"By leading you into an ambush?" His voice hardens. "Seraphina, I need you to think clearly. Gabriel is a federal informant who embezzled from the Morozovs. He's desperate. Caught between the feds, the Morozovs, and now us. And desperate men do desperate things."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying your brother might try to use you as leverage. As a bargaining chip to get himself out of whatever mess he's created." His hands tighten on my knees. "I'm saying he's dangerous. And I need to know—" he takes a deep breath, "—did you know about any of this?"
The question hits me like a slap. "What? No! Of course not!"
"Are you sure? Think back. Did he say anything? Give you anything? Ask you questions about me or my business?"
"No! Adrian, I swear, I had no idea about any of this." My voice breaks. "He's my brother. I thought—I thought he was getting his life together. The job, the apartment. Until he asked me for money, it seemed like he was on the right track. For once."
Adrian's voice is gentle now. He looks at me with pity in his eyes. "I'm sorry."
I can't breathe. My baby brother. The one I would have done anything for, used me. Put me in danger. Led me into an alley where I could have died.
Where my baby could have died.
"I'm going to be sick."
Adrian moves fast, grabbing the trash can, holding my hair as I retch. Nothing comes up. I hadn't had lunch yet. But my body tries anyway, heaving with the force of betrayal.
When I'm done, I'm shaking so hard my teeth chatter.
Adrian takes me into his arms. His warmth envelopes me, but my bones are so cold, it's like I can't get warm.
"He could have killed me." The words come out broken. "He could have killed our son." I press the soft onesie to my body, wishing it was my baby.
"You're safe. You're both safe."
"Because of you." I look up at him. "You saved me. In that alley. You killed a man to save me."
"I'd kill a thousand men to keep you safe." His silver eyes stare at me with an intensity that takes my breath away. I don't know what to do with Adrian, but I know the truth in his words.
And that's what's hard. Adrian represents things I don't believe in, but I also understand that Adrian's violence isn't random or cruel.
It's protective. Possessive.
He kills to keep what's his.
And I'm his.
"I'm so angry," I whisper. "At Gabe. At myself for not seeing it. At—" I break off. "I brought this into your life. Into your family. I'm so sorry."
"Don't." His arms tighten around me. "This isn't on you. You didn't know."
"But I should have. There were signs. Things that didn't add up. I just—I wanted to believe he was okay. That he'd changed."
"That's not a flaw. You're his sister. You wanted to protect him." Adrian's hand finds my stomach, protective. I like the feel of his steadiness on the swell of my belly. It makes me feel protected, like myself and our son are the center of his world. "Sera, you need to understand something. Gabriel isn't going to change. He's not going to suddenly become the brother you want him to be. He's desperate. Dangerous. And if he contacts you, I need to know immediately."
"You think he'll try?" I shake my head. "Why though? He has a million dollars. Why not just leave?"
"He can't spend it."
I'm so confused. "What?"
Adrian twirls one of my curls around his finger. "He didn't steal a million liquid. The Morozovs sell opioids. He'd need to offload his merchandise, which he likely can't do without attracting attention."
Fuck. I close my eyes. My head is pounding, and I feel even more nauseous.
