I’ll listen, because it’s in my best interest to do so. And then…
I’m getting the fuck out of Lord Winston Smith’s life.
I never want to see him again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Win
Katarina is tremblingwith enough violence that two women passing by stare at me with concern.
Damn it all to bloody hell.
I didn’t expect her to react like this. Katarina is the kind of strong that appears almost bulletproof.
Then again, I’m bringing her father, the man who gave her all those scars, right to her.
Guilt twists my gut.
It’s not an emotion I’m accustomed to experiencing. I’m decisive and calculating, and when I make choices, I rarely regret them.
But Katarina isn’t my enemy, even if she is Ivan’s daughter. In fact, she’s more of an ally than anyone I can remember.
Even Rebecca…
I grimace to think of my fiancée. Rebecca was never going to be a partner. She was sweet and warm, but she had no interest in responsibility.
We were opposites. And as I grew older, harder, I had to work not to let my edges cut her.
But Katarina, she’s got the strength to withstand almost any pain. Which means, as I watch her crumble in my arms, I’ve dealt her a significant blow.
Fuck.
Pulling her into my body, I lift her in my arms and start carrying her toward the curb. “Not feeling well,” I murmur to a matron who stares at me as though I’ve gone mad.
“Poor dear,” the woman replies, her concerned gaze on Katarina. “The plight of those children upsets me greatly as well.”
I keep going, pushing against the crowd until we’re at the line of cars.
Katarina’s been silent, but as I reach the attendant, she taps my shoulder. “You can set me down.”
Slowly, I lower her feet to the ground, keeping her in my arms, even when I feel she’s stable. I should put some distance between us, but I hate to let her go. She feels as though she’ll just slip through my fingers the moment I do.
She looks down the street, not meeting my eye, her face drawn in lines of pain.
I meant what I said, I’ve never lied to her. But I have omitted a great many truths. She doesn’t pull away, her arms drop to her sides, her body only touching mine where I hold her to me.
I nearly say her name but it’s no use. Instead, we wait in silence.
The car finally arrives, stopping at the curb as my driver jumps out to open the door for us.
I help Katarina into the back, but I don’t circle around to other side. Instead, I nudge her over, sitting right next to her.
I would not put it past her to try and run.
But she moves as I silently command, all her fight gone.
It honestly makes my chest ache to have deflated her so. Katarina is magnificent, and I have robbed her of?—
