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“Katie?” he asks. “Is that you? Fuck, Katie, I’m so sorry, I had no idea he would do that.”
I’m surprised by this. He sounds genuinely upset by the actions of his friend.
“What did you think would happen?” I ask him coldly. “Your so-called friend was unhinged.”
“I… I know,” he says hesitantly. “I didn’t always know,” he amends. “He was so mad at her for leaving, and I was mad at her for breaking up our family. I got swept into his anger, but I didn’t know he would hurt her!”
“You didn’t see the vile notes he wrote her?” I ask.
“What notes?” he asks. “We sent her packages full of her things all smashed up, but I didn’t see any notes, I swear to God.”
“And who was responsible for the hurtful words written on the packaging?” I ask, remembering the slurs directed at her.
“We both were,” he answers, his voice full of shame. “And we called her so many times to call her a whore. And I’m sick about it. I was angry, but she’s my sister. Believe it or not, I do love her.”
“You’re right,” I tell him. “I don’t believe you. And I don’t trust you. You’ve inflicted terrible emotional pain on your sister, and I have no respect for the kind of immature child that would do that to his own sister.”
“I know,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry. Can I just talk to her? Can I let her know how much I regret my actions?”
I sigh and lean back against my chair. I know that losing her brother in this mess has taken a toll on Kat. If she were awake, she would want the choice to speak with him and talk through everything that happened.
“She’s sleeping,” I tell him honestly. “But when she wakes up, I’ll tell her we talked, and it will be her choice if she wants to hear from you. I wouldn’t hold your breath, but if I’ve learned anything about Kat, it’s that she has more capacity for compassion than anyone on the entire planet.”
He chuckles. “Yeah. That sounds like her.”
“Give her time. These kinds of things don’t heal overnight.”
He sighs again and agrees, thanking me for giving him the benefit of the doubt. I still don’t trust him, but it’s not my choice to make. Kat gets to decide who will and won’t be in her life. My dealings with Dimitri are business and personal, but threatening him doesn’t mean I can keep him away from her forever. She may not want that.
There’s a fear in my gut, a feeling I’ve never experienced before. Before I met Kat, I had nothing to lose. Every dealing and threat I made only impacted me and my business. That isn’t to say I wanted to lose my business, but it wasn’t nearly as precious to me now.
Kat is everything to me. I cannot and will not lose her. There’s more at stake in my life than there’s ever been. I live in a dangerous world, and I can’t protect her from everything that may come our way. For the first time in my life, I consider that I can’t stay in the Bratva forever.
Thanks to my father’s wisdom, I have my legitimate businesses to fall back on, and I know my men will be faithful to me whether I’m in the organization or not. This isn’t a decision I can make tonight, or even soon, but I have to make sure I always put her safety first.
Until her wedding, she had no idea of the danger she was constantly in. It’s surprising, really, that no one ever threatened her life before, considering what an ass Dimitri is. But now that she’s mine, it’s my job to make sure no harm ever comes to her, and it isn’t a responsibility I take lightly.
She can take care of herself in a lot of ways, but too much of this business is out of our control and volatile. At any moment, the Bratva is a powder keg about to explode. Shady deals are always being made, alliances changing at the drop of a dime.
I’m lucky to be in such a powerful position, but I’m not untouchable. And she’s absolutely my weakness. Anyone could exploit my love for her and use her to make me give up anything. That isn’t something I’m willing to risk.
This life we live is so fucked. Neither one of us got to choose it, but at least I had more choice in the matter. I got to create myself into who I am now and ensure that I rose as high in the organization as I could possibly get. She was never given that option, being kept in the dark her whole life.
I don’t want to keep things from her anymore, though. I want her to be fully aware of the dangers we face, and let her make the decisions about her life that she was never allowed to make before. All she has to do is say the word, and I’ll walk away from all of this. I’m willing to do that because she’s mine. And I’m hers.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Kat
The bed feels cold, and I immediately suspect something is wrong. I reach around, looking for the arms that held me until I fell asleep, but they aren’t there anymore. I open my eyes, yawning widely. At first, it’s hard to concentrate because this isn’t a room I’m familiar with. The lighting is all wrong.
When I remember our sweet moment, I smile and stretch under his covers, feeling thoroughly satisfied and happy. That doesn’t solve the problem of where he is, though, I sit up slowly, fully intending to get up and search the house for him, but instead, I see his silhouette in the window.
“Hi,” I whisper.
He turns to look at me, and I can see the moonlight pouring over his face. He looks troubled. He smiles sadly but doesn’t respond.
I get out of bed and pad over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Talk to me,” I command.
