Page 148 of Bratva and Betrayal: Kirill

“It gave the guards an opportunity for those enemies to take them,” I bite out.

“Then you didn’t vet those guards well enough,” she fights back.

A knock stops me from finishing this argument. “Come in.”

“The doctor is here,” Nadia, who stayed all this time, says from behind the closed door.

I exhale slowly, dragging a hand down my face. “You called the doctor?” I ask my sister.

“I didn’t know what we’d face.” Ksenia folds her arms. “For either of them. Have you forgotten Sandrine’s disability?”

The reminder hits harder than the slap. I lean in and press a brief kiss to my sister’s cheek. “Of course not. Once Violet is tended to, I’ll deal with Sandrine. Thank you.”

I turn away and hike back to Violet’s bedroom.

Dr. Lau is already in there, examining her. My daughter is sitting up in bed, dressed in her favorite pajamas, all clean from her bath. Sandrine sits behind her, carefully working through the ends of her long, damp hair with a comb.

Violet lets the doctor examine her, but asks, “Did you bring my favorite lollipops this time?”

He smiles, reaching into his coat. “Sure did. Now let me finish taking a look at you. Can you go sit in your desk chair for me?”

Violet moves without argument, and I watch as the doctor completes his examination. His hands are steady, his voice calm as he asks her questions and she answers with surprising clarity.

Sandrine stands and tries to leave the bedroom.

“Wait,” I say, reaching for her before she can get too far away from me. “I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head immediately. “No. I’m sorry. You said not to go⁠—”

“No,” I cut her off, my hand tightening around her arm. “I’ve replayed it a hundred times in my head. This wasn’t because you took Violet for ice cream. By the time you stepped out of that SUV, the trap was already waiting.”

“But if we hadn’t gone⁠—”

“It didn’t matter.” I press my lips to her forehead before she can finish. “The driver shouldn't have stopped. Not with my wife and daughter in the vehicle. He betrayed me. He put you exactly where they wanted you. The guards are dead because of him.”

Let him rot in his shallow grave.

The anger from that betrayal starts to rise again. I feel her shift under my hand, pulling back slightly.

“No,” I say quickly, forcing the edge out of my voice. “I’ll never hurt you.”

“I know who you are,” she answers, meeting my eyes. “I’ve seen what you can do.”

“You knew this before,” I tell her. “There were times I had to get rough with people. It didn’t bother you.”

It should have. The fact that it didn’t makes everything tighten. And fueled my arousal for her.

“Must be part of my heart scars,” she murmurs.

A faint smile pulls at my mouth before I can stop it. “I like that.”

The moment lingers, fragile, until darkness pushes through it.

“But when I watched you both dragged into that car…” I say, getting choked up again.

Her breath catches. “I wasn’t letting them take her.”

“I was devastated,” I continue, the memory crashing into me. Stripping me of my strength.