“I love him too,” I quickly add, hoping it might be enough to get my brothers to see reason.
Misha just gives a slow nod while Yuri says, “I thought we explained things to you, Damien.” He looks over at Misha. “I mean, I felt like we made things very clear, don’t you?”
“We did,” Misha says. “Very fucking clear, I thought.”
“If I was just fucking around with her, it would be different,” Damien says. His thumb brushes my leg where he’s still gripping me, trying to comfort me while my brothers track his everymovement. Misha’s jaw hardens while Yuri’s hand disappears behind his back. I know Damien sees it, but he doesn’t back down. “I want to marry her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever been with, and I love her and want to marry her.”
Misha ignores everything that Damien just said and looks at me. “Go home, Sitka.”
“The hell I will,” I say, gripping Damien even tighter.
Without a word, Yuri pushes off from the tree and starts to circle around us. Damien steps to the side, refusing to let him get behind us, but Misha starts walking in the other direction, the two of them circling us, making it impossible for us to get away.
“What are you going to do?” I ask them, panicking and for the first time in my life, I worry about what my brothers are capable of. This side of them has never touched me, but it’s about to. I’m on the receiving end of it now, and it’s terrifying. I’m not worried they’ll hurt me. They would never do that, but what about Damien?
“Misha,” I say, trying again. “Would you just stop and listen to us? Let’s all go and talk to Mom. She’ll help you understand.”
“Mom knows?” Yuri asks.
“I just told her, and she’s fine with it,” I turn my head, wanting to keep both of them in sight.
I know my words have backfired, when Misha says, “So this has been going on for a while then?”
This time when Yuri takes a step closer, I see the knife in his hand. “You’ve been sneaking around and lying to us this whole time?”
I’m not sure if he’s asking me or Damien, but I ignore everything as I stare at the deadly-looking blade. “Yuri, please put the knife away. I love him, and I swear to you I will never forgive either of you if you hurt one goddamn hair on his head.”
“They’re not going to hurt me,” Damien says, and unlike me, he doesn’t sound scared at all.
Yuri grins and huffs out a laugh. “We’re not? You sure about that?”
“I am,” Damien says. “It’d be an act of war against the most powerful Bratva in America.”
“Second most powerful,” Misha corrects, and then it’s Damien’s turn to snort out a laugh.
“Whatever you say,” he tells them. “It would be war, and it would tear your family apart.”
“Stop talking and come with us,” Yuri says. “We need to talk, just the three of us,” he adds, giving me a pointed look. “Go the fuck home, Sitka.”
When I don’t move, he looks at Damien. “My brother and I are going to get you out of these woods and take you somewhere we can talk. I don’t want to hurt my sister, but if you fight us, there’s no guarantee she won’t get accidentally hurt.”
“Jesus Christ, Yuri,” I yell at him. “If you get that knife anywhere near us, I’m going to scream bloody-fucking murder. Have fun explaining that to dad.”
Misha takes a step closer. “I think when we explain that Damien was just fucking you like a goddamn animal in the woods, he might see things our way.”
“Oh my god, you saw us?” I ask, mortified for so many reasons.
He raises a brow and shakes his head. “No, but you just confirmed it. Go home and let us take care of this.”
Damien’s fingers tighten on my leg before he says, “It’s okay, Sitka. Go home to your mom. I need to talk to your brothers.”
“No,” I start to say, but he whips me around, putting me on my feet in front of him before I can try and stop him. He cups my face and leans in close.
“It’ll be okay. I promise. Just go home and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Proving he really isn’t scared of my brothers, he closes the distance and kisses me. It’s deep and the heat of it helps chase away the chill that’s seeped into my bones.
“Fucking enough,” Misha growls, but Damien takes a second to press his forehead to mine.
