Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“Everleigh? Is everything okay?” Rosalie asks just as Alek appears in the doorway.
Feeling cornered, my eyes dart wildly between Alek, Rosalie, Viktor, and Alexei.
“Let me leave,” I beg. “I won’t tell anyone anything about the bratva. I’ve kept quiet for four years. I have a child. Please, don’t hurt us.”
“That’s enough!” Viktor snaps, and my gaze zooms in on him. He holds up a hand. “No one’s hurting anyone. Let’s all calm down.”
The nightmarish two months of torture and starvation are all I can think of.
“Mommy,” Vincent cries, rattled by the volatile situation.
I can’t let my baby go through the hell I went through. I have to protect him.
There’s no reasoning. There’s only panic and fear.
“I just want to go home,” I plead.
Rosalie comes closer to me, and I give her a wary look.
“You’re safe, Everleigh. We’ll never hurt you or Vincent. Let’s just take a deep breath. You can go home in a minute. Right, Viktor?”
“Everleigh’s not leaving,” Alek snaps.
“Son, you have to calm down,” Alexei mutters. “You’re scaring the shit out of your woman.”
“Everleigh,” Viktor says to get my attention. When my eyes dart to him, he continues, “As the head of the bratva, I promise none of my men will ever hurt you again. You’re safe.”
The head of the freaking bratva. God.
I don’t trust a word coming out of his mouth and take a step closer to the sliding doors.
When Alek approaches me, Viktor snaps, “Give her space, Alek. She’s going to go home. You can follow her.”
Alek’s eyes flick to Viktor’s. “I’m not letting her go.”
Jesus.
The men lock gazes, and the air trembles from the intensity between them.
“It’s an order,” Viktor growls. “Let her go home. You can follow her, but you will remain calm around her and the child. You will not kidnap them.”
Alexei steps closer to Alek. “I’ll go with to keep him in line.”
When I rush past Alek, I feel him right behind me. My heart leaps to my throat as I hurry to my car. I yank the backdoor open and quickly place Vincent in his car seat.
My poor boy is sniffling, his face filled with confusion.
When I shut the backdoor, and I open the driver’s side, Alek’s hand grips hold of the metal. He moves into my personal space, crowding me with his body.
I’m a trembling mess as my eyes fly to his face, but when I see the heartbreak etched into his attractive features, I feel rotten.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I-I…” I shake my head and give him a pleading look. “I’m sorry, Alek. I can’t be around the bratva.”
He lifts his hand to the back of my neck, and leaning forward, I feel his breath over my ear as he whispers, “I’m never letting you go, Everleigh.”
Dear God.
“Alek,” Alexei says with a tone that sounds awfully dangerous. “Let go of her.”
Alek pulls back, and his eyes lock with mine. “I never stopped loving you.”
My heart.
I give him another pleading look. “I’m just going home. We’ll see each other again. I promise.”
Thankfully, Alek moves a few steps back, but then he looks at my car, and his eyebrows furrow. “The blue sedan. I wasn’t hallucinating seeing you.”
God, I can’t stand much more of this. It’s breaking my heart. I feel for Alek, but I have to ignore my heart and think of Vincent. I can’t allow the bratva near my son.
Climbing behind the steering wheel, I pull the door shut before quickly starting the engine.
As I start to reverse, Alek jogs to a G-Wagon and gets into the vehicle.
I make a quick U-turn in the wide driveway and see Alexei join Alek before I drive toward the iron gates.
I nervously glance at all the guards, and when I pull into the street, I keep watching my rearview mirror.
Alek sticks to my butt as I drive toward Pasadena.
“Mommy,” Vincent says in an exhausted voice. “Why were you fighting with those people?”
“I wasn’t fighting with them, baby. I’m sorry we upset you, but we were only excited to see each other again.”
God, I need to tell Vincent his father is alive.
A headache starts to pulse behind my eyes, and by the time I pull into my driveway, I feel drained of all my energy.
I climb out of the car, and as I open the backdoor, the G-Wagon stops in front of my house.
I worry about Alek’s obsessive behavior. I understand today was a shock. I’m still trying to recover from everything myself, but what do I do if Alek doesn’t back off?
What do I do if he tries to take Vincent from me?
I lift Vincent out of the car, and placing him on my hip, I shut the door.
Alek comes walking up the pathway while Alexei leans against the G-Wagon, watching us.
With Alek’s eyes burning on me, I head to the front door and unlock it.