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Shame the two Families can’t have dance offs like they did in the old black and white films.

I’m floating somewhere between unconsciousness and slight awareness when the vehicle comes to a stop, making my body rock.

When the back door opens, I throw out a hand and attempt to kick at the person reaching for me but I’m sure I look no different than a newborn who can’t control her limbs.

My eyes are nearly swollen shut, but I catch a glimpse of Viktor a second before he lifts me from the hatchback with one arm around my back, the other under my legs. His hold is far too gentle for someone who’s about to leave me dead in the woods.

Viktor has been with my father for as long as I can remember. He’s always been my favorite, especially when I was little, but that might have something to do with the fact that he always snuck me candy when my parents weren’t looking.

My head lolls against his chest and I blink a few times, trying and failing to keep my eyes open or focus on his face for more than a second at a time.

“What the hell happened to her?” A female voice.

I’m set on something soft. Hands are touching me. My clothes are removed, and someone is cleaning me.

“Why is she bleeding down here?” the woman asks.

“Dima found out she was pregnant. She refused to tell him the name of the father.” That was the only explanation he offered.

But simply hearing that small explanation is enough to crush my heart all over again and start the waterworks. I can’t stop the influx of tears that leak from the corners of my eyes and trail down my temples.

“Fucking bastard,” the woman mutters.

I lose my battle to stay awake.

The next time I’m able to open my eyes, Viktor is hovering over me. “Look at me,” he says, his voice low. “When you’re healthy enough, Karina is going to drive you out of state. I left a little money for you. Get on a bus and don’t come back. As far as the world is concerned…you’re dead. Do you understand me? You can’t come back, or your father will make an example out of you. And this time, I’ll be kneeling right beside you and your boyfriend when they pull that trigger.”

Meaning Viktor will be killed simply for helping me.

I nod the best I can.

And then Viktor leaves. I don’t see him again, not when I get healthy enough to move around on my own, not when Karina drives me to Illinois and puts me on a bus, not when I arrive in Georgia and try to figure out how to survive.

The only thing that keeps me alive is knowing my father never discovered who impregnated me. My guys would be safe. As long as I stay away, as long as my father believes I’m dead,my three soul mates can grieve my death and one day find love again.

I just pray this time they’ll get the chance to hold their child in their arms.

Chapter 11

Brixton

By the time she finishes, tears are streaming down her cheeks, her eyes are unfocused as though she’s reliving that night right here in the middle of my penthouse, and I’d refilled my glass three times.

The burn of the liquor down my throat and into my stomach does nothing to quiet the beast rattling in my brain. It wants blood. It wants violence.

It wants fucking revenge.

Snatching the bottle by the neck, I carry it to where she’s sitting, top her glass off, then take a seat in the chair kitty corner to where she sits on the couch.

She blinks rapidly a few times, wiping at her cheeks, almost surprised to find them so wet.

“I went to your house when we didn’t hear from you,” I say, keeping my voice low as though afraid I’ll burst this little moment. “I nearly tore through the guards when they stopped me from getting to the front door. Your dad came out with thislook…” I suck in a deep breath and shake my head. “He looked so smug, so fucking proud of himself.” And to think at that time, he believed his daughter was dead in the woods, rotting away or being torn to pieces by wild animals. “He told me he’d taken you to the doctor himself for an abortion and that he’d chosen a husband for you, that the two of you had already married and were on your honeymoon.”

Her pink nose wrinkles. “Did you happen to notice I was alone in that apartment?” Her head shakes side to side as fresh tears well in her eyes. “You actually believed that shit?” She looks equal parts hurt and confused, and she has every right to both those emotions. Because why the fuck had we ever believed a word out of her father’s mouth?

We knew Everest. We knew her heart, her soul.

“Not at first, but then we couldn’t find you, and we had every resource available looking for you. When no one caught so much as a glimpse of you…” I shrug as though I answered her question.