Page 99 of Brutal Reign

Hope nods, and I brace for her anger, but instead she studies my face with curiosity. “Why didn’t you kill me in Switzerland? After I stabbed you?”

“It’s not something I can easily put into words,” I admit. “But something in me recognized something in you that night—brokenness, fierceness, a refusal to surrender. You carved yourself into my soul, Hope. Made yourself mine before either of us knew what that meant.”

She swallows, and I watch the delicate movement of her throat. “It’s why I walked away from you in London and never looked back. I knew if I kept watching you, I wouldn’t stop. I’d become obsessed. I’d find reasons to interfere in your life, to eliminate any threats, whether real or imagined. I’d convincemyself you needed my protection, whether you wanted it or not.” My fingers stroke over her pulse point, which flutters beneath my touch. “Staying away was the only way to let you be free.”

Her smile turns wistful. “That didn’t happen. Simon showed up six weeks after you left. At first, I was shocked he was even alive. But there he was, in my flat when I got home from work. He had this heroic story of escaping the villa—said he’d promised my father he’d live to protect me.” She lets out a derisive sound. “At first, I was relieved to see him. After months of being completely alone and scared, Simon felt familiar. He was the only connection I had to my old life.”

Her expression sours. “But within minutes, something felt off. He started talking about rebuilding the Black Company together. Uniting through marriage. That it’s what my father would have wanted. Then I noticed his men blocking my door, and it was clear I didn’t have a choice.”

She presses her fingers to her lips for a moment. “I’d discovered I was pregnant. I was barely making ends meet, working double shifts, living in that tiny flat. I wanted Kin more than anything, but I couldn’t protect him alone. So I used the only leverage I had. I agreed to play the part Simon wanted—even marry him—but only after I had my baby. It bought me time and kept us both alive.”

Rage builds in my chest like a slow burn. The thought of Simon cornering her when she was vulnerable, pregnant, alone… She was forced to bargain for her unborn child’s life while I turned my back on her completely.

“I always wondered how much of his story was true,” she adds.

“Probably very little.” I cup her face in my hands. “You’re safe now. You and Kin can stop running.”

Her eyes meet mine, and I can see longing mixed with something like regret. She still needs time to come around to the fact that everything she needs is right here.

After a few minutes, she shifts in my arms, looking up at me with curious eyes. “Were you really celibate for five years? I didn’t think men like you could go that long without sex.”

“Men like me?” I laugh, raising an eyebrow.

“You know,” she says with a small smirk. “Dangerous, powerful, probably with women throwing themselves at you constantly.”

“I didn’t exactly plan the no-sex thing,” I admit. “God knows I’ve had enough meaningless fucks in my life. For years, I tried to numb myself with sex, with work, with violence. Anything but real intimacy. Then I met you, and even though I wasn’t who I said I was, when we talked about the world, about life… that felt real.”

The vulnerability of my admission creates a charged silence between us. Her eyes search mine, something like recognition flickering there. It’s the truth. After her, there was no one else for me, even believing I’d never see her again.

“I wouldn’t let myself google Lukas after you left,” she admits quietly, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest. “I thought about it. Honestly, I thought about it all the time. I even secretly hoped you would reach out to me again, even though I knew anything more was impossible. The irony is, I was worried about you becoming the Syndicate’s target.”

A small giggle bubbles up, then another, until we’re both quietly laughing at the twisted irony of it all.

The laughter gradually fades into something warmer, more intimate. I stroke her jaw, and she leans into my touch. When her lips part, I can’t resist kissing her.

When we break apart, she’s smiling, but her eyes are heavy. I watch as exhaustion finally wins, her lashes fluttering closed and her body melting against mine.

I take in the sight of her sleeping, studying the way her lips part and her lashes fan over her golden skin. I’ve never seen anything so perfect.

Eventually, sleep takes me too.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SIX

PAVEL

“Where are we with the Javelins?”Maxim asks as we finish up our usual Monday morning phone meeting. “Did Aslan bite?”

Even though Maxim isn’t involved in day-to-day operations as much, he still keeps a finger on the pulse of business. It’s too big and complicated not to have all our brains on it.

“He sure did,” Roman offers. “Especially after Pavel pulled a gun on him.”

There’s a long silence before Maxim speaks. “Are you fucking serious?”

I clear my throat and kick my feet up on my desk. “The process was taking way too fucking long, and I had somewhere else I needed to be.”

“And that somewhere was home for Kin’s bedtime.” Amusement drips from Roman’s tone, and I wish we were in person so I could give him a sharp elbow.