“I ran away at sixteen, leaving my father behind on the Day of the Dead. I ended up in Mexico. The streets were alive with firelight and smoke, the scent of marigolds heavy in the air, and drums pounding like a heartbeat in my chest. His men followed me, but the chaos of celebration hid me from them. The skull… it’s the masks everyone wore that night. And the faces… those are the faces of those my father tortured because I couldn’t, as well as the faces of men who tortured me. I later hunted them down and killed them. They’re etched into my memory, as permanent as ink on skin.”
God, he was sixteen and all alone, hiding from his cruel father and these mongrels. No wonder his aura exuded strength and confidence. He survived.
“Are there any left?” I breathed.
“No.”
“That’s good and bad,” I muttered.
“Why is that?”
“Because I want to make them pay for hurting you.” It made no sense, but I meant those words. I wanted to ease his memory and the pain that came with it.
“I had many years to find them and make them pay. You, Sophie Baldwin, won’t be staining your hands with blood for me.”
I huffed. “If they deserve it, I will.”
“Now you know how I feel,” he said slowly. “Just like you can’t tolerate injustice, neither can I.”
I swallowed, understanding sinking into my marrow. He was right; Jacqueline, just like the men who hurt him, didn’t deserve to live. She’d hurt Sienna, threatened my family, and caused Jonathan’s death.
Kian cupped my face, his brows drawn into a deep frown and his eyes full of emotions. “I never expected this,zemra ime.”
I reached up and covered his hands with mine. “What did you expect?”
“I’m not sure, but it wasn’t this.” He let out a sardonic breath, taking my hands and planting a kiss on each palm. “Although, I always sensed a fiery wildcat underneath your healer exterior.”
I let out a huff. “I deliver babies. It’s not exactly healing. And you’re probably mistaking my temper for a wildcat.” My brow furrowed as I realized he’d changed my nickname. “What happened tozemër? I kind of liked it.”
He smirked. “This one makes you mine… and only mine.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but truth be told, I didn’t mind the idea of being only his. Not one bit.
Chapter 25
Kian
Zemra ime.My love.
The words slipped from my mouth, effortless and unguarded. It was the first time I’d ever spoken them aloud to a woman.
I meant them—fully, terrifyingly—and that alone should have been my warning. She would be my unraveling. A commitment I had no intention of breaking.
And damn if it wasn’t a beautiful way to fall.
“You mentioned you miss your job,” I started before I got too wrapped up in everything that was Sophie Baldwin.
Sadness flickered in her expression before resignation settled over it.
“I really miss it,” she murmured. “Along with the sense of purpose.”
I nodded, unsurprised.
One only had to glance at Sophie’s background to see she was not a woman content with standing still. Ambitious and fiercely competent, she was also unmistakably a workaholic, the kind of person who thrived on challenge and burned the midnight oil without complaint. To have been appointed head of the OB-GYN department at her age—anachievement made even more remarkable given that it came before her cousin purchased the hospital—was a testament not only to her skill but to the sheer force of her determination.
“I have a friend who runs the local hospital. I could see if they’re in need of a?—”
She squealed and jumped to her knees. “Are you serious?”
