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She swallows hard as a tear lets loose from her lashes. “—and you shall love none other than the Bratva.”
Eden says the last part with conviction, and the hate in her eyes should turn me to stone. The tears on her face aren’t a sign of weakness. They’re a sign of how much she hates me.
I’m lucky she doesn’t have a gun.
I open the door while holding her upper arm tight and guide her toward the waiting SUV. Pavel promptly gets out and holds the back door open for us. I expect Eden to slide in and try to bolt out the other side, but she’s smart enough to know there’s no escape from here. Miles of undeveloped land stretch around us as the tall weeds sway in the hot sun.
Nowhere to run.
Nowhere to hide.
I get in beside her, and Pavel shuts the door.
Eden shrinks away and makes herself small, leaning into the door as far away from me as possible. I don’t blame her for her reaction. I’ve become the enemy not only to Zakhar but to her. I stretch out, letting my legs open wide and taking up more roomon the seat than I need. She scoots away, but I won’t leave her alone. There is a wall rising between us, and I’m in the mood to challenge it. I place my hand on her waist and pull her against me.
“Let’s practice it again,” I whisper. “You care for no one but the Bratva, and you shall love none other than the Bratva.”
Eden swallows a hiccup and speaks the words slowly. “You care for no one but the Bratva, and you shall love none other than the Bratva.”
“This is where you belong, Eden Zakharovna.” I greet her for the first time with her own patronymic. “With your people. With us in the Bratva. Welcome home.”
“The Bratva is not my home,” she whispers. “It willneverbe my home.”
58
NIKOLAI
I takehold of Eden’s arm before she can disappear upstairs to her room. She stares at my hand on her arm and the way my fingers press into her skin. I loosen my hold but block her path.
“My office. Now.”
Her twisted mouth shouts what she doesn’t dare say. She doesn’t want me to touch her. Slowly, she walks toward the office door, and I don’t toy with her. But her look of revulsion angers me. Looks of hate I can handle.
But this? I didn’t set out to hurt her, yet I have.
When I enter, Eden stands in front of the desk defiantly. Her chin is held high, and she stares straight ahead at nothing. Her gaze is carefully kept away from me. I step toward her, barely leaving an inch between us. She doesn’t flinch when I raise my hand slowly toward her cheek. Her breathing comes fast, but her jaw clenches, the jaw working underneath her smooth flesh.
I pull the keys out of my pocket, open a lower drawer on the shelving unit, and return to the desk, placing a box on my desk in front of her. “This is for you.”
Eden glances down, puzzled by the nondescript black cardboard box. She frowns at it and then at me.
She reaches for it but pulls back at the last second. “What is it?”
I frown. “Open it.”
When Eden sees the phone inside, her expression relaxes. She almost smiles but then remembers I’m watching.
“Is this not what you wanted?” I ask.
She doesn’t say anything back, and I recall the first time we met. I asked for her number, and she confessed she didn’t have a phone. I didn’t believe it until now. Eden presses the sides until the screen lights up.
A pang goes through me, but it has to be ignored. I have to set the rules. “The phone is for you to stay in contact with me. My number is already in it. When I call, you pick up immediately.” I narrow my eyes. “And it’s monitored. Every call you make, every text you send. I will know.”
Eden frowns at the phone. “So, if I call my father …” she pauses.
I nod. “I will know.”
“What if I don’t want it?” she asks, turning it over in her hands. Her engagement ring shines in the setting sunlight coming through the windows. I had other things I needed to do today other than chase Eden. It doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters now except her being safe.
