Page 119 of Beautiful Scar

“Someone should’ve put you down a long time ago. You got lucky. You got more years than you deserved. But now you’ll never come near my wife ever again.”

“My brother… he’ll kill you…”

“I hope he tries.” I stand, plant my heel on the wound, and grind hard. Seamus screams, back arched, and when I think he’s at the peak of his misery, I shoot him in the head.

He goes slack. The people around me scream.

I take a deep breath and smell the stink of dying. It’s a lovely perfume.

A car pulls up, and the back door pops open. “Tigran, we need to go.” Evan gestures for me to get in.

I look down at Seamus one more time, satisfaction ringing in my core.

Then I join my brother-in-law.

“That went well,” I say happily as the car pulls out, driving fast away from the crime scene.

“You called it,” Evan says, shaking his head with amazement, a big grin on his face. “The fucker really couldn’t help himself.”

“There’s a lesson for you somewhere in all this.” I lean back and close my eyes, thinking about all the dead in my wake. I’d kill a thousand more if it means keeping Dasha safe.

I suspect I just might have to in the weeks to come.

“Yeah? What lesson’s that?”

“Don’t fuck with my family.”

Evan laughs, and I shoot him a big, wolfish grin.

Chapter 38

Dasha

Six Months Later

“Push!”

Pain, bright lights, Tigran’s voice by my side encouraging me. “You can do this, baby, breathe now. Just do your breathing.”

Everything’s terrible. Childbirth sucks. I feel like I’m being split in half, but I want to get this over with. I want my baby so badly it hurts.

The nurses get the room prepped, and the doctor looks up at me from between my legs. “Ready for another?”

“You can do it, baby,” Tigran whispers, wiping my brow.

“Push!”

More pain, more shoving, my stomach muscles clenching and bearing down. Again, again, again, and I’m so exhausted I can barely breathe, my heart hammering and racing in my chest, and then?—

A scream.

No, not a scream.

A cry.

Tigran’s laughing. I’ve never seen him so happy before. I have a few seconds to catch my breath before the doctor lifts a perfect little baby girl and places her against my bare chest.

“Congratulations,” the doctor says, grinning huge. “Skin to skin now. Dad, I’d do it too once she’s done.”

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