Page 52 of Beautiful Trauma (The Irish Rogues #5)

A s I paced around the jet’s cabin, I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest. I’d yet to hear anything from Mila.

Our contacts at the airport had sent security feed pictures of her arriving in Philly.

I’d managed to keep hope until Leo sent the hacked street-view feed of the Korolova mansion.

I’d watched in horror as she was spotted being dragged into the house by Dima. That had been thirty minutes ago. My chest ached when I imagined the worst like they were torturing her, or they’d put a bullet in her head.

Just as I thought I was going to start screaming, my phone rang. At the unknown number, I braced myself to hear from Danill or Dima. “Hello?” I demanded.

“Kellan?”

At the sound of Mila’s voice, I sank to my knees. “You’re alive,” I choked out.

“I am. And I’m so sorry I left without telling you.”

Although I wanted to yell at her for leaving, I asked, “Have they hurt you?”

“No. It was just a ruse.”

Furrowing my brows, I asked, “What?”

“I’ll explain it all to you when I get home.”

“But I’m on my way to Philly.”

A pause came over the line. “You are?”

“What the hell did you expect me to do when I figured out what you’d done?”

“But you knew you couldn’t come to Philly without being killed.”

“None of that mattered when you were in danger.”

“Oh, Kellan,” she murmured. “I love you so very much.”

“And I love you.”

“Should I wait for you here?” she asked.

“Where is that?”

“My Father’s.”

I sucked in a ragged breath. “How are you safe if you’re at your father’s?” I questioned.

“Because he’s dead.”

If I hadn’t already been on the ground, those words would have knocked me down. I looked up at my brothers who were staring anxiously at me. “Danill is dead?” I repeated.

As a murmur went through the others, Mila replied, “Yes. I killed him.”

“You killed him?”

“Holy shit,” Callum said.

It took me a moment to find my voice. “Jaysus, Mila, are you serious?”

“I am. I’ll explain it all when you get here.”

“Sorry, my love, but even if your father is dead there’s no way I’m coming into Bratva territory.”

“Dima says he’ll give you protection.”

I shook my head. “Not fucking happening. We pick somewhere neutral.”

“Then how about I meet you at the gallery.”

“That will work. We should be landing in an hour.”

“I’ll see you then. And I love you, Kellan.”

“I love you, too. So fucking much.” I was about to hang up, but then I said, “Mila?”

“Yes.”

“You can speak freely now, right?”

She laughed. “Do you think I’m trying to dupe you again?”

“I was more concerned that Dima was holding a gun to your head and forcing you to play along.”

“It’s not like that.”

“I have video feed of him dragging you in the house.”

“You have to trust me that it was all part of a ruse Dima concocted so he could let me kill Father.”

“And you have to remember the man tried to kill me.”

“I know. But I promise that there’s nothing underhanded going on. Maksim and Dima are going to rule the family as partners.”

“That sounds like a solid idea.”

“Okay, well, I better go get cleaned up. I’ve got blood all over me.”

“Yeah, you do that.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

When I hung up, Dare asked, “How is she?”

“I think she’s in shock. She was just nonchalantly telling me she had her father’s blood all over her.”

“It’s her first kill. Of course she’s in shock,” Quinn remarked.

“Apparently Dima pulled som kind of ruse to get her there so she could kill Danill.”

Callum widened his eyes. “I sure as hell didn’t see that one coming.”

“Neither did I.”

Dare slapped me on the back. “Kinda turns you on thinking of her being all cold-blooded, doesn’t it?”

I laughed. “Call me crazy, but I like slightly less unhinged Mila.”

With a knowing look, Quinn said, “I think after the events of today, you have your answer about popping the question.”

“You’re absolutely right. I don’t even care that I don’t have the ring with me.”

I knew in the moment with absolute certainty I was going to ask Mila to marry me the moment I saw her.

Even though I knew Mila was all right, it was agony waiting to get to her. I thought I was going to go crazy. I knew I was annoying the hell out of my brothers with all the tapping of my legs and shifting in the seat.

When we pulled up in front of the gallery, I didn’t even wait for the SUV to come to a full stop. I hopped out and started sprinting into the building. At the sight of several customers milling around, I skidded to a stop. Glancing left and right, I searched for Mila, but I didn’t see her.

“MILA!” I shouted.

“Sir, this is a gallery,” a woman chided me.

Although I wanted to tell her to fuck off, I politely said, “I’m sorry.”

It was then that Mila started running towards me. When she got to me, she jumped into my arms. I exhaled a long, ragged breath. Pulling back, I kissed her cheeks and her nose and her forehead. “I thought I’d lost you. I’d thought I’d never see you again.”

