Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Tigran stares. His face is bunched into a mix of anger and sorrow. I need him to understand, but I know he never will. Where Dad heaped plenty of attention onto me, Tigran got benign neglect at best. We both know he had it fucking easy.
I have to be better. When I took over the family and watched our father die, I made a promise to myself. I have to be better than he ever was, and that means making the hard decisions.
Dad would’ve shot Lena in the face without a second thought.
But I can’t be like him.
Tigran turns away. He pours another drink with shaking hands. “When half our men rise up, I’ll still be by your side, because we’re brothers until the bitter end. We’re fucking blood. But I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you for this.”
“I don’t need forgiveness. Just loyalty.”
Tigran’s sneer is painful. It breaks me, but I have to make my heart a stone right now, if I’m going to get through this. “Then do what you have to do, patron. I’ll follow orders.”
“Get me a priest. Bring him to my safe house. Tell no one else until after it’s done. Then I want you to call a meeting of our people. I’ll break the news myself.”
“Where are you going?”
“To get a dress and a fucking ring.”
Chapter 12
Lena
I’m a nervous wreck. I pace across the barren apartment and my brain’s moving a million miles an hour. At least I have the presence of mind to text my mom and let her know that I went out for a little while.
I’ve done stupid things. Crawled through broken glass to poke my head into the boiler room of a falling-down abandoned factory. Climbed to the top of a cellphone tower just to say I did. But having unprotected sex with a murderer is by far the dumbest shit I’ve ever gotten into.
And now he’s going out to take care of it.
I know what that means. He’s going to come back with pills. Plan B, but no, it’s too late for that. Abortion pills then. Or maybe a doctor to do something to me. I put my hands on my belly and feel chilly and sick all over. I haven’t stopped shaking since he left.
Can I let him do this to me? Can I let him force me to have an abortion?
I should want one, honestly. I can’t have a baby right now, much less with a total freaking stranger. Much less with a stranger that killed someone. Whoever Arsen really is, he’s dangerous as hell and involved with some really shady stuff.
I should want to take care of this baby and move the hell on with my life.
Except I don’t. It’s sickening, but I don’t. The idea makes my heart feel like it’s going to sink into my guts and decompose in my colon. I never really imagined myself as a mother before, but there’s a baby in me, whether I like it or not, and I can’t just take care of anything.
I yelp when there’s a noise at the door. I look around for a weapon, but what the heck am I going to do? A full five-foot-four with a bush of auburn hair and my stupid little nose ring? I’ll run at them screaming like a banshee only to get knocked on my ass.
But it doesn’t come to that.
Arsen enters the apartment. He’s carrying a big black garment bag and he kicks the door shut again behind him. He barely glances at me as he stomps back into the bedroom. I follow after, feeling like he’s about to zip me up and drag my corpse back out.
“Those are for you,” he says and gestures at the bed.
It takes a second to process. The garment bag’s unzipped and lying open. Inside is a simple white wedding dress. It looks like it’ll fit me, more or less, and it’s actually very pretty. Some lace, a little conservative, but with a nice satiny sheen.
Beside the dress is a black ring box.
“What the fuck is all this?” I blurt out, mouth hanging open.
He turns to me, shoulders hunched slightly like he’s got a headache. “Don’t make this hard.”
“Make what hard?” I gesture wildly. “That’s a wedding dress. And that better not be a fucking ring next to it.”
He rubs the bridge of his nose. “I already got lectured for this once.”
“For what?”
“Tigran’s on the way over with the priest. None of this stuff was easy to find at this hour, by the way.”
“Priest?” I nearly choke on the word. I storm over to the ring box and flip open the lid.
I scream and throw it at the pillows.
Diamond. Big-ass diamond. Princess cut and glittery, with other little diamonds all around it. A beautiful engagement ring and probably cost a small fortune, especially at this hour.