Page 11 of Owned By Shadows

“Shit,” he whispers, and I have to agree. I’ve got goosebumps just talking about it. “Okay, I get it now. Why we’re going, I mean. Any chance, especially when all the pieces add up, is a chance, right?”

I give a sharp nod. “Yes. It’s worth it just to check.”

He sucks his lips in. “What if it’s a trap?”

My stomach swoops. The thought had occurred to me too, even if I didn’t admit it when Hunt voiced the words earlier. That somehow this is Sergi’s doing. “I have to take the risk. For Roman.”

“For Roman,” Bubby agrees after a moment, surprising me by raising his glass of cola. I clink mine against his, feeling a surge of adrenaline rush through me as I take a sip. “But when we get there, I’m gonna buy a gun.”

I spit out the sip, choking as I look at him wide-eyed. He outright laughs at me, and I narrow my eyes while wiping my lips and chin with a napkin. “You can’t buy a fucking gun, Bubby!” I hiss, then cringe as I look around and check no one heard my outburst. “You’re only fifteen, for fuck’s sake, and where would you get one anyway?”

“Leave that to me, and my age won’t matter if we’re walking into a trap,” he replies, taking another huge slice of steak and placing it in his mouth. “Plus,” he adds, his mouth full of steak. “Hunt will literally tear me apart if I don’t make sure you’re protected. Hell, he might kill me anyway for this.”

I want to argue, but I know Hunt, and he will be beyond pissed about this. But maybe if we have some means to protect ourselves, at least if it is a trap, we stand a fighting chance.

“FALLING TOO” BY VEDA GAIL

NIKOLAI

I spend most of the four hours of the car journey watching Roman’s chest rise and fall as he sleeps, his head on my shoulder. His hands twitch in his lap, and it takes great effort not to take hold of one in mine. To hold it and let it tether me to this moment.

My stomach swirls with just how fucking dangerous this plan is. If Sergi were to find out the real reason I’m in Russia—aka to save one of the Shadowmen he loathes and ordered me to kill—I’d be dead, heir or not.

I look away from the man who shouldn’t be alive, my mind trying to play out all the what-ifs.What if I hadn’t discovered Sergi’s men? What if I was too late?A chill sweeps over my skin at the thought, and it’s not just at the imagined pain for Iris. The world would be a dimmer place without Roman in it. He’s like the first buds in spring, pushing through the snow and reminding you that there is life in the dark after all.

The bleak landscape rushes past me, the clouds grey and the wind making the trees shake and sway with a raw violence that can only be found in my homeland. There’s a beauty in its brutality, something about it that calls to the dark parts inside me, whispering that this is where a monster like me belongs.

The place I’m taking Roman to is in the middle of nowhere, off-grid, and even after all this time, only myself, Dima, Andrei, and Iris know about it. Now Roman too. I sigh as I look at the burner phone I used to contact Iris. I told Roman I would contact her once we reached our destination, but I found I couldn’t wait, her cry of anguish when the gun went off haunting me. So I messaged her once Roman had fallen asleep.

Iris

On my way.

I read the three words over and over again, my heart thudding erratically inside my chest. She’s coming. She’ll be here tomorrow, and I know that it’s dangerous for her, but a part of me that sleeps when she’s not near is stirring. The idea of hiding away in this retreat is too fucking tempting, especially with Iris and Roman with me. We could stay here for the rest of our days, living a simple life. No Bratva. No gangs. Raise our child and more children surrounded by love and the Russian landscape.

But there would always be danger. Always be the possibility of Sergi finding us, hunting us down, and when he caught us… No, it’s not worth the risk. Plus, it could never be just us. Hunter and Rowan are as much a part of her heart as Roman and I are.

At the thought of the leader of the Shadows, my dick twitches. We have unfinished business, him and I. Although, after shooting his other love, he may not forgive me. I guess I’ll just have to show him I did it all to protect Roman, to protect us all.

A sigh falls from my lips, my shoulders slumping as the weight I’m carrying threatens to crush them. Sometimes, in the moments before the sun rises, I wish it would all end. That I didn’t have to watch every step and plan every moment just to keep everyone safe against all the odds.

I’m fucking exhausted, yet failure is not an option. If it was just me, I’d have given up years ago, but it’s never been just me. Iris has always been there, shining her light into the darkest parts of me. And now Roman…even Hunt…

No. I can’t give up. I must keep going, even if it feels impossible, because to lose them, any of them, is unacceptable.

I turn to stare back down at the sleeping man next to me, my hand moving without my permission, interlacing our fingers together. A deep contentment washes over me, like the warmth of spring melting the snow.

“I will keep you all safe,moy Lev. Whatever the cost. I swear it.” My lips ghost over his soft hair in a brush of a kiss, sealing my vow.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“IRIS” BY NATALIE TAYLOR

HUNTER

Iris

By the time you read this, I’ll be on a plane heading to Russia. Please understand, I have to check. If there’s any chance Roman is alive, I have to see. Bubby is with me, so I’m not alone. I love you. Iris xxx

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