Page 94 of Midnight Wedding

Blood seeps from a wound. It doesn’t knock her out, but it stuns her.

“Restrain her,” I order.

Aaron comes over with zip ties and wraps them around Sona’s wrists. “What now,Patron?”

“Take her. Bring her back to my property. I’ll deal with her there.”

He looks uncertain. “Are you sure? What about these witnesses?”

I walk over to the counter and drop a big stack of cash. “There are no witnesses. Just a bunch of smart people that know better than to get involved with dangerous men.”

Aaron grunts and lifts Sona up off her feet. He carries her on his shoulder, and she looks so fucking old and frail.

I could’ve done it. Pulling the trigger would’ve all but guaranteed an end to the fight. Garen would’ve been livid, but he’s not clever or strong enough to keep fighting on his own.

But there has to be a better way. I can’t murder my own blood relatives, no matter how angry I am with them.

I’m not my father. I won’t ever be my father.

I can build a better future and a stronger Brotherhood.

Chapter 33

Lena

I’m on edge the rest of the day until there’s a commotion downstairs. Maud tries to run interference, but it’s obvious something’s going on. “It’s just work,” she says as I head toward the stairs.

“Are you going to stick a needle in my arm to keep me from bothering him?”

Her eyebrows raise. “I’m thinking about it.”

I tilt my chin up, showing her my throat. “Go ahead then.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.” Her smile seems almost proud of me. “I could just jab you in the arm.”

I grin at her and brush past. She doesn’t try to stop me. Weirdly, I get the feeling Maud respects me for standing up to her. At least, I hope so.

Otherwise, she’s going to put something in my food, and I’ll end up dying a week later or something crazy.

There are half a dozen men down in the foyer. Most of them are lounging around, but they all nod to me respectfully. I findTigran in the kitchen pouring drinks and beaming like he just won the lottery. “There she is,” he says, raising a glass of wine in my direction. “Come on, have a drink with us.”

“Pregnant.” I gesture at my stomach. “Where’s my husband?”

“Taking care of business.” Tigran throws back the wine and sighs contentedly. “Today was a good day.”

“What happened?”

He leans back against the counter, swirling his glass. Nearby, some of the soldiers are sharing a bottle of vodka and laughing together. I can’t remember the last time there were this many men in the house. Arsen’s usually much more private.

Something big must’ve gone down.

“You know, my brother tells you too much,” Tigran says at last. “It’s strange how much he trusts you.”

“I get it, you don’t approve of me. You’ve made that clear.”

He holds up a hand. “Actually, that’s not it. I’m only protective of my older brother, and we don’t really know you, do we?”

“I’m not doing this right now. Where’s Arsen?”

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