But still, visions of Anthony forcing himself on me hit me hard, and it’s like I’m in my apartment all over again with no control.
Tears prick my eyes as the monster in front of me forces my legs open, but I refuse to give him anything more than he’s going to take without my permission.
“You little cunt,” he spits, unbuckling his belt. “I’m gonna tear you?—”
He doesn’t finish his thought, falling to the ground as blood pours out of his head. Before the other guy can run, a bullet hits him in the forehead, taking him out as well.
“Fuck!” my brother shouts, lowering his gun and averting his eyes from my naked body, while Kane scoops up my clothes and helps me get dressed.
“You saved me,” I mutter, nuzzling my face into Kane’s neck as he scoops me into his arms and carries me out of the container.
My entire body is shaking, and I’m struggling to catch my breath. But I’m okay. Kane saved me before that nasty asshole could rape me.
“Matteo killed the men,” Kane corrects, snapping me out of my thoughts. “He’s got damn good aim.”
Matteo’s glassy eyes meet mine, and I’m momentarily takenaback by the raw emotion shining in them. But then I remember how much guilt he felt when he found out I had been raped before. Matteo’s always been the brother hell-bent on protecting me, and it nearly killed him to know he hadn’t protected me when I was younger.
For years, I thought my brothers knew what Anthony and Andrey had done to me, but I should’ve known that they never would’ve gone along with that. They might be driven by their business, but they’ve proven repeatedly how much they love me and would do anything to protect me.
“Thank you for saving me,” I choke out.
Matteo nods once and then closes his eyes, and when he reopens them, he’s back to the normal Matteo—the one who hides his emotions.
“I might’ve killed them, but Kane had the tracker on you and knew where to find you,” Matteo notes. “Another minute, and we wouldn’t have been able to get onto the pilot ship to get to you.”
“Wow, am I dreaming, or are my husband and brother getting along?” I half joke to lighten the mood.
Kane chuckles and kisses my forehead. “I’m glad you’re okay, Princess. Do we need to take you to the hospital?”
“No.” I burrow closer into his chest. “You got to me before they could do anything.”
It takes a little while for the ship to dock back at the port, but the entire time, Kane never lets go of me. When we get off the ship, Matteo insists Kane take me home while he stays to deal with the bodies.
“They said they were supposed to be sending a message,” I tell Matteo before we leave.
He nods. “I know you want to be independent, but …”
“I know. I’ll lie low for a while. And I’d like to cover the funeral costs for Daniil and Josh,” I choke out.
It hits me that Daniil is gone. Paying for their funerals won’t make up for the fact that they died, trying to save me, but it’s theleast I can do. I didn’t know Josh well, but Daniil had become like a big brother to me, and it guts me that his life is over, all because of some bullshit fight over territory.
“C’mon, wife,” Kane says, setting me into the passenger seat of the car. “Let’s get you home.”
I go to reach for my phone to check on Nicole when I remember I don’t have it. “Hey, Kane … how did you track me when they threw my phone?”
“Your ring,” he says, tapping on the wedding band. “I had a tracker put in it when it was custom-designed. After everything I’d seen, growing up, like walking in on my mom almost bleeding out on the floor, I wasn’t going to risk not having a way to find you.” He takes my hand in his and squeezes it. “I’ll always find you, Princess.”
My heart swells in my chest.
His words shouldn’t affect me the way they do.
But I can’t help it.
I’m falling in love with my husband.
And I think I’m actually okay with that.
28
