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How was this girl even still alive? She had no idea how to take care of herself.

I lifted her into my arms, my grip firm and possessive as I held her to my chest.

"I didn't poison you, Alina." I tried to soothe her. "You're just exhausted. You've had a long day after what I can only assume were several long years."

I carried her into my bedroom.

I peeled off the sweater, leaving her naked and vulnerable before I tucked her into my bed, pulling the covers up over her then quietly leaving the room.

Resting my head against the door, I took several deep breaths.

Letting my heart break for her and then letting the cold, relentless steel slip back into place.

Alina was mine.

Mine to take, mine to fuck, and mine to protect.

She was being threatened, as was everything she loved, and it wasn't by me.

That wasn't going to work.

I wanted to be the only villain in her story.

I was the only man she should've been worried about.

With my rage taking over, I picked up my phone and dialed.

The line rang once before someone picked up.

"I have a job for you."

CHAPTER 19

PAVEL

Iheard his screams before I saw him.

Damien and Mikhail worked fast.

I knew what I'd see the second I opened the door to the hangar.

My cousins never disappointed. They were almost as fierce and ruthless as I was.

Almost.

I walked into the large, nearly empty space to see a man dangling from a chain like a slaughtered pig, trembling and pathetic. I watched him swing upside down, unmoved by his cries for mercy.

Richard Russo, Alina's deadbeat father.

There were many things I was willing to give this man.

Mercy was not one of them.

He didn't deserve mercy.

Especially given how easy it was for my men to track him down. Finding him at a blackjack table in Atlantic City, racking up more debt even as his only daughter put herself in danger bearing the burden of his old debts.

As I stepped further into the warehouse to check on the progress Damien and Mikhail had made, the stench of sweat stung my nose. A far cry from the delicate florals that graced Alina’s skin.