Page 29 of The Bratva's Secret Baby

Rosanne

I didn’t kill your brother, Rosanne.

Damien’s voice ran in a loop in my head, bouncing and echoing on repeat until it settled in my mind like a blood-sucking parasite. I was too engrossed in the discovery to think of anything else. If Damien didn’t kill Eric, who did?

God, why was this taking so long? The elevator ride to my apartment seemed to take an eternity.

I was still shaken up about everything that had just happened. All I wanted to do was to escape back to my apartment and shut the world out, it was like being in a bad dream. My legs were wobbly and almost gave out as I shuffled into the kitchen. I grabbed a can of lemonade from the fridge and downed it. As the liquid fizzed down my throat and met the bitterness in my stomach, I leaned back against the fridge and slid to the floor.

If Damien didn’t kill Eric, who did?The question gnawed at me like a monster crawling out of a bottomless pit, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t think of an answer.

It was impossible to believe that Eric had joined The Circleas a spy. That meant he had never been one of the bad guys. Why did he let me hate him when he could’ve told me the truth?

This just doesn’t make any sense.

Something didn’t add up. My brother was stabbed seven times. No one would’ve stabbed him with so much intent to kill unless they had a motive.

Who had a motive to kill Eric? Was Damien lying to me? I couldn’t trust him, not after the way he used me and then forced me to leave him six years ago.

How did it get so messed up that my brother had to die?

Damien was a ruthless man, who didn’t care one bit about telling you the truth, no matter how cruel it might be. He did not need to lie – and whatever he wanted, he took, including me. So, why was he looking for me? And more importantly, who was behind the attack earlier? Damien had many enemies; it could have been anyone. But I had a strange feeling that Damien was there to protect me.

The attack had nothing to do with me.

They were after him, not me.

I tried to calm myself, but it did nothing to ease the pounding in my heart.

I could have died today… I almost left Kaity alone.

My lungs constricted. What if I was the target? I shook my head.No way.Since I left Damien, I have lived a peaceful life, stopped my investigation, and focused on my degree. No one had any reason to attempt my life. Damien on the other hand…

Damien drove me back to my apartment when he saw how scared I was, but not without warning me not to try to run away from him. I couldn’t run from him even if I wanted to. His connections and blood money reached across the globe, and it wouldn’t be long before he found me. Hell, he found me now! I didn’t give a damn what Damien would do to me. Protecting Kaity from him was my priority. She was too young to understand, but I could move abroad with her and keep a low profile.

I could change my name and my entire identity, then it would take a while for him to find me, and Kaity would be old enough to make her own decisions. But wherever I went, Damien would find me - and Kaity too. Damien didn't just warn me not to run, he ordered me not to. Now that I think about it, his voice sounded almost fearsome.

Ding dong!

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the doorbell.

Damien!

I hesitated to open the door, but I had to. A sigh of relief escaped me as light brown eyes beamed at me, and the whitest teeth on the planet flashed a wide smile in my direction.

“Hey, babe!” Said my friend, Laurel. She was almost bouncing on her feet with excitement.

I tried a fake smile, but the muscles in my face were too reluctant to comply.

“Hey, Laurel. You didn’t tell me you were coming to visit.”

She huffed. “That’s because I didn’t know I was coming to see you until my meeting this afternoon was canceled.”

My eyes fell on the frame she was holding. “What’s this?”

She turned the picture around so I could see it. “A gift for Kaity. What do you think of it?”

A small smile flickered on my face. It was a painting of a mother duck and her ducklings in a lake. Kaity adored ducks and her room was full of duck paintings.

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