Page 45 of Bound by Blood

Boris stood and approached the bed, confident that Jin would not disturb Laney for a few moments at least. He did not want to separate them. He suspected there would be hell to pay if Laney woke for even a second to find her daughter missing. He would have to start earning her trust slowly where the child was concerned. He hoped saving both of their lives was a decent start.

He stood over her and tried to thrust aside the intense anger that threatened to engulf him each time he looked at her battered face. The bruises were beginning to really show against her lovely skin. The scrape over her eye had been cleaned and taped so it wouldn’t scar.

“Any… anything broken?” she whispered without opening her eyes.

He sat as carefully as he could next to her on the bed and gently lifted her hand to place it on his thigh. She didn’t complain or try to move at all. Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. It took a few more seconds before her pain-clouded blue eyes focused on him.

He shook his head. “The doctor doesn’t believe anything is broken. There may be hairline fracture on some of your ribs, but nothing permanent or life-threatening. Worst damage was to your organs from the beating. They are swollen and bruised.”

She nodded slightly, her lips quirking just a little. “Yes, I can feel that.”

Rage swept over him once more and he wished they were still at the compound so he could deal with the men that had hurt his Laney. Hudson had taken most of them out while Boris and his men had dispatched the guards and anyone not in the courtyard beating up Laney. If Boris had his way, he would have been the one meting out justice to the men that had touched his woman. He would have shown them exactly what kind of punishment they could expect for such an infraction. A quick bullet to the head had been too much of a kindness.

As if reading his dark thoughts, she ran her fingers over his arm. “I will recover.”

He gazed down at her, anger and concern warring within his chest. He wanted to sooth her, but he also needed her to know that their path wasn’t complete yet. That they were just starting out together. “You should have trusted me. Should have told me about Jin from the start. I would have moved heaven and Earth to get her back for you.” His voice was hard when he spoke.

Tears filled her eyes and she looked away from him. She didn’t say anything for a long time. When she opened her mouth to speak a sob came out. She brought her fingers up and pressed them against her lips for a moment. She shook her head and glanced toward her daughter. Jin was busy tracing the intricate shapes on the side table lamp and ignoring their conversation.

“I was sent to kill you,” Laney whispered bluntly. “How could I trust someone like you with my child?”

He glared down at her. “Even after I gave you my heart? Offered my life up to you, not once, but twice?” he growled angrily. “You had every opportunity to trust me, to give me your heart in return and you failed.”

“You cannot understand,” she said desperately. “You don’t have a child to protect!”

He flinched back as though she’d slapped him, his eyebrows snapping together. He saw regret cross her features and she glanced quickly toward a wide-eyed Jin who had abandoned her lamp and was watching the adults curiously.

“I did not have a child,” he said succinctly, standing and stepping away from the bed. “But I had a brother that I spent many years protecting.”

She gasped and closed her eyes for a long moment before opening them to meet his. He didn't greet her with accusation, only stark acceptance of the fact that he knew she had killed Dimitri.

“I’m so sorry, Boris,” she whispered brokenly.

He shook his head. “I know you did what you had to where he is concerned. What angers me is your lack of trust where I am concerned. Your constant running from me, though you profess to love me with your heart and your body. Now I will give you no more choice. You and Jin will stay with me forever. You will learn to accept this life and trust me.”

He turned to leave. She called out to him, struggling to sit up. “Please, Boris! We need to talk!”

“No more talking, Laney,” he rumbled and closed the door firmly.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Despite the rough start, the next weeks were some of the happiest that Laney could remember in her life. Though she was recovering from a brutal beating, nothing could take away from the fact that she received, for the first time in her life, unlimited access to her daughter in a place that felt safe. It was the best gift that anyone had ever given her. And the man she had to thank was largely absent as Laney got to know her daughter in a way previously denied to her. She suspected this was deliberate on his part.

Boris was very thoughtful that way. He would want Laney and Jin to be together without interference. She knew he was very busy assessing the damage that Dimitri had caused among his considerable Russian holdings. He was also fixing any damage done to his reputation among the Bratva, a more sensitive and dangerous prospect. He was often away in Moscow or St. Petersburg, sometimes for days at a time. He saw them most evenings for their meal where he was always kind and joking with Jin, but distant toward Laney.

She began to wonder about the way he was treating her. He had declared that she would never be allowed to leave, and indeed that seemed to be true. He had Laney guarded whenever she left the mansion to wander around the property. Her favourite spot was the rose garden behind the east wing of the mansion. It was incredibly beautiful and rapidly becoming a close second in her heart to her love of the open ocean. She was not yet allowed to leave the estate.

She knew he had her communications monitored as well. She had attempted to confront him about this, but he had brushed it off as a precaution in case there were any Yakuza still after her. The other clans may not be happy that the Russians had wiped out an entire faction, creating an imbalance in power.

Laney felt he also monitored her movements so he could keep tabs on her to see if she was making any plans to leave. So far she had only contacted Claudia and Daniel to formally give them her notice and let them know she wouldn’t be coming back to America. Claudia had been upset until Laney finally spilled that she was in Russia with Boris. Then Laney had been forced to play avoid-twenty-questions with Claudia until King had insisted his wife leave Laney alone and get off the phone. Thank goodness for that man and his big heart.

Daniel Mercer had been a whole other story. He had heard about Mack Hudson’s trip to Japan and demanded answers. When Laney tried to put him off, he made it clear he would be on the next flight to Moscow if she didn’t start explaining and Boris would be his first interrogation. It was at this point that she discovered her communications were being monitored when Boris had come thundering into the room and demanded she hand over the phone. Open-mouthed, she placed the iPhone in his palm and then sat listening in silence while he gave her former boss a succinct rundown on exactly what went down in Japan. Laney’s cheeks flared red as Boris made is clear that Laney was staying in Russia and Mercer could fuck off. Then he hung up and handed the phone back to Laney.

“Don’t think he was too happy to find out he was harbouring an assassin among his ranks. I do not think he will be coming to your rescue any time soon,” he grunted before turning to leave the room.

Laney had groaned and buried her head in a pillow. What the heck was wrong with these males? He spent weeks at a time ignoring her until Mercer threatened to come take her away from him and then he roared and beat his chest. She wanted to demand an explanation, but she also didn’t know where she stood in his life. Was she his girlfriend or was she his prisoner?

He wasn’t treating her much like a girlfriend. Except for the occasional twinge of pain, she was pretty much healed. Yet he hadn’t tried to touch her. Though the brief moments he spent with her over their dinners together proved he still wanted her. He watched her with the same fiery intensity he always had. She had kicked him under the table and reminded him of the presence of a certain impressionable five-year-old. He had blinked slowly, as though waking from a trance, started chatting animatedly with Jin and then gone back to undressing Laney with his eyes moments later.

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