Page 144 of His Forced Bride

"A high-level strategy session about how to respond to your mother's legal maneuvers."

"I'll be there."

"Some of the things we'll discuss?—"

"Will be necessary to protect what's ours. I understand that."

He studies my face for another long moment, then nods.

"Get dressed. We leave in an hour."

As I head toward the bedroom to change clothes, I let the angry rage my mother ignited inside me come to a full boil.

I feed on it, feasting on the pain and hurt to allow my full mind, body, and soul to be consumed by that fury.

What she's done is unacceptable, and I have to make her pay.

Yuri joins me a few minutes later as we dress in silence.

I understand it now—his routine in the morning.

I have no space left in my mind for conversation as I button into my crisp white blouse and zip up the black slacks I’ve picked out.

All I can think about is how badly I want to destroy that woman.

"Ready?" he asks when we're both dressed and standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror.

"I am," I say softly, and I look myself in the eye one last time.

There's no backing down from this.

It's me or her.

If I can't be strong enough to stop her, she will end me, and I can't let that happen.

Yuri's hand rests on my thigh as his driver ushers us to the meeting location.

It's a connection that feels both possessive and supportive.

I can feel nervous energy building in my chest, but it's anticipation rather than fear.

I'm too angry to feel afraid right now, and maybe that's a good thing.

If I felt even an inkling of fear, I know I might back down.

For too long, I've been reacting to other people's moves—my mother's attacks, Yuri's protection, the constant sense that my life was happening around me rather than because of my own choices.

That ends today.

The long game of turning her partners against her isn't going to work.

She's moving too quickly.

We have to act more swiftly, and I am eager to hear what his lieutenants have to say.

When we arrive at the nondescript office building that serves as a front for Yuri's operations, his men are waiting.

I recognize some faces from the compound, but others are new—harder, more dangerous-looking individuals who study me with undisguised curiosity.