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My man’s eyebrow lifts, and his eyes narrow. “I am minding my business. You’re talking to my wife.”
Barry lets out a bark of laughter. “Nice try. She told me she’s a widow.” His eyes flick to me. “Unless you lied to me.”
“I’m back from the dead, fucker,” Alek growls.
I glance at Alek and explain, “He came in a week or two ago asking me on a date, and I kept saying no. Then I found out he went on a date with April from the coffee shop, and when she wouldn’t sleep with him, he gave her a black eye and a busted lip. He’s apparently been up and down the street, chatting up all the women.”
“Hey now,” Barry chuckles. “Don’t go spreading more lies.”
Alek moves so fast that I let out a startled shriek when his fist connects with Barry’s nose. Not even a second passes before he punches Barry again.
Peter stops Barry from falling backward, then Alek orders, “Take him outside.”
Alek glances at Vincent and me. “Stay here.”
I watch as the three men leave. They cross the street, but then they disappear behind the G-Wagon. I hold my breath until I see Alek walking back to us while he tucks something behind his back and adjusts his jacket.
When he enters the bookstore, he stalks toward us and wraps his arm around us.
I smell gunpowder, and my eyes widen.
When he pulls back and sees the shock on my face, he takes Vincent from my arms and sets him on his feet. “Go to your corner, buddy. I just want to talk to Mommy, then I’ll come to play with you.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
Vincent runs off, and Alek tilts his head to catch my eyes. “Are you okay,moya malen'kaya lyubov'?”
I nod a couple of times before focusing on his concerned face. “Did you shoot Barry?” I whisper so Vincent won’t hear.
Alek lifts his hands, and when he frames my face, I smell the gunpowder again.
“Don’t worry about the fucker. He won’t bother you again.”
I widen my eyes at Alek. “You can’t just shoot people!”
“The fuck I can’t,” he snaps. “No one insults and harasses my wife. No one.”
His wife. Alek keeps calling me that.
That’s not what you should focus on!
“Still, you can’t go around killing people,” I argue. “It’s not right.”
“In my world, it is, Everleigh. It’s my priority to keep you and Vincent safe. If it means I have to kill half the people on this planet, then I’ll do it.”
Don’t you dare freaking swoon, Everleigh.
I stare at Alek, and seeing he’s dead serious, I know I’m not going to win this argument.
We stare at each other for a moment before he leans down and presses a tender kiss to my mouth. When he lifts his head, he whispers, “Iwillnever allow anyone to hurt you again. Give me the freedom to protect you the only way I know how.”
This is who Alek is and who he will always be.
He comes from a world of violence, which I have experienced firsthand.
There’s no telling what Barry would’ve done if Alek didn’t stop him. Down the road, he could’ve become an abusive husband or a freaking serial killer. He could’ve been one of the bratva’s enemies.
I can’t trust people will do the good thing. Not in our world.
