Page 67 of The Pakhan’s Accidental Bride

"I'm ashamed of you," I say quietly.

They all look at me in surprise.

"Four against one," I continue. "You ganged up on one man. And he still beat you all silly."

"Kiera," Kevin starts.

"No. I don't want to hear it." I cross my arms. "You got what you wanted. You got your fight. Now leave."

They exchange glances, but they don't argue. One by one, they file out the door. Kevin's the last to leave, and he pauses.

"He's tougher than I thought," he admits.

"I know."

"Take care of yourself, Kiera."

"I will."

He nods and walks out. I close the door behind him and immediately turn, rushing back through the estate toward the gym.

I need to see Emil and make sure he's okay. But when I burst back into the gym, my heart stops. The ring is empty and Emil is nowhere in sight.

"Luca!" I call out, spinning around. "Where is he?"

Luca appears from a side door, his expression carefully neutral. "He was taken to the in-house doctor."

28

EMIL

Iwatch Kiera leave with her brothers, her shoulders squared and her head held high. She's magnificent when she's angry. She's also adorable when she's worried about me. She may try to hide it, but I can see the concern in her eyes. The way she keeps tossing glances back at me, as if to make sure I'm still alive, is another giveaway too.

The moment the doors close behind Kiera and her brothers, my body gives out.

I drop to one knee, the adrenaline that's been keeping me upright finally draining away. Pain explodes through every inch of me. My ribs scream. My jaw throbs. My left eye is swollen nearly shut, and I can taste blood in my mouth.

Fuck.

"You absolute idiot." Luca's voice comes from behind me, sharp with anger. "What the hell were you thinking?"

I try to stand, but my legs won't cooperate. Luca's there immediately, his arm sliding under mine to haul me up.

"I was thinking," I grit out, "that I needed to teach them a lesson."

"You're the Pakhan. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You don't need to earn anyone's respect. You command it." He starts walking me toward the side exit, supporting most of my weight. "Four men, Emil. You let four men beat the shit out of you."

"I beat them too."

"That's not the point." His grip tightens as I stumble. "You have nothing to prove. You're the most powerful man in this city. You could have had them killed with a phone call."

"That wouldn't have solved anything."

"It would have solved the problem of them interfering with your marriage." He sends me a glare and a knowing look. "You held back," he accuses. "I've seen you fight. I've trained with you. You didn't give it your all."

I don't say anything. He's right, of course. I didn't fight as hard and dirty as I usually would. But these are Kiera's brothers. My goal was to teach them a lesson and make an agreement to make our lives easier. Not to kill them.

We make it through the door and down a long hallway. Every step sends fresh waves of pain through my body. My ribs are definitely bruised, maybe cracked. My nose is broken. Again. I've lost count of how many times that's happened.