Page 4 of Sapphire Tears

I frown. “Why would Kolya want you back so badly?”

“He’d already lost more than half his men when he killed our father. Having me walk away from the Bratva painted a very public picture of a family in freefall. It didn’t present the strong, united front he was hoping for. And then there was The Accident…”

I wince and scrunch my eyes closed. But that doesn’t stop the images from flashing through my head.

Twisted metal. Screaming. Blood.

The scars on Kolya’s chest.

“I was late to pick you up that night. Do you remember?”

“Yes.”

He nods. “I was with my brother. He was trying to convince me to come back into the fold. This time, I refused him point blank. I told him I would never come back because being a part of the Bratva meant a life of danger, and I would never expose you to that. I messed up so many times in so many ways. But I wouldn’t do that to you. You have to believe I would never, ever do that to you.”

Adrian stops talking for a moment. His breathing grows labored, and for a split second, I fall back into my old skin. I feel the urge to reach out and touch him, comfort him. I feel the need to make it all better for him.

And then I remember that I owe him nothing.

“That’s when Kolya’s plan changed,” he continues. “He made a threat I knew I couldn’t ignore. He told me that if you were the only thing stopping me from taking my place by his side, he could remedy that by… well… He implied he would kill you.”

“You’re lying.”

His brow wrinkles up. “Why would I lie?”

“To turn me against Kolya.”

Adrian pulls back, his face twisting with hurt. “That implies that you’re… with Kolya. That you’re on his side.”

“He’s been the one protecting me all this time. Why shouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, my darling,” Adrian says, looking at me like I’m some confused, wayward child. “He wasn’t protecting you; he was trying to safeguard the baby. He wants our baby, June. He wants an heir. And the easiest way to do that was to make you trust him.”

I turn my face to the window before my face crumbles. Despite my best intentions, he’s getting in my head.

“June, please—listen to me, hear me,” he pleads. “I left his place, pissed off and terrified. I just wanted to get you and get home. But he couldn’t let things lie. He pursued me. I was so scared he was going to make good on his threat and kill you. And that night… he very nearly did.”

Bile rises to my throat and it burns so badly I lose vision for a few seconds. I swallow hard, and the smell of vomit and desperation threatens to break my composure.

“Then… well, you know what happened. I think he felt guilty afterwards. He left me alone for a while, but then it started again. Phone calls, unexpected visits. Threats. I knew he wouldn’t stop this time. Ravil was gaining power and he was losing face. Who could have faith in a don who couldn’t keep his own brother in line? So I decided that if I died, then it would take care of the problem. Kolya would have no reason to hurt you anymore. But like I said, I had no idea you were pregnant.”

My head is going a million miles per minute. This can’t be real life. In the real world, there aren’t dynasties and heirs and factions and all this bullshit. There are just people.

These men aren’t people.

They’re monsters.

Every last one of them.

“I was only trying to protect you, Junepenny.”

He sounds so sincere. But then again, he always did. Wasn’t that the problem in the first place? I believed him too easily. I gave him my trust too freely.

“You do believe me, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what I believe anymore,” I croak.

He sighs. “I know it’ll take time to earn back your trust. I’m prepared for that. But for right now, we shouldn’t be out in the open like this. Will you come with me, Junepenny? Please?”

---