Page 159 of Sinful Lord

“YOU need to stay here,” Rian barks. “Maksim. You come with me. Roz. Get the address to Mel’s location from your brother. Send it to me. Pronto… please.”

“I need to come with you,” I plead, but Roz and Gabriel hold me back.

“You need to rest,” Rozalia corrects. “Let these two handle the rescue. I’ll make sure you see Mel again.”

“Roz…” Rian starts. “You read the email. You know what he’s done.”

“I did read the email Mel sent you,” Roz confirms. “Now, it’s your turn to read the one she sent me. Like I said, I’ve already forwarded it to you. I’ll get the address from Tytus here, you start reading on your way to the car. Their relationship isn’t as clear cut as you think…”

“Melina sent another email?” I question, confused.

“This morning.”

“What did it say?”

Roz just smiles.

“Are you sure about this, babe?” Rian asks, his fury faltering against his fiancée’s direct orders.

“I am,” Roz nods. Lifting her hand to the side of her face, she flashes that shiny ring one last time. A simple reminder. “Now, start moving that pretty ass of yours. I’m sure Melina misses her big brother.”

For a tense moment, Rian doesn’t move. I can practically see the conflict tearing him apart from the inside out. But his love for my sister eventually wins out.

It’s obvious their love always will. That’s what I want. It’s what I need.

“Don’t forget that address,” Rian mutters, giving me one final look of pure disgust before he walks away. “Roz. See you soon. Maksim. With me.”

The old Russian doesn’t even look my way. He just follows his boss around the corner. I hear the door open, then close.

Just like that, only the three of us remain.

It’s a strange feeling.

Something in me desperately wants to be happy. To be satisfied. In a way, all of my plans and schemes were to get here, shoulder to shoulder with my long-lost siblings.

But circumstances have changed.

I still love them will all my heart. But I love another too. And until I can confront that new love head on, I will never fill the hole in my chest. I will never be whole.

I will always be incomplete.

At least there’s hope now.

“The email, what did it say?” I beg, turning to my sister.

“We’ll worry about that later, big brother,” Roz assures me. Pursing her lips, she gives me a once over. “First we need to get you taken care of.”

“No. fuck me,” I burst. “I deserve to suffer. But she doesn’t. Krol is back. He wants to hurt us. He wants to hurt me. And he thinks that he can do that by hurting Melina.”

“We won’t let him,” Gabriel steps in.

“That’s damn right,” Roz agrees.

“Then we need to go with Rian and Maksim,” I implore. “They don’t know what they’re up against. We do.”

“No. We don’t,” Gabriel challenges. “Krol is supposed to be dead. I was there when he was shot to bits. I saw his mangled body fall into that endless pit. Whatever’s come back isn’t the same creature we all knew.”

“His body may be mangled, but I’d bet his mind works the same,” I insist. “You didn’t see what I saw. The photos. The bunker. He’s still fueled by hate. By vengeance. We need to make sure he can’t hurt us or anyone we care about ever again.”