Page 34 of Midnight Wedding

“She’s the mother of my child,” I tell him, throwing back my drink. The last of the liquid courage. I put the glass back down on the counter. I need to be somewhat sober for what’s coming tonight. “And I’m going to marry her.”

He stares at me. His face twists into a frown. “Now I’m pretty sure you’re joking.”

“I know what’s going to happen. Garen’s going to be very pissed.”

“Very pissed? Garen’s going to try to murder us. Forget about making peace. He’s going to burn the whole fucking city down.”

“I know that, but it doesn’t change anything. Tigran, she’s carrying mybaby. If I don’t marry her and someone finds out I’ve got a child running around, they’ll murder her. You know the head of the Brotherhood can’t have any bastards.”

“Then let me do what you can’t,” he says, expression burning with rage. “This is fucking crazy. If you marry this random fucking girl all because you knocked her up, it’s going to ruin everything. People are going to die.”

“I know that.”

“Then sacrifice her for the greater good. For the Brotherhood.” He grabs my arm and holds it tight. “Do your fucking duty.”

I twist from his grip and shove him away. He snarls at me, barely holding himself back. I stand my ground and practically beg him to come at me. Right now, I’d welcome the pain of his fist driving into my jaw.

Because he’s right. I should kill her and be done with it. She’s a liability, and breaking my agreement with Garen is absolutely psychotic.

I’m going to get both of us killed with this.

But if she dies, my child dies too, and I won’t do that.

“Remember when I was thirteen?” I ask, hand shaking as I clutch at the kitchen counter. “Remember when Dad decided that I should be able to do a hundred pushups without stopping?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

“I was a kid. I could barely do fifty, let alone a hundred. I worked at it for a week, but that wasn’t enough time. When I failed at sixty-three, Dad sent one of his thugs over to stomp on my fingers until I begged for him to stop. Do you remember that?”

Tigran grimaces and looks away. “Your pinky finger’s still got a bump on it from that.”

“Dad thought hurting me was the best way to mold me into the person he wanted me to become, but he never cared enough to hurt me himself. He always had his fucking cronies do it for him. We were never enough for him. Dad saw his family as a tool tofurther his power and his prestige. He never saw us as people.” I step up and get in my brother’s face. I’m seething with rage. “I won’t be like that. Lena’s pregnant withmychild.With my child. I know what it means to break the truce with Garen, but I don’t fucking care. I’ll offer him something else. I’ll fucking beg and plead if I have to. But I will marry Lena, and I will raise my kid like Dad never raised me.”

Tigran stares. His face is bunched into a mix of anger and sorrow. I need him to understand, but I know he never will. Where Dad heaped plenty of attention onto me, Tigran got benign neglect at best. We both know he had it fucking easy.

I have to be better. When I took over the family and watched our father die, I made a promise to myself. Ihaveto be better than he ever was, and that means making the hard decisions.

Dad would’ve shot Lena in the face without a second thought.

But I can’t be like him.

Tigran turns away. He pours another drink with shaking hands. “When half our men rise up, I’ll still be by your side, because we’re brothers until the bitter end. We’re fucking blood. But I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you for this.”

“I don’t need forgiveness. Just loyalty.”

Tigran’s sneer is painful. It breaks me, but I have to make my heart a stone right now, if I’m going to get through this. “Then do what you have to do,patron. I’ll follow orders.”

“Get me a priest. Bring him to my safe house. Tell no one else until after it’s done. Then I want you to call a meeting of our people. I’ll break the news myself.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get a dress and a fucking ring.”

Chapter 12

Lena

I’m a nervous wreck. I pace across the barren apartment and my brain’s moving a million miles an hour. At least I have the presence of mind to text my mom and let her know that I went out for a little while.

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