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However, before he can do anything else, the metal door on the other side of the room bursts open.
I snap my gaze to it.
My heart lurches.
Ivan and the other Petrovs whip around while raising their guns at the eight people who pour across the threshold. Cold metal appears against my temple as Ivan presses one of his guns to my head, but I barely feel it over the satisfaction and relief that pulse through my soul.
Thank you, Jace.
Jace, Rico, Eli, my father, and four of Rico’s guards from the Morelli compound fan out across the floor, guns and sniper rifles raised and pointed at the stunned Petrov men.
While keeping his gun trained on our enemies, Jace flicks a quick glance up and down my body. Guilt and regret flit across his face. Next to him, Rico is staring at Anton as if he now wishes that he had followed through on his threat and broken his arm a few weeks ago. But Eli… Eli is the worst.
Fucking hell, I have never seen anything like it on his face before.
Hellfire burns in his golden eyes, and the scar that cuts through his brow and down to his cheek seems to stand out even more against those flames. Holding a sniper rifle trained on Mikhail’s head, he looks about one second away from painting this entire house with blood and then burning the world down.
I know that my brothers care about me, of course. We’ve never tried to deny the bond that exists between the four of us. But it isn’t until this very moment that I realize that they might actually love me to the same terrifying degree that I love them. The thought makes my head spin.
“You’ve crossed a line now, Petrov,” my father grinds out between gritted teeth where he stands in the middle, aiming his gun straight at Ivan.
“How the fuck did they get in here?” Konstantin hisses under his breath.
“We locked Alina in the control room so that she could watch this, remember?” Maksim whispers back. “She must’ve unlocked the doors for them from in there.”
Surprise flits through me. Alina is watching this?
“Your son crossed a line when he put his fucking hands on my daughter,” Ivan snarls back in response to my father’s statement.
“And if he was raping her, I would’ve shot him myself. But he isn’t. He put his hands on your daughter because she wants him to. Now, put your fucking guns down and give me back my son, or we’ll kill everyone in this room.” He jerks his chin towards where the red dot from Eli’s sniper rifle still hovers at the center of Mikhail’s forehead. “Starting with your heir.”
A ripple goes through the room. Anton and the twins flick a glance towards Ivan, waiting for orders. But Mikhail only keeps his eyes on Eli, who looks to be one wrong word away from pulling that trigger regardless of what our fathers decide. Fury and insanity burn in his eyes like the deepest pits of hell. Given how little impulse control he has, I’m surprised that he hasn’t already opened fire.
Another few seconds pass.
The tension in the room is so potent that I can almost see it vibrating in the air.
Then a low snarl rips from Ivan’s throat and he yanks his gun away from my temple.
“Untie him,” he snaps to the others.
While the twins holster their guns and start releasing me, the others remain staring at my family, their weapons still raised. Well, everyone except for Ivan, who sounds like he is cursing us all to hell under his breath.
Once I’m free, I make a show of rolling my ankles and wrists before pushing up from the chair. Turning around, I face Ivan again. A taunting smile tilts my lips.
“This wasn’t exactly how I had planned to meet my future father-in-law,” I say, and then lift my shoulders in a casual shrug. “But I suppose a little animosity was to be expected given the number of times I have humiliated your sons at Blackwater.”
Rage flares in his eyes, and he flexes his hand on his gun while gritting his teeth. It looks like he’s about to yank it up and shoot me in the head. I open my mouth to give him one more push. But before I can say anything, Rico speaks up.
“Kaden.”
If it had been my father warning me, I would’ve ignored him. But it’s not. It’s Rico. So I just huff out a laugh and flash the leader of the Petrov family a vicious smile.
Then I turn around and saunter away with the rest of my family.
37
ALINA
