Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Silence.
I hate it as soon as I say it and wish I could take the words back. I’ve never pulled rank, and I don’t like doing it now.
Nicolai holds my gaze, then gives me one firm nod. “Yes, sir.”
Yakov nods as well. “Do you feel in your gut that what she speaks is truth?”
They didn’t hold her in their arms after making love, bathed in her tears. They don’t know the sincerity in her gaze, or how she speaks of her brother and friend. They didn’t see the man I beat who dared come near her; nor did they understand his purpose.
But I did.
I fucking do.
“Trust me, brothers,” I ask, softening my voice. “I know that what she says is true.”
“Every word of it.”
I look up to see Caroline standing in the doorway, and my pulse accelerates. She did not have permission to leave the room and she wasn’t invited to this conversation. I don’t want her knowing they question the veracity of her accusations.
“Come here,” I tell her, crooking a finger at her. She bites her lip, and I hope she fucking knows she’s in trouble for this. Despite the fact that she’s here without permission, when she reaches me, I breathe more easily. I sit and draw her on my lap, facing my men, my arm gently tucked about her waist.
“Tell them, sweetheart,” I say, gentling my voice, before I lean in and whisper in her ear, “And we’ll discuss why you’re here when this meeting is over.”
“Andros is my brother’s best friend,” she says. “One night, before my eighteenth birthday, he came to my room. He’d had too much to drink.” Her voice wavers, and I reach my hand to hers. Sweet girl. This can’t be easy for her. “He took my virginity that night.” She swallows hard. “Against my will.”
“Did you tell anyone?” a man to the right asks. It isn’t until Caroline places a gentle hand on my shoulder that I realize she’s trying to calm me.
I’m proud of her as she looks about the room without wavering or backing down, her voice clear and strong. “Not that night, no. He told me if I told anyone he would kill me.” She laughs mirthlessly. “I was too young and naïve to realize that he was bluffing. Of course he wouldn’t kill me. If he did, who would he rape?”
There’s silence in the room. I want to catch the next plane straight to San Diego. I will hunt him. I will hurt him. I will kill him.
“I finally told my brother.” Her voice grows cold and bitter. “Of course he didn’t believe me.” She sighs before she takes a deep breath.
The tension in the room is thick, palpable. Nicolai’s hands are clenched into fists and Yakov is on his feet, pacing. The traditional men in our order are strong and powerful; they take women who can withstand their dominance and need to assert power. But the deep thread of old-fashioned ideals runs strong. The wife of the pakhan was abused at their hands, and my men will not stand down.
“I don’t fucking care how long we’ve known her,” Nicolai says, addressing the room. It’s almost amusing how quickly he changes his tune when he hears my wife speak sincerely. There’s a winsome wholesomeness about her that no one can mistake for anything but authenticity. “From her body language to her story, she speaks truth.” He looks to me. “It goes without saying that I’d kill anyone who touched a hair on my wife’s head.” He faces the room. The men around him nod, some already on their feet, ready for instruction. “And now that Caroline is one of our own, we have a job to do.”
“I’m telling you now,” she says, and it’s the first time her voice shakes. “He’ll come to me. He hasn’t let me go. Andros still thinks of me as his, and he will seek me out. Everyone knows I’m here now.”
“Over my dead fucking body,” I say plainly. “If the only way to ensure your safety from that monster is to kill him, my goal is clear.”
I don’t normally approve of cold-blooded murder. Even among thieves and criminals, we have a code of honor we abide by. Retribution and revenge are suitable reasons for murder. Andros has brought this on himself.
Yakov nods. “We’ll form a plan of attack,” he says. “You decide what you want, sir.” He bows his head to me. “I will hear and obey. Caroline, the brotherhood will avenge you. You are our family now. And no one hurts one of us without suffering the consequences.”
They are ready to follow me to battle. I will lay my life down not only for Caroline, but for every goddamn one of them. For my brothers.
My men begin to assemble. They’re prepared to follow my lead.