Page 107 of Warlord’s Empire

Saskia was in the room alone. She looked small and fragile on her bed, propped up against a wall of white pillows, her arm attached to an IV. A machine next to the bed beeped steadily.

“Muhammed.” She held out a shaking hand.

He sank into the chair next to her bed, then took her hand, kissing it. “I’m so sorry,” he said, his eyes burning with unshed tears. “You would not have been in danger if I hadn’t sent you away. None of this should have happened. This is my fault and I will do whatever it takes to atone.”

She shook her head at him. “I don’t have the energy to fight about ‘what ifs’ right now. You did send me away, and this did happen, but I don’t blame you. I blame the person who tried to kill me.”

Rage slammed into Radik and he had to forcibly shove it down so as not to alarm Saskia. “I will find the person who did this and I will deal with them.” By dismembering them alive.

“You don’t have to find anyone.” Her voice grew in strength.

He caressed her face, touching her hair where sweat had matted the curls against her head. “If I don’t hunt your attacker, they could try again. Our daughter could be caught in the crossfire. I must be allowed to do this for you.”

Her lips tilted in a half smile. “Of course you must deal with them. What I mean is that you don’t need to find them. I know who attacked me. It was my old boss, Prime Minister Branislav Makovsky. He’s the one who had Aurelia killed. I’m not sure why exactly, but I think it has something to do with securing the President’s next term.”

Radik straightened, his chair creaking under his weight. His cyber security team had looked into Branislav and dismissed him as a suspect in Saskia’s attack. There was nothing linking him to the men who tried to kill her.

“How do you know?” he asked.

“He told me,” she replied, then explained how she discovered the crime. “I don’t know why I called him. It was stupid of me. If I’d gone to Jozef with my discovery, the baby and I would’ve been safe. I never imagined Branislav would have me attacked in my apartment while I was surrounded by security personnel.”

He stroked her arm, his fingers lingering over the injection site of the IV. The cold steel of the needle penetrating her skin seemed barbaric. He hated it, hated that she’d suffered a traumatic delivery.

“You didn’t know he would attack you,” Radik said gruffly.

She looked at him seriously. “I would have gone to his office to see him in person if I’d been able to. He might have succeeded in killing me if I’d done that. In killing our baby.”

Radik held his shudder in. It terrorized him that she could have put herself in such danger, but he hated the idea that she would blame herself more. She was a member of an intergenerational crime family. She would always see the world a little differently, react differently. Confronting a situation rather than running from it was in her blood.

He folded her hand into his. “I know this,” he said, his lips quirking in a smile. “You aren’t one to run to a man for help with a problem. You’re a Koba. No one will be surprised that you tried to confront Branislav alone.”

“You aren’t mad at me?” Tears made her eyes shine but they didn’t fall. “I almost got our baby killed.”

“You did not,” he said, his voice hardening. “You will not accept the blame for something your boss did. He murdered your colleague and friend and he tried to murder you as well. None of this is your fault.” He caressed her hand. “I don’t deserve to say this to you, not after sending you away, but I will say it anyway. Your passion for independence and justice are things I love about you. I don’t want you to change because it’s safer. You must be who you are meant to be.”

She blinked at him, her tears disappearing, a slow smile spreading across her exhausted face. “You’re such a strange man. You say you love me for the very things you’ve tried so hard to protect me from. The things that drive my family crazy.”

He shook his head. “You don’t drive them crazy. They fear for you while also admiring your independent streak. It’s why they want to protect you from yourself.”

Saskia’s smile faded. “You broke my heart when you sent me away.”

He ducked his head. “It was only ever meant to be temporary, until I got better.”

“And you’re better now?”

“Not entirely, but I realized there was no point in getting better without you there.”

“I wish you’d realized that two months ago.” She looked away from him, toward the window. “I don’t think I’m ready to forgive you.”

Her words gave him hope even if he didn’t deserve to feel the emotion. “I’m sorry I made that decision without you. I realize now that a partnership means both parties get a say in how the relationship is conducted.”

“Your therapist told you that, didn’t she?”

He grinned. “She did.”

“Smart woman.”

“Smarter than me.”