“No!” she wailed. “We need to leave. I need to—to—to save him.”
With a burst of adrenaline, she ripped away, hauled Brady to her chest, and tried to run. Two steps, and she tripped on the curb.
I caught them.
These two who were more precious than life itself.
“Poppy, he’s safe,” I ground out.
Those three words broke through her hysteria.
“No, Ivan.” She stabbed a finger at me. “He was almost shot!”
“Tatko did the shooting,” Brady interjected and wriggled.
I tugged him out of her arms, propping him on my hip, and pulled the frantic ball of energy into my arms.
“This wasn’t mob business,” I snapped, seeing the situation as it appeared to her. “Just a group of thugs trying to rob a small business.”
Small fists pounded against my chest. “That doesn’t make it better!”
I hauled Poppy off the ground, adjusting my grip to hold her around the back. I gave her a gentle but firm shake.
“Listen to me,” I ground out, keeping my voice low.
Three trucks pulled up. My men shot curious glances in our direction, but a clipped order from Boris had them hustling into the ice cream shop.
“There aren’t bad men in the country?” I insisted.
“No!” Poppy’s voice was a whisper. The breath wailed from her lungs. “No, there’s no—”
“There’s no what? Meth heads? Punk kids? Evil men?” I bent, my face directly in hers. “There are bad people everywhere, little flower. This isn’t a unique epidemic that is isolated to big cities or the underworld.”
Poppy blinked.
A shuddering gulp of air filled her lungs.
That’s it, beautiful, keep breathing.“The difference here, is that I can protect Brady. I can protectyou.”
My son laid his cheek on my shoulder. He placed a palm on his mother’s head, patting and stroking her wild hair.
“His cousins and his mam protected him there,” Poppy seethed.
I nodded. “They did a damn fine job. But here, there is a small army to keep you both safe. Every one of my men would die for you, Poppy. Myself included.”
Poppy hiccupped. She wasn’t convinced.
I was grateful nothing had happened in their past. That her memory of the small town was tinged with rose-colored glasses. But I needed her to understand that there was always danger. That life came with risk.
It was going to take time to prove that. And if there was a turf war over this stupid shopping complex, that wouldn’t help matters. But the promise I made my son, the same that extended to her, was set in stone, carved in blood.
I did the only thing I could think of to seal it.
Closing the distance, I kissed her.
Brady whooped in my ear.
Poppy went stiff in my arms.
