Page 12 of Forced Pregnant Bride

He stared at me with those youthful blue eyes. Jayden had always been the most energetic between us, ready to take on the world, headstrong. Sometimes, like tonight, it really was annoying.

When I’d told him the details of our father’s debt and the price we had to pay to repay Mr. Yezhov, I boxed him into a corner, leaving no other option but to trust me. Currently, his trust was waning.

“Jayden, you don’t understand, these men are—”

“Dangerous. Try another word. I’ve heard that too many times already.”

“Look, if they come back here—”

“You meanwhenthey come back here because they will. It’s the Bratva.” He threw off the covers and sat upright with that stubborn frown on his mouth and angry eyes. “Maybe you don’t understand. Serena, we’re talking about the freaking Russian mafia. They’re not only dangerous but vicious and ruthless. Unlike us, they don’t function with hot chocolate and emotions.They’re out there in the cold, ready to freeze their asses off if it means getting the job done. So, if you’re thinking of begging them not to take me when they return, you’re only going to waste your time. We need to have an action plan, and a good one, too.”

But he was wrong; Ididunderstand. Too well, in fact. And that was why, contrary to what he thought, I was checking boxes to keep my sanity together rather than shattering to a million pieces like it threatened to do. However, what surprised me more was the extent of knowledge Jayden possessed on this subject. Almost like he knew them personally.

With furrowed brows, I shifted the book aside, scooting toward the edge of the chair, but he didn’t give me a chance to speak.

“Or you know what? Maybe I should just do it and offer myself up willingly. It’ll take the attention off you, too. I don’t know what I’d do if those bastards tried to hurt you. Also, I’m our father’s only son. He might not have been the best parent, but I feel responsible for this. I can—”

“You can and willnotdo anything, Jayden Skye.”

The pain that sliced my heart was immediate, as though an arrow shot right through.

When I was forced to relive the bitter memories of the past, I clutched my chest. The cold, rainy days, like tonight, were empty. After my mother left, she jump-started me into playing the role of a mother without a prior warning. Then, my father stopped caring. Work was always more important than us. Jay was all I had left. I raised him like he was my own.

It was just Jay and me.

It had been us for years now, and I wasn’t going to give up his bright future because of our father’s mistake. “We did not come this far for me to lose you to a life of crime and cutting off people’s fingers, you hear me?

The thought of him getting swallowed by that world— of crime, of violence, of shadows—was like a fist closing around my throat. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t let him fall into that trap.

I knew Jayden. I knew he was scared but willing to do whatever it took to keep me safe. But I was the older one. I had to be strong for him. Forus.

“No matter what happens, you stay out of it. You promise me that right now, Jay. You’re not going to get tangled in their affairs. Promise me.”

He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw the conflict swirling in his eyes.

God, he’d grown so much, but I never thought it possible that I’d see him as anything other than my little brother, still someone I needed to protect.

Finally, he nodded. It was a small, reluctant movement, and I should have felt relieved, but my heart still ached.

“I promise, Serena,” he said quietly.

I wanted to pull him into a hug, to hold him tighter than I had in years—I needed to believe that we’d find a way out of this. But he was still talking.

“But that doesn’t erase the reality that they’ll return soon. It’s just two days left, Serena. We have to be ready when they come back. If we don’t fight them off somehow, they’ll take me.”

I’d stopped counting how many times my brother was correct about the impending situation and started focusing on the options we had to chase them off.

Currently? We had zero options.

However, the confidence oozing off the young man seated on the couch opposite mine was a cause for concern. Part of me couldn’t wait for him to reveal the card under his sleeve, while the other part wasn’t sure she wanted that card to see the light of day.

It reminded me of springtime about seven years ago. We’d been on our way to school, walking down the street on the pavement, when one of the neighbors sped down the road, tires splashing a bucket full of dirty water all over us from a deep puddle.

The neighbor hadn’t stopped to apologize, and Jayden took it personally. With a small smile I’d never forget, he promised me he’d fix it.

The next day, while we’d been on our way to school, walking down the street on the pavement, we walked past the neighbor’s house. His car’s windshield and back glass were cracked, and though I never asked till this day, I had a good idea who fixed it.

“What do you suggest?”

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