"Probably."
"And possessive."
"Definitely."
"And completely overwhelming."
"Yes." I cupped her face, my thumb brushing over her cheekbone. "But it's also the truth. So you can fight it, or you can accept it. But it's not changing."
"What if I don't want to be owned?"
"Then we'll find another word for it." I held her gaze. "But the feeling doesn't change, Shanice. I protect what's mine. I provide for what's mine. I eliminate threats to what's mine. That's who I am."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, "What if there was a threat you couldn't eliminate?"
My whole body went still. "What do you mean?"
"I heard Olek on the phone earlier. When I was coming down for dinner. He was speaking Russian, but I heard my name. And the word 'problem.'" She pulled back, looking at me directly. "Am I in danger again? Is someone coming for me?"
Fuck.
I'd underestimated her. She was sharper than I'd given her credit for.
"There are concerns," I said carefully. "But nothing I can't handle."
"What kind of concerns?"
"The kind that doesn't matter because I'm going to fix them."
"Mikhail." Her voice was firm now. "Don't treat me like a child. If I'm in danger, I deserve to know."
She was right. She did deserve to know. But how much could I tell her without terrifying her? Without making her feel trapped?
"The police found Marcus’ body," I said finally. "There are people in our family who are worried that you might talk."
Her eyes widened. "Talk? To the police?"
"You're a witness, Shanice. You saw what happened. And you're not one of us. There's nothing binding you to silence."
"I would never—" She stopped, understanding dawning in her expression. "They think I'll betray you."
"Some do."
"And what do they want to do about it?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't force the words out.
Her face went pale. "They want to kill me."
"That's not going to happen." My voice came out hard, absolute. "I won't let it."
"How? How can you stop them if that's what they've decided?"
This was it. The moment I had to make a choice. Tell her the truth and risk scaring her away, or lie and protect her from the reality of what was coming.
I chose the truth.
"By making you family," I said. "By binding you to us in a way that makes you untouchable."
