Page 73 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

Pietro trembled as he broke down crying, shoulders shaking as those sobs moved through him. His sister did the same from afar, looking devasted by it all.

“Please, stop this!” She cried, helpless from her position. “Please make it stop.”

Regardless of what Sergio decided to do, they were all surrounded. If he made the wrong move, they would suffer as a result. None of them would get away alive, not while every gun was poised and ready to shoot.

“You two were always the biggest regrets of my life,” Sergio uttered, seemingly disgusted by the very sight of them. “You sheltered idiotic brats. You wouldn’t have survived a day in my shoes back in the day. Certainly not you, Pietro.”

“That’s enough,” Yaro snapped, angered from his position, with the gun still against his temple. “You’ve made your point.”

“But I don’t think I have,” Sergio growled, eyes searing into him. “Because you’re still breathing.”

Choked up and feeling hopeless all over again, I didn’t know what to do. Sergio didn’t care whether I shot his son or not, and doing so seemed entirely pointless.

But I caught the quick movement of Yaro’s eyes in Vik’s direction. It was subtle enough for Sergio to miss but enough to suggest something was going on.

While Vik looked shaken up that his brother was compromised, he gave the quickest nod he could.

Before I could react, Yaro yanked himself back as Vik pushed Alessia behind him and pulled the trigger. That pop seemed to shatter reality for a split second and was almost impossible to keep up with.

Vik stood with his gun still pointed at Sergio, panting and wide-eyed. Yaro stood at his full height, overlooking the scene with that same bewilderment. He was fine, and so was Vik.

But Sergio gurgled from his place as blood trickled down his chest, almost illuminated in the sunlight. Some ran past his lips as he swayed, somehow still on his feet despite the impact.

As his skin drained of color, he swayed, then went down.

At once, Alessia and Pietro cried as the men moved in, not only surrounding them but their hired men as well. They were cuffed and moved out while their father was taken care of.

Before I could do anything, Yaro was on me, pulling me into his arms. He took the pistol from me and turned the safety on before tucking it away.

Once that recognition hit me, I broke.

I wrapped my arms around him tightly and soaked up that familiar scent and feel of him. He had become someone who could ground me and offered me that comfort I needed without another thought.

All that fear I felt while trapped with the Brunos ebbed away as he held me and rested his chin against the top of my head.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured as everything around us was sorted out.

His voice was the very thing that made me feel sane again, and his body pressed against mine was the reminder that we were both still alive.

We made it.

There was no need to worry or be afraid for each other.

We were alright.

Shellshocked by it all, I didn’t know what to say. I could only hold him and silently thank my lucky stars.

“Come on,” he said softly, pulling away enough to put an arm around me comfortingly and lead me away from the busy space. “I’m taking you home.”

Nodding wordlessly, I followed him to where the vehicles had been concealed, so overwhelmed by it all.

I could only imagine that Yaro felt the same way since he didn’t say anything either. Instead, we walked in silence until we reached an SUV.

Once he let go of me, he reached for the door on my side but stopped. He let go of a deep breath and turned to meet my eyes.

“That was the worst night of my life,” Yaro admitted, reaching for one of my hands. He took it in his much bigger one and kept his eyes there as he thought. “I could only think about how much I needed you back and how angry I was at myself for ever leaving the condo last night. Being your husband has changed me, and while I used to think marriage wasn’t for me, I want it more than anything now.”

My eyes brimmed with tears as Yaro spoke, feeling as my heart softened.

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