Page 89 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

“Just a few bruises. He’s fine. Just exhausted.”

Really, Timothy had come out of this the lucky one. He would be scared for a long time, and I would need to get doctors in to make sure he was fine mentally, but he would be ok.

I met Lily’s eyes. They would both be ok.

“And—” her hand moved to her stomach.

I reached out and covered it with mine. “The baby is fine. Don’t you remember the doctor?”

She shook her head. “Kind of, but it’s a bit of a blur.”

“The baby is fine. And so are you.” I added, although she didn’t look fine. Beautiful, yes, but her face and body were covered in bruises.

“You have a few severely bruised ribs. The doctor thinks it was from the seatbelt. But nothing is broken. Your arm is fine as well. All in all, you were lucky.” Her face darkened. “I was lucky,” she said sarcastically, and I realized I had said the wrong thing. Before I could say anything else, she carried on.

“We were lucky you came for us.” Turning her hand over, she entwined her fingers with mine. Lifting her hand to my lips, I kissed it, over and over again.

“Did you doubt I would?” I asked, kissing each of her fingers in turn. “Do you still doubt my feelings for you, Lily?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she gave a small tug on my arm and pulled me towards the bed. I went willingly.

“No, I don’t have any doubts. Not anymore. I think I know now—”

“You think?” Reaching down, I cupped her face in my big hands. “I don’t want you to think, Lily. I want you to know. I am completely in.”

“What happened to your nose?”

Chuckling, I forced her hand down before she could reach for it. “I’m fine,” I told her gently.

“You’re hurt. Who did this to you?”

“You have a very hard head, Lily. And you fight like a wild thing.”

“Oh.” Guilt rippled across her face. “I did this?”

“Yes. You broke my nose. But it’s nothing. The pain is nothing compared to the pain of almost losing the three of you.”

“And those—,” she struggled to finish. It was like the word man got stuck in her throat.

“Gone,” I said softly. “They won’t ever lay hands on you again, Lily.”

Reaching down, I smoothed my fingers down her cheek, and she leaned in to me. Her eyes closed. “For real this time?”

“For real.” Bending over her, I brushed my lips over hers as softly and as gently as I could. “You don’t need to be afraid of them anymore.”

I had made sure of that. They would never hurt her or the other women and children they had tried to auction off that night. I had made sure of it. My men had made sure no one could get in. Or out. And no one but those I wanted had gotten out.

“I don’t think I’ll ever feel truly safe.”

My heart shattered at her words. And I didn’t have a clue about how I was going to put her back together. I wouldn’t give up, though.

“Are they dead?”

Her question took me by surprise, and I answered without thinking. “Yes.”

I expected her to show some kind of remorse, but she just nodded. “Good.”

I blinked at her in shock. “Is that all you have to say?”