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Matthias

She hasn’t left my side all day, but I also haven’t given her a chance. I won’t let her out of my sight. I’m not sure which one of us has worse separation anxiety. Even Benny seems affected.

He’s perched nearby, standing guard over Margot as she sleeps on the couch in my office.

I had some catching up to do. Syndicate Enterprise hasn’t seen a flicker of my attention in the past week.

Nothing mattered except finding her. But now that I have her, I have to pull the rest of my life back together.

She followed me in here earlier with her Kindle, but she didn’t last long. Her body’s been through hell. Honestly, I’m surprised she didn’t crash sooner. She’s already recovering. She’s been eating and taking fluids. I’ve never had a problem handling needles, but sticking one in her? That hurt.

Not her, of course. My strong girl barely flinched.

But me? Yeah, it gutted me.

I sigh and pick up my phone. I know what I have to do if I want to put this behind us.

“Did you talk to her?” Dom’s voice cuts through the quiet.

“Yes,” I grit out. “She told me everything. In detail . ”

My jaw clenches as the memory resurfaces, rage tightening every muscle. I force myself to relax before I crush the phone in my hand. The volcano of fury in me borders on rupturing. She went through all of it alone… and still survived. My strong girl.

“What does Viktor know?” Dