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“Breathe,” I tell the boy, running my hand down Josh’s back as I walk him towards the beatdown Chevy that Emma is not supposed to be driving.
She’s standing by the open door of the back seat, cooing softly in an effort to calm the girls down. She’s wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt but I can still see the bandages under her cuffs. Not to mention the scrapes and bruises on her face.
My instant reaction is rage.
Someone is gonna fucking die for this.
I try to quell the beast in my chest, but it is not so easily silenced. I set Josh down and he scampers towards Emma, who snatches him up and holds him tight. That right there—the strength in her arms, the relief in her face—is the whole reason I wanted her to be the mother of my children.
Who wouldn’t want a mother like that for their kids?
She’s got his face cupped between her hands now and she’s talking to him in a low voice. Those blue eyes of hers are intense, bright with unshed tears. Then she kisses the top of his head. “Go hug your sisters,” she murmurs. “They need to know that you’re alright.”
He nods and climbs into the back of the Chevy.
Which leaves Emma and me.
She takes a tentative step toward me, dragging her feet forward like she’s being forced to the chopping block. “Ruslan…” Her voice is not its usual self. It’s reserved. Purposefully distant. “Thank you.”
“I’m going to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.”
“How can you make that kind of promise?” she scoffs. “You can’t predict everyone and everything.”
My jaw clenches despite my best efforts. “No, you’re right. Even the ones closest to you can surprise you.”
The vein in her forehead pops. It’s barely visible, though, concealed by her bandage and a bruise. “Or disappoint you.”
Her lips are turned down. And even though it pisses me off, even though I don’t deserve it…
Her heartbreak is still a thorn under my skin.
3
EMMA
“What happened?” Ruslan asks gruffly. His eyes track every bruise on my face, every cut on my skin.
I so want to be aloof and detached. I want to be the grownup here. But my anger gets in the way of my better instincts.
“Do you even care?”
His jaw tightens. “I suppose I shouldn’t.” He glances back over his shoulder, probably just to prove how little he cares.
“Right. Anyway, like I said, thank you for intervening. I swear, this will not be a regular thing. In fact, it won’t be a thing at all.” I back up towards the Chevy. “I’m just gonna take the kids and—”
Those amber eyes flash to mine. “As much as I would like to send you off right now, I need to make sure the situation is contained.”
I frown. “What do you—”
“We don’t know if those twomudakswere working in isolation or if there’s another team they’re coordinating with. Letting you drive off right now would be foolish.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was trying to keep me here. Keep me close.
The problem is, Idoknow better.
I glance back at the Chevy. “Ruslan, the kids are exhausted. Not to mention terrified. I need to get them away from here.”
He looks unsympathetic, but before he can argue with me, the Chevy jiggles from side to side and all three kids emerge from the back seat.
