Lev’s jaw tightens. “And if she can’t get you…”
“She’ll go for Lily,” I finish, voice flat.
Lev’s hands twitch like he wants to smash something.
“She won’t touch her.” I snap.
Lev looks at me for a long beat, then something shifts, and he exhales. “I don’t like you much right now,” he mutters, half joking.
I huff a humourless laugh. “Yeah. I got that message loud and clear.”
Lev’s eyes flicker. “But I trust you,” he adds, the words scraping out like they hurt him. “With her.”
That lands like a knife and a blessing at the same time. I nod once, throat tight. “I’ll die before I fail her,” I promise.
“I didn’t mean that, Drago. I’m sorry for how I reacted and for saying those cruel things to you. You are like a son to me. And you’re right… I couldn’t think of another man who is worthy of my daughter. And I have no fucking right to have a say anyway. I lost that when I let her leave with her mother. I should just be grateful that I’m here now. I can’t lose either of you.”
Tears sting in my eyes, and I try to hold them back. Because that’s the man he raised me to be. A machine. One that doesn’t stop long enough to have time to actually feel emotions run through him. And I don’t blame him for teaching me to be this way, because it means I’ve survived what would have killed most. He is the only reason I’m still standing.
“Thank you, Lev. For everything.”
He clasps his hand on my shoulder. “And if Lily wants you to leave this life, to go and start fresh somewhere safe, then you have my blessing. I’ll do everything I can to make your exit happen. You deserve happiness just as much as Lily does. Remember that. You’re a good kid.”
I chuckle. “I’m thirty-eight.”
“Well… You’re still that skinny kid I found.”
I smile. “Truce?” I ask, holding out my hand.
Then, finally, like the universe gives us one mercy, he slides his hand into mine and gives it a firm shake. “You’d better survive this war,” he mutters.
My brow lifts.
He scowls like he hates himself for saying it.
“Because if you die,” Lev adds, “she’ll never love again. And I can’t watch my daughter lose another piece of herself.”
My chest tightens, and I swallow the weight down. “I’m not dying,” I promise. “Not when she’s waiting for me.”
Lev stares at me for a long beat. “I won’t let anyone get to either of you.”
It feels like Lev and I are on the same side again.
Family. It may not be by blood, but it’s everything that fucking matters. And soon, I’ll marry his daughter. And I guess that makes him real family. My father-in-law and my adoptive dad. It’s fucked up. But, it’s ours.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Lily
Song- Tightrope, Michelle Williams
I don’t want to wake up, because it feels like I’m entering a nightmare. It’s making me feel physically ill.
Not anxiety-wrong. Not panic-wrong.
Just… sick.
My throat is raw like I’ve been swallowing glass in my sleep, my head feels stuffed with cotton, and my skin can’t decide whether it wants to burn or freeze. When I try to roll onto my side, dizziness hits so hard I have to grip the sheets and wait for the room to stop tilting.
