Page 98 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

“It would take more than a bullet or two to kill me, sister,” she replies, then winces as she moves her arm to the side.

“Thank you for trying to protect Elise,” James says. “I’m sorry for what happened to you in the process, though.”

“I knew Igor would do something desperate one day,” she says and sighs heavily. “I just didn’t think it would involve hurting his own sister.”

“What did the doctors say?” I ask.

“The bullet went through and through. I lost a lot of blood, which is why I feel like I’m slogging through mud,” she says. “But I’ll be okay. Where is my traitorous big brother by the way?”

I shrug slightly. “I don’t know. They arrested him but your father made some kind of arrangement with the sheriff.”

“Which means Igor won’t go to trial,” Kara says. “He’ll get sent to Russia and that’s just deserts. American prison is like a sweet dream compared to what they’ll do to him over there.” She pauses, suddenly aggrieved. “Poor Papa. It must be tearing him apart knowing what he has to do to his own son.”

“What are they going to do to Igor in Russia?” I ask.

James shakes his head. “You really don’t want to know. Seriously, trust me on that.”

“But I do want to know. That bastard damn near killed me more than once.”

“There are privately funded prisons in Siberia,” Kara says. “It’s one of the family secrets you were never privy to because Papa wanted to shield you from it.”

“Okay…”

“It’s where his enemies go,” she adds with a grim look on her face. “Traitors. People he hates enough that a simple execution would be too light a punishment. Death would be mercy for the likes of them. It’ll be the first time that a Konstantinov will be joining the current guests there.”

“Wait, so you’re telling me that Lev privately funds his own gulag in Siberia, where he sends people who pissed off the Bratva? Am I getting that right?”

“Yeah. It isn’t pretty,” Kara says. “American prison is practically akin to the Four Seasons by comparison. Igor will die there, working his ass off for absolutely nothing, not even a piece of bread. Believe me, you really don’t need, or want to know more, but rest assured, it’s a just form of punishment for what he did. To your parents, to you, to all of us.”

James nods in agreement. “It’s also proof that Lev meant what he said. You are family to him, Elise. And he will forsake his own son to keep you safe.”

“You agree with the head of the Russian mob now?” I quip.

“I have met much worse in my previous line of work. Regardless of what Lev does for a living, I’ll admit the man has some principles. If the feds ever get to him, however, I won’t shed a tear for the guy, but hey, life is complicated like that.”

“Oh, I like him,” Kara chuckles, then curses under her breath. “The painkillers are wearing off.”

Michael’s face slowly appears in the doorway, his eyes wide with emotion. “Can I?” he asks.

“Of course,” I say and reach out to him. He pauses for a moment while James and Kara watch in absolute silence.

“It’s okay,” I tell Michael. “I need to hug my little brother if you don’t mind.”

He laughs lightly, trembling as he comes in for a hug. I hold him tight, reveling in the familiarity of his presence. I’m thankful to see that he’s alive and well, and I can’t help but notice he’s even taller than the last time I saw him.

“I hope you’ll forgive me one day,” I whisper.

“I think you’re the one who needs to forgive me,” Michael says as he blinks back tears. “I was so blind, Elise. So fucking blind.”

“Hey, we were all there with you,” Kara reminds him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Michael tells me. “You are okay, right?”

“Yep. I get to walk out of here today.”

“Unlike me,” Kara grumbles. “They want to keep me overnight, in which case I’ll need more pain meds. I’m never going to sleep otherwise.”

“Andrei went over to the station,” Michael says. “He’ll be in charge of Igor’s transport.”

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