Page 90 of Imperfect Desires

His jaw is locked. His eyes burn with the kind of focus that makes you believe he wants something to come through that door. I clutch his shirt from behind, heart thundering against my ribs, breath caught in my throat.

Not again.

Please not again.

I don’t even realize I’ve whispered it aloud until I hear Lev murmur, “I won’t let him touch you.”

The way he says it—cold, final—sends a shiver through me.

And still, the footsteps come.

Closer.

My mind spirals.

Mendes. It’s him. He’s coming back to finish it. To rip Lev away from me. To tear this fragile moment apart and—

The footsteps stop.

The silence is sudden. Deafening.

Lev’s shoulders rise with each breath, ready to unleash hell.

Then—a voice calls out. “Lev!”

That's not Mendes. It's Viktor.

I sag against the wall with a choked gasp as realization dawns. It’s not him. It’s not Mendes. We’re not alone. We’resaved. Through the thinning smoke, more figures emerge. Not enemies. Not Mendes. There are Family.

Viktor barrels through the doorway like a storm in motion, Zasha just behind him, flanked by a dozen black-clad Bratva soldiers. Their presence fills the room like a tide of strength, and the second I see my brother’s face, my legs give out beneath me.

I don’t fall.

Viktor’s arms catch me before I hit the ground.

He crushes me to his chest in a hug so fierce, it knocks the breath from my lungs. I sob into him—loud, messy, unrestrained. The kind of crying that comes only when the fear is over and your body can finally let go.

His hand cradles the back of my head as he whispers into my hair, “You’re safe now. It’s okay. I’m here. We’ve got you.”

I cling to him, trembling like a child, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I believe it. I’m not alone anymore. They came for me. He came for me. Both of them.

I glance past Viktor’s shoulder just long enough to meet Zasha’s steady gaze. His nod is brief, solemn—but I see the anger in his eyes. The silent vow that someone will pay for what I’ve endured.

And Lev—

Lev is still there. Watching. Waiting.

Close, but not interrupting.

My brother may have me in his arms, but Lev’s face says it all-he will never let go.

Viktor holds me like he never wants to let go—and for a moment, I melt into it. Into the steady, unshakable warmth of my brother. The one who always protected me. Who swore he would keep me safe from this world.

But the truth is, I’ve changed. I’ve been broken open and stitched back together with fire. And I need something else now.

I feel him before I see him.

Lev.

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