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“I’m inside. Go!” She pushed my back again, prompting me to chase after the fuckers who’d snuck close and taken him. “I’ll stay in the car. The guards will keep me safe.”
“No,” I growled. “I will. I will always keep you safe, Sloane.” Turning back to face her briefly in the heat of the moment, I saw the fear in her eyes. Not for herself, but for me. For my brother.
She would be a target as my woman. And she would be more of a target as she carried our child. Leaving her was out of the question.
But so was not going after my brother to save him from being captive.
“Stay with her,” Damon ordered, rushing up close as backup. He’d been in the second SUV as well, and now, he charged forward on his feet, running fast but pausing to shout at me, “We’re on it.”
He didn’t give me a chance to reply, already across the parking lot and hiding behind another parked car to fire at the van.
Watching him in action, I had to admit that he was right.
I was never alone, not as the boss in my father’s place nor as a supervising leader. I was a Mafia boss for now, but I would always be one of the four Ivanov brothers and we always worked as a team.
“We’ve got this,” another guard said as he ran up to me, covering me from a hit. “Stay back.”
I shook my head, bewildered by how fast it all happened. Taking his advice, I got into the backseat with Sloane, holding her close and brushing her hair back from her face as she cowered against me. Her heart raced, and mine did, too, but together in this car, we were safe and out of reach from anyone else.
“Who—”
I shook my head to her frantic question. “I don’t fucking know.” It was too early to tell with this abduction just happening. “We have so many enemies. I’ll inform you later. You have to know all of what you’re getting into with my family. But we’ve been trying to pinpoint which enemy is trying to take us down.”
She didn’t reply, stroking her hand over my chest in such a way that I couldn’t tell whether she was comforting herself or she was trying to soothe me.
Once the vans were gone and more Ivanov men were on the chase after Nik, texts flew over my screen of all the men reporting in and keeping me updated as they chased after him.
I was furious that someone would sneak up to take my brother. And I was pissed at myself for lowering my guard while he was snatched away.
For that to have happened like it did, those fuckers were following us. They had eyes on us. With Sloane out and about even for this appointment, I couldn’t afford to lower my guard at all.
With my phone out, I saw the time in the corner and knew we risked being late for this appointment. In the context of witnessing my brother’s abduction, it seemed bizarre to focus on anything else. But this wasn’t a petty little obligation. This was the first time I’d be able to learn about my heir, my child. My future that would tie Sloane to me in an ultimate commitment.
Besides, as we sat there and I willed my heart to slow down, I relaxed—slightly—with the fact that my brother was right. Damon was correct. He was there as backup. He was on this, as were many other men who swore their lives to my family.
I wasn’t alone. I had the future of the Ivanov Syndicate to protect too.
If anyone can hunt down Nik, it’d be him.
Damon was Nik’s fraternal twin, and they’d always been closer than any of us brothers. They were opposites in so many ways, but their connection to each other made them tighter than me and Saul.
“We need to go in,” I told Sloane. “We can’t miss this appointment.”
She reared back to gawk at me. “What? Are you joking?” She huffed and shook her head. “Those men just rushed up and kidnapped Nik!”
I sighed, nodding. Touched that she could be so quickly and genuinely worried about my brother, I knew I would never have to doubt her loyalty. I would never have a reason not to trust how close she’d become to me and those who mattered to me.
She belongs with me. With us.
I kissed the top of her head and then gave a nod of acknowledgment to the men outside the car. They’d flank us until we were inside. As I reached for the door handle, I caught sight of another car pulling up with additional security for us. “And like Damon said, we’ve got this. We have resources to chase after him and wewillget him back.”
Still frowning, so doubtful and concerned, she exited the car with me. “How can you be sure?”
“I trust each and every person looking out for us, for him.”
She held my hand tightly as we walked toward the entrance. Tense and agitated, she stuck with me like glue. “I don’t… I don’t understand how you can be so…”
“Yes, you can. You can understand, and that’s why you’re so perfect for me, Sloane. You’re tough. You’re a survivor, the same as we are. The only difference is that now, we’ll fight to survive together.”