Mila bobbed her head. “I know. And I’m so sorry. I hated to have to sneak away, but I knew you wouldn’t let me go. Not to mention, you couldn’t risk coming back here and being killed.”

“Even though I’m happy to see you’re okay, you’re still in trouble.”

She grinned. “Is that right?”

To show her I was serious, I smacked her ass, causing her to shriek.

The woman who had been appalled by my shouting clutched her pearls. “You two need to leave.”

Mila narrowed her eyes. “For your information, I own this fucking gallery. If you don’t like a woman getting spanked, then you can get the hell out!”

The woman was too flustered by Mila’s response to reply. Instead, she and the woman hurried to the door. I shook my head at her with a grin. “I see you haven’t lost your sass.”

“Nope. You’re stuck with it.”

After easing Mila to her feet, I said, “Speaking of being stuck with you, there’s something I want to ask.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion until I sank onto one knee. Then her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my God.”

Taking one of her hands in mine, I said, “Mila Korlova, there will never be another woman for me. You stole my heart that night at Bandia, and it’s forever yours. Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Yes. My answer will always be yes.”

As she threw her arms around my neck, she brought her lips to mine. At first, the kiss was tender and heartfelt. And then it turned over to desperate and needy.

At the sound of someone whistling, we broke apart. Glancing over my shoulder, Dare grinned at me. “I thought I better put out the fire between you two before you set off the sprinklers and ruined all this fancy art.”

My brothers chuckled as embarrassment heated my cheeks.

A throat cleared to my right. When I whirled around, Dima stood with his head cocked at me. “Did you have something you wanted to say?” I asked.

“Kellan,” Mila chided.

Dima took a step towards us. “Are Irish traditions so modern that no one asks the woman’s family for her hand anymore?”

“The last time I checked her family didn’t approve of me, so it seemed pointless.”

“Perhaps circumstances have changed.”

I glanced between him and Mila. When she jerked her chin at me, I sighed. “Would you do me the honor of giving me your sister’s hand in marriage?”

“Fuck no.”

My eyes bulged. “Excuse me?”

The corner of Dima’s lip quirked. “I’m sorry, but I thought we needed a little levity.”

“You have a weird sense of humor, mate,” Dare remarked.

Dima laughed. “Yeah, I do.” Leaning heavily on his cane, Dima closed the gap between us. Clapping me on the back a little more forcefully than he had to, Dima said, “I willingly give my sister’s hand. You have proven your worth and your love for her time and time again.”

“Thank you.”

He extended his hand. “And I also owe you my apologies for shooting at you. I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, and I was too weak not to listen to my father I owe you so much for your help sending the specialist my way.”

I put my hand into his hand. “I understand.”

Mila threw her arm around our necks. “You two can’t imagine how happy this moment makes me.”

Dima smiled at Mila. “Anything for you, zaika .”

“ Zaika ?” I questioned.

“It means bunny in Russian,” Mila explained. At what must’ve been my continued confusion, she replied, “I had buck teeth, okay?”

I laughed. “I bet you were a cute little buck-toothed girl.”

“She was.” At Mila’s roll of her eyes, Dima said, “I’ll have to show you pictures.”

“I would like that a lot.”

“Okay, that’s enough togetherness for you two.”

“Kellan, we need to get going,” Callum said.

Glancing at Mila, I said, “Would you like the two of us to stay? I mean, we’re already here. You might as well see Lev and Kira.”

She smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”

I turned to my brothers. “I can’t thank you enough for being there for me today–for being there for us.”

Dare grinned. “Don’t mention it.”

While Quinn and Eamon nodded in agreement, Callum gave me a sheepish look. “My apologies for not being on board sooner.”

“No problem.”

Stepping over to Mila, he held out his hand. “Welcome to the Paternal Annihilator’s Club.”

Mila appeared momentarily horrified, then a laugh burst from her lips. “While that’s so fucking twisted, I am proud to be a part of it,”

After shaking her hand, Callum and the others headed for the airport.

Grinning at Dima and Mila, I said, “So, what do you say we get out of here, so you two can tell Kira and Lev the good news.”

“That’s right.” Mila cocked her head at Dima. “Will you come, too?”

After flicking his gaze to me, I nodded. “Yes, you should come.”

“I would like that. I’ll call Maksim too.”

“I would say to include Annika, but I don’t think she’ll feel the same way about Father’s death as we will,” Mila said.

“No, she won’t,” Dima replied.

“Until then, I think you and I need a change of clothes. I’m pretty sure Rian peed on my shirt earlier.”

Mila laughed. “That sounds like a great idea.”