But it wouldn’t be mine.
Because I’d do everything fucking possible to save her.
As I watched Viktor’s fingers tighten around her arm, and Katya’s eyes widen in surprise and pain, I decided enough was enough.
This was my family, and that was my woman, and no one, especially not Viktor Turgenev was going to take them from me. Only a bullet to the brain would stop me now.
I marched out from beside the building, anger threading through my veins like a wildfire. Suddenly the unease I’d had inside of me, the gnawing uncertainty, was gone, and a calmness spread through my veins.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katya
“You’re hurting me,” I snapped, my face turning down to look at Viktor.
“This is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if you ever disrespect me again.”
I stared at him, wide-eyed. “What did you just say?”
No one had ever spoken to me like that. No one had ever dared threaten me, or man-handle me. I was the princess of this family, and I was respected. Yet I saw no respect in Viktor’s eyes. If anything, all I saw was the harsh opprobrium generated by my lack of respect ofhim.
“You embarrassed me today, Katya. You take me for a fool, and someone you can wrap around your finger.” He leaned in closer, shifting in his seat, his fingers tightening on me. “But I will have you stripped naked, strapped to my bed, and flogged, if you don’t come to heel, little girl.”
I stared down at him, eyes growing wider as the shock of his words buried themselves inside me. I swallowed, my heart thundering against my ribs. I knew that I should tell my father what Viktor had just said to me, but when I looked over he was already watching us. His gaze unwavering against Viktor’s brutal hold on me.
Fear like I had never known before bloomed inside of me and I found myself blinking away tears and looking down at the warm sand beneath my shoes, at the bits of glitter sparkling in the sunlight.
Serene.
Dutiful.
Respectful.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” I heard Nikolai’s voice cut through the chatter around the table and I looked up, my gaze colliding with his.
He looked like a man possessed. Hair wild about his face, shirt unbuttoned at the top, hands clenched into fists at his sides. And his eyes, his beautiful eyes that took me away with one glance, were like stormy seas.
Viktor stood up beside me, and I caught sight of his gun holster. I started to move towards Nik, but Viktor placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, pushing me back down into my seat before tilting his head to look down at me.
“Stay,” he ordered, like I was his pet dog. “Do not disobey me.”
I quickly looked over at my father and Alexander, desperate for them to say something about his behavior. Desperate for them to stand up to him and stop him harming Nikolai, but I knew instantly that they would do nothing to save us.
Father looked furious.
Alex looked worried but determined.
Neither man looked like they would stop what was inevitably going to happen next.
“Katya,” my mother hissed from across the table. “Is this your doing?”
I looked at her, beseeching that she believe me as I shook my head. “No, I had no idea he was going to come here.”
She tsked and placed her napkin down on the table, turning to my father. “Eduard…” she began, but he cut her off with a dark look.
“Not now, Evelina. This is business.” His tone was deadly, and my heart leapt further in fear for Nik now. It wasn’t so long ago that my uncle had died for his betrayal. And he was blood. He was blood, and Nik wasn’t.God, how could I save him?
“He’s family, Eduard,” my mother pleaded, sensing the same thing I was.
