Page 42 of Scarred Hearts

Ian marched over to me and grabbed my shirt, pulling me close. His eyes bore into mine as he seethed, “What the fuck was that, Tyler?!” I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off with a sharp command. “Do not speak!” He pushed me away and paced back and forth, arms crossed tightly over his chest. After a moment, he stopped again and took a deep breath. “Ekaterina is one thing, but her brother is a whole other story. You think whatever shit your family has had since the prohibition is bad? Fucking with the Pivovarov family is a fucking death sentence for all our children and theirs as well! You just started a whole new generational war that’ll never?—”

“I was protecting her from him!” I finally shouted, my own anger boiling to the surface.

“Protecting her?!” he scoffed. “She was dancing for him!”

“He tried to rape her, Ian!” I spat, and he froze, his jaw clenching tightly. “We’re supposed to be protecting all the women here, not just the family. I warned you I had a bad feeling, and you didn’t listen to me! I knew from the beginning Ivan was going to be a problem.”

“You don’t know shit!”

“He threatened my life a long time ago!” I yelled.

Luke stepped forward and asked, “What are you talking about?”

I let out a frustrated sigh before reluctantly admitting, “Damnit, I haven’t even told Gia this yet.”

Ian snarled. “I suggest you hurry the fuck up and tell me what’s going on before I murder you for this. I don’t give a fuck you’re my wife’s brother,” he said. “I’ll take your ass out right now if you don’t tell me because you just put our entire family in another really bad place.”

“The night I was with Gia, she and I had a real connection.” I waved a hand. “I don’t mean the damn connection men think they have when a woman like that gives them attention. I mean, we had a real connection.” I ran my hand over my face before continuing, “After I left, I couldn’t get her out of my head. She seemed like she didn’t belong there. The atmosphere, yeah, but something about the place felt off. It was like I was the only part of her night that was happy. She looked controlled.”

“I noticed that too when we were alone,” Luke agreed, and I turned to him. It was his nonchalant way of defending me, and while I appreciated it, I needed to handle my own right now. “She was their puppet,” he continued, “and I know what he’s saying.”

I nodded, twisting back to Ian. “Yes, that. But I wanted to go back and get her and leave with her. Whatever it took to get her away from there. I know I told you guys before that it was just sex, but it was so much more. Call me crazy, but I knew what it felt like at the time.”

“Get to the point,” Ian growled.

“Anyway,” I said, pressing my fingers to my temple then lowered my hand. “The bouncer let me back into the building. He didn’t give a shit. But when I got upstairs and asked to see her, the girls at the front told me to wait a minute. Ivan appeared with four other guys, took me into a room, then threatened to have me killed if I ever showed back up again.”

“Damnit, Ty.” Ian roamed to his desk, then perched on the edge, gripping it.

“But I went back.”

“Of course you did,” he mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“They didn’t see me,” I resumed. “I just watched the building for her to leave and be alone so I could talk to her. This went on for about a week, but I never saw her after that and had to come back here for a court hearing.”

“So, what’s she to you now?” Luke cocked a brow.

I shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but I know I want to protect her and will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

Ian laughed ominously. “Well, you better figure that out because I’m either going to throw her perfect little ass to the wolves for what just happened, or?—”

The door swung open, and Giovanna appeared in the room. “Mr. Knight!” she panted, with Beau appearing behind her, grabbing his dick and wincing. “I did it! Don’t let Tyler take the blame for me. I stabbed Ivan!”

Ian’s eyes swelled in anger, and he shot a glare at Beau.

“That little bitch kicked me in the nuts when I tried to keep her out of here,” Beau grunted.

“Gia, stay,” Ian ordered. “Luke and Ty, wait just outside the door. Everyone else, get the fuck out of my office!”

10

TRUST & LOYALTY

GIOVANNA

Shit. I’d done it now. Everyone except Tyler filed out of the room. He approached me with a disappointed shake of his head. I braced myself for his words, knowing I’d messed up big time.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, his voice filled with disappointment and anger.

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