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“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you haven’t gotten the message. Kira tried to tell you when you kidnapped her, held her hostage… When Liam had to bust her out. We saved Nadia, and when she came back to you because she was loyal, you almost killed her. We brought you to your knees but you keep standing up.” I pointed at the ground with the weapon and pursed my lips.
“What? No.” He scowled at me, refusing to stoop down, so I fired off a round into the ceiling, knowing this meant I had only minutes left with him. Tears stung my eyes as he lowered to the ground.
“I wanted you to walk away. I pleaded for your life. I told them not to touch a hair on your head, because I believed you’d see the wickedness of your actions and turn. But you are blind. You’re like father, like. Mikael. Like Anya’s father. You have to be stopped Dominic.”
“No, Lia. I’ll do what you want.” His eyes locked on his gun across the room, and I knew then that given the chance he’d gun me down. My heart sank. Like Anya, I was realizing my past was my past, and those I loved would never change.
“I’m sorry, Dominic. Tell father I love him.” I pulled the trigger without thinking again. His blood peppered the wall behind him, my sweater, my shoes, my hand. The way his head hit the ground with a sickening, hollow thud made my stomach churn. I stood over him trembling, tears streaming down my face. I never heard the door chime but it had. I felt arms around me and looked into Dante’s face.
He led me to the front of the store, to the waiting arms of my Yaya and the man she loved. If the world was going to be a safe place to raise my children, this was the one thing that had to happen.
“You did the right thing,” Anya whispered, kissing my forehead as I draped myself across her lap in the SUV. “It’s going to be okay.” She smoothed my hair as she had done so many times before, lying on her sofa as a child, eating popcorn and watching movies.
My brother was dead. The only last trace of my bloodline on American soil that could tie me to the Bratva. The children I had would now never know of their heritage. They would be free from the pressure of living up to that name.
But I would never be free.
My heart would remain trapped in this war for years to come, until I had put an end to this evil slave trade and set free the women who remained trapped in the death grip of Bratva scum.
For now, however, I would rest. Because the war would rage on, but the life inside of me needed to be nurtured. In this child the families were joined. And one day I believed he would lead them all.
