as an acorn, flanked by equally massive diamond baguettes.
“It was my mom’s,” he said, pulling it out from its soft cradle with his big rough fingers. “But now it’s yours.”
Then he slipped that big, beautiful, breathtaking diamond on my ring finger. And smiled at me a bit, while at the same time shaking his head in simmering frustration.
I opened my mouth but no words would come. Vasile leaned down, his lips on the shell of my ear.
“Trust me, my love. Remember, you agreed to trust me.”
CHAPTER 24
Vasile
We rode hard through the forest, with me riding behind her in the saddle. Though Valeria wasn’t aware of it, I had Daniel following behind us at a distance of about a quarter mile or so, just in case we needed backup.
He was no soldier, but he knew how to stay unseen and he was quick with a blade, and more to the point I trusted him with my life. And hers. I had plans to bring him on board with the business once I took over, to help me steer it back in a more legitimate direction, as I explained to Valeria.
Once we were married, and I was the head of the family, it would take a man braver than my brother to come for us. But until then, we were in danger. The snow had drifted since last I rode this stretch, blocking certain parts of the bridle paths. Keeping Valeria safe in my arms, I maneuvered around the drifts and into the windswept forest itself. The winter-black poplar trunks streaked past, as their branches creaked and groaned above.
Near the river, my mare drew up short, annoyed by our breakneck speed, thirsty and frothy in spite of the cold. Rather than push her through it, I let her slow to drink and eat some of the sparse grasses that poked out from the snow at the river’s edge. She’d need all her strength to get us all the way to my father’s house as fast as I needed her to go. Once we were there, I knew Valeria would be safe. My father, his power, respect and guards would assure it. And then we’d be married and there wouldn’t be a single goddamned thing Petre could do to get between us.
A far away whinny made my mare prick her ears. Valeria turned to face me, looking worried.
With a glance, I warned her not to say a fucking word, just in case it wasn’t Daniel.
I shifted my reins to my left hand and tightened my embrace around her, slipping my free hand around her stomach, with my thumb tucked between her breasts from below. Her heartbeat pounded hard against my palm, telling me she wasn’t just worried. She was fucking terrified.
Pulling on the bit, I pulled my mare away from the water, and then turned her around. But no sooner had she started to make our way back to the path than the rumble of fast-approaching hoofbeats made her freeze in her tracks.
In my arms, Valeria stiffened, every muscle tightening with fear. It was difficult for me to figure out which direction the hoofbeats were coming from...Unless they were coming from every goddamned direction at once.
They were flanking us from all sides.
“Fuck,” I hissed, giving my mare a ruthless kick with both heels. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn’t going to be good.
A sudden roar of brutal blood-thirsty shouts sent my mare whirling with confusion, but I knew that fucking sound. It was my brother’s goddamned goons—vodka-soaked, drugged, and going berserk.
