Page 47 of Brutal Bratva Boss

“Tell me.” I am down to two-word sentences.

Garviil looks across the room and I notice Kat for the first time where she stands off in the corner. When our eyes connect, tears start running down her cheeks.

I hold my hand out to her, and she shakes her head slightly. When I frown, she sucks in a choked breath and slowly drags herself over to me, her arms wrapped around herself.

When she stops at the side of my bed, I lay my hand by my side and flip up my palm. She slides her hand into mine, refusing to meet my eyes.

“Princess?”

“I am so sorry,” she whispers.

I squeeze her hand, rubbing my thumb over the back of her hand. “Why?”

“Because,” she starts. “It was my father’s men that attacked us. My own father sent his men to kill me.”

“We caught one of the men fleeing the scene,” Gavriil interjects. “With some persuasion, he told us everything. Igor sent his men to take Kat out.”

Kat’s eyes connect with mine. “My father wanted to get rid of me, to hurt you.”

Understanding dawns, and my heart rate kicks up.

“I am so sorry, Theo,” Kat rushes out. Her eyes squeeze shut as her crying turns to choked sobs. “I knew my father was a bad man, but I didn’t want to believe he would do something like this.”

I can believe he would do this. As much as Kat wants to believe her father is a man of his word, he is not. Granted, I had given my word not to harm him myself, but I did not say I would save him if he was dying. That was my workaround for the promise I had made if it ever came down to it. But Igor had purposefully sent his men after my wife. Not even the men of one of the families he was gathering, but his own men. This is an act of war, and all bets are off.

“This is all my fault.” Kat’s voice is barely above a whisper.

“Hey,” I rasp. “Look at me.”

Kat sniffles a few times before lifting her eyes to mine. The whites of her eyes are red, as well as the area around them. She has been crying for a while, and she was obviously rubbing at her eyes the whole time.

Ignoring the pain in my side, I lift my other hand, wiping the moisture from her cheeks. “You always want to see the best in people. Never apologize for that. And never lose it, either.”

Kat gives me a small smile, leaning into my palm as she holds it to her cheek.

“Boss, you should know that Kat is the reason you are still breathing,” Gavriil states, making me look at him. “As well as the reason many of our men can go home to their families tonight.”

I shift my attention back to Kat. “Is this true?” I ask.

“It is,” Gavriil continues. “When we saw you were shot, she demanded a gun. I thought it was a very bad idea at the time, but I did not think it wise to argue with a pregnant woman given the circumstances. Kat was the one who got our asses out of there and made sure the doctor was on his way before we even left the restaurant.”

A smile touches my lips. “I married quite the badass, huh?”

You don’t know the half of it.” Gavriil seems unable to give Kat a chance to speak. But I presume it is because he has a newfound respect for her. “We had just left out the side door when she spotted another shooter close by. She didn’t even hesitate, just lifted the gun, and shot the guy, dead.”

My eyebrows shoot up. She shot someone? And this was before they had caught the guy and learned she was the target. So, she thought it was to protect me. My wife saved my life.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She gives me a shaky nod.

My eyes drop to her belly. “And …”

Her eyes widen in understanding. “Yes, the little nugget is fine. The doctor checked me over after we knew you were okay.”

Relief washes over me. “Good.”

For the first time, I look around the room and notice my surroundings. “Where are we?”

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