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Min-Ho sighed, a long, pained sound, and ran a hand across his lined face. “It’s your sister, Hana. Someone’s taken her. Kidnapped her. He left a note.”
I grabbed it before my father could finish speaking. Of course, I already knew who it was, but seeing it so plain before me was unsettling.
You take something from me. I take something from you. Now, we’re even, dear brother-in-law. – Konstantin Ivanov.
I drew a ragged breath,one after another, the image of my sister dancing in my head. Hana, sweet, innocent, sun-shining Hana, all of nineteen and completely clueless about the world.
Now, she was in the clutches of a verified madman.
“Give him back his sister. Trade Kat for Hana, and do it now,” Dami wailed at me.
I swallowed the fury and fear for Hana in my chest.“I can’t,” I said flatly, meeting my father’s eyes. “We’re married. Kat and I just got married.”
CHAPTER16
Kat
We left the Song family home in a whirlwind of energy. Jae was bristling with anger and barked out instructions to his men in Korean. He took my hand in his and tugged me along beside him.
As soon as we got to the car, I turned to him.“What’s happened?”
He shook his head, clearly furious, but held his tongue.
“Jae, tell me what’s going on,” I pressed.
“It’s not your problem, sweetheart. I don’t want you to worry about it.” His curt tone cut my worried heart up in my chest.
“Is this going to be our relationship? You shutting me out and hiding things from me?” I took his face in my hands, and he let me, some of his anxious tension bleeding out at the touch. “Please, don’t leave me alone,” I pleaded.
He swallowed hard. “It’s Konstantin. He’s kidnapped Hana.”
My heart thudded to a stop in my chest. Hana? Sweet, sunshiny nineteen-year-old Hana? I felt sick. Guilt rose in me, so thick I could choke on it.
“He won’t hurt her. Doing so would be suicide,” Jae muttered, looking out the window, his face pale. He noticed my silence and turned to me as my first tear fell.“It’s not your fault, Kat,”
“Of course, it is. It can only be my fault,” I murmured, feeling like I was folding in on myself. “I ran away from my obligations, defied Kon, begged you to keep me, kept the truth from you, and then made you marry me—”
“Did you see a gun to my head?” Jae demanded.
“You married to me to keep me safe, out of some sort of sense of honor—”
“I married you because I’ve fallen in love with you. I married you because yours is the only touch I’ll ever want on my skin. Because your smell haunts my dreams, and the sight of your smile makes me think there might be something good in this world after all.”
His words, spoken with flat, unflinching certainty, melt my heart into a puddle in my chest.
He cupped my cheek with one hand and stroked his thumb over my skin. “I married you because meeting you changed my life, and letting you go was never an option. I married you because I can’t imagine another woman being the mother of my children. I want you. You’re mine in every way there is, simple as that. Got it? Nod and show me you’ve got it.”
His command rang out, and all I could do was nod as another stream of tears left my eyes. He pulled me close and kissed my temple.
“You love me?”
“Enough to burn the world down. Enough to start a war,” he said quietly.
“I love you too, you know,” I whispered.
“I know. I feel you here, with me.”
The car sped through the streets as he stroked my hair in silence, and my head stayed pressed against his chest. Here, in his arms, I was safe and loved. I never wanted to leave. But loving Jae meant caring about his family, and the thought of sweet, kind Hana in my brother’s hands tore me apart.
