Page 39 of Scarred Redemption

I looked down so I could catch my breath, but he wasn’t interested in allowing me any excess time. He lifted my chin with a single finger, his eyes darting across mine. “I’m alive.” I pushed away from him, surprised that he let me go, When I held out my hand, I could see the moment of lust turning into one of hope. “Come with me.”

He was still in the same wave of uncertainty. His entire world had been rocked several times and if there was one thing I knew about the man, it was that he couldn’t stand not being in control of everything and everyone.

“It’s okay.”

As he approached, I could see the wheels turning in his mind even as he looked past me. When he grabbed my hand, I didn’t hesitate in pulling me behind me as I walked to one of the bedrooms. Before opening it, I placed my finger across my lips, imploring him with my eyes to be quiet.

Just for now.

There was nothing like witnessing the heavy weight being tossed aside from the powerful man in seeing that his little girl was alive. His gasp stilled my entire being while my heart felt clenched in a tight vise.

He looked at me as if trying to ensure he wasn’t seeing things. I nodded, offering a slight smile and he finally walked inside.

In seeing him as one of the most powerful men on Earth, I’d often wondered if he had any sense of his dominating presence. I adored the way he carried a room just by walking into it, but now, watching the emotions straining within him, everything from anger to despair and finally joy and relief, I was driven into a moment of awe.

There was no doubt about how he felt about Mina. None. He’d walk through fire, hell on Earth to keep her protected. Only now I was worried that after what had happened, he’d suffocate her with his need to control everything about her life.

As well as mine.

His steps were slow as he advanced toward the bed, standing over her as if a fallen angel prepared to do what it took to protect her. She had her arm wrapped around one of my sister’s stuffed animals, finally sleeping peacefully.

The man could be so tender under all his gruffness, including when brushing the tips of his fingers down her cheek. She stirred only slightly, lost in a dream that I prayed was filled with all the joys a child should experience.

Instead of the horrors that had stripped away her innocence.

He took several deep breaths while adjusting covers that didn’t need to be, finally turning toward me. There were a million questions in his eyes and as he remained where he was, I witnessed the hard, cold edge I’d seen a few times before collapsing the shock from earlier.

The powerful Russian leader was ready for answers that I didn’t have.

I backed away, waiting for him to follow. With the door closed to the bedroom, I took a deep breath.

He crowded my space, pushing me against the wall. Even placing one hand beside my head as if warning me I wasn’t going anywhere.

“How did you survive?”

“Come into the kitchen. I’ll tell you everything I know. Whoever is doing this is playing a horrible game with you.”

“Yes, I’m well aware.”

“Who are they?” When he didn’t answer right away, I shook my head. “You still don’t know.”

“With your help, I will find out.” He brushed his knuckles across my face, his expression softening once again. “Ty bol'she nikogda ne pokinesh' menya. YA budu zashchishchat' tebya tsenoy sobstvennoy zhizni.”

Just hearing the words in Russian created a wave of tremors like always, but the pitch-black look of his eyes told me I’d come home to a different man.

Then again, hadn’t I changed as well?

“What did you say?”

He rubbed my cheek, those same eyes allowing me a glimpse into his shattered soul. “I said you will never leave my side again. I will protect you with my life.”

And there it was, confirmation of what I’d expected.

I had a feeling that whatever happened from here on out would be nothing less than a bloody massacre.

We sat in the kitchen, first sharing a cup of coffee then shifting to whiskey that my sister had stored in her cabinet. I told him everything I knew.

He listened with total patience, barely interjecting or interrupting me.