Page 7 of Defiant Devotion

“What,” his partner replied, “delivering her now instead of back in February?”

“Yeah.”

The other man grunted. “Well, if she hadn’t acted out and tried to sneak away, we probably would’ve delivered her then.”

No guilt or shame filled me. I wouldn’t regret sneaking out and giving away my virginity on my terms. I couldn’t regret this baby, either. This new life was givingmenew life, encouraging me to break out of here once and for all just to protect him or her.

“No, I doubt it. Benson was too busy then. But now, with Boris dying, we’ll be done with the Baranovs for good.”

My mouth dropped open. With how dry and chapped my lips were, I didn’t need to aggravate the lack of moisture. Lip balm wasn’t a necessity during imprisonment.

It hung for another moment, too. Shock reverberated through me, holding me in place and barely cognizant of my surroundings.

Boris? Boris Baranov? He’s… dead?

Blinking at the thought, I tried to snap out of this stunned status. I couldn’t lock down under shock. I couldn’t let myself be hindered by a surprise like this.

I had been so limited, so deprived of information about my family that I had to ferret out nuggets of gossip like this.

Overhearing the news that my father was dead threatened to knock me down.

How? Why? How can he be dead too?

Without a phone or computer, I’d been stuck in ignorance for over a decade. No allies got word to us. Nothing at all. That lack of information had been hardest on my mother before they’d killed her, but I learned to pocket scraps of news the guards were too lazy to hide as they talked among themselves. Playing the meek, quiet, shellshocked captive girl allowed me to blend into the background, and they spoke freer around me.

Boris isdead?

This timing was terrible!

“It can’t be…” I muttered to myself as I lifted my hand to my mouth. Placing my fingertips over my lips wouldn’t block the words from leaving. But I wished I could erase this news.

Boris Baranov was dead, and that meant no leader remained over my family. Oleg was killed not long after Mother and I had been taken. I overheard the Ilyin men bragging about killing my uncle many years ago. All this time, I’d held on to the faith that my father, weak and drunk though he was, would stay strong as the family’s patriarch.

Not anymore.

Not now.

Without my father at the helm, my younger sister would be left unguarded. Anyone could force her into marriage. Anyone could try to end my family now. The Baranov legacy, the family name, was vulnerable to be overtaken more than ever.

Panic rose within me. Fear claimed my thoughts as I tried to process this news.

Boris was dead. Oleg and my mother had been killed years ago. No other siblings would be waiting out there.

It was just Eva back home, open to be taken and used.

Just like me.

“No.” Tears stung at my closed lids as I squeezed them tight.

I couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering like I had.

No!

A sob threatened to break free at the thought of my younger sister suffering. I held it back, though, determined not to let theguards hear me near the door. I had to keep my strong, defiant mask on a little longer, until I got out of here.

It had been years since I’d seen Eva. She would be grown now, ripe for marriage and defenseless to the men who held all the power in our world. But my love for her hadn’t ever faded. My devotion to the family hadn’t ceased once.

I didn’tknowthis baby that grew in my belly, but I was already fiercely protective of wanting to spare him or her from a life with this Benson man I’d marry.

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