Page 80 of Forced Marriage Vows

Oh.

He’s being intentionally vague, but I can fill in the details. My father was abusive. Toward my mother. I remember the rage etched into his face that day, the danger I could feel.He had terrified me. And somehow, I had deluded myself into forgetting.

My mother makes a little more sense to me now. It must have been hard, being with a man like him. It must have been even harder seeing his daughter show that man love and care. Her abuser.

It doesn’t excuse what she’s done to me all her life, but everything makes sense now. Mikhail’s rage when he heard about my dream. Anthony constantly trying to make me see sense. They knew. All of them knew who he really was. Except me.

“Let him go, Papa,” I say, my voice sounding far away. “There’s nowhere to run or hide anymore.”

“If I die, I’m taking Morozova’s kid with me.”

The man in front of me is a stranger. He’s so completely, utterly different from the man I used to love. But I’m starting to realize that man doesn’t exist. My eyes well up with tears. I take several steps forward and no one stops me until I’m standing in front of Jalen, shielding his body with mine.

“If you want to kill him, you’re going to have to kill me first,” I state, maintaining eye contact with Igor.

“Do you really think I won’t do it?” he drawls.

For a split second, everything freezes. His grip on his gun tightens and I see something flicker in his eyes—anger, disbelief, something darker that I can’t name. For a terrifying moment, I think he’s going to do it. Then I hear glass shattering, followed by the heavy sound of boots pounding through the hallway. Men shouting, storming into the house.

Mikhail kept his promise. I whip my head toward the noise, panic rising in my chest. My father does the same.

Then he turns back to me. His eyes lock onto mine again, his face twisted with fury and betrayal. His gun rises slowly,pointing directly at me. My heart stops. And I know he’s going to shoot me.

But I don’t get to find out.

The sound of a gunshot echoes through the room, deafening. My father crumples to the ground in the next moment. His body hits the floor with a sickening thud, blood pooling beneath him, and I’m still frozen, staring at him in shock.

When I finally look up, Mikhail’s standing there, gun still raised. The room spins as I take him in. My knees buckle and I fall, my eyes moving back to Igor’s body on the ground.

Your father dies today.

I should have known he’d be the one to deliver the kill shot. He rushes toward me as the room explodes into action. Mikhail’s men round up my father’s guards. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Coda being led away.

Mikhail heads straight for me and Jalen, who’s on the couch behind me. First, he checks on his son, and his entire body sags with relief when he sees that the boy is safe. Sierra appears, too, and she pulls Jalen into her arms, crying softly as she holds him close.

We need to get him to a hospital. Figure out why he’s unconscious.

I want to say the words, but my lips refuse to move. I think I’m numb. Mikhail kneels down in front of me, his expression careful.

“Talk to me, baby,” he prompts.

But I don’t get the chance to say anything. More men rush into the room—the Italians. Adrian Rossi makes an inhuman noise as he takes in my father’s body on the ground. Something cracks in his expression at the sight. He rushes at Mikhail, who gets to his feet in time to receive the punch. His head snaps back from the impact and he reflexively clutches his jaw.

“I see you still got a mean right hook, Rossi,” my husband murmurs.

“How fucking dare you?” the other man roars. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You promised me revenge! That man deserved so much worse and yet you gave him the mercy of a quick death! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

He’s about to punch him again but Mikhail glares at him in a way that has chills running down my spine. He won’t allow him to punch him twice. When he looks at me, the softness in his eyes tells me all I need to know.

He did it for me.

CHAPTER 24

Mikhail

The rest of the day passes by in a blur. One minute I’m holding my son to my chest, and the next we’re at the hospital, the doctor assuring Sierra and me that he’s fine and will wake up soon.

Anastasia has already gone home. She was pretty shaken and I wanted nothing more than to be by her side but she insisted I go with my son first. Now I’m driving back home alone. Sierra insisted on spending the night at her place with Jalen. There are several men keeping watch over them. I won’t be slipping up with his safety again.

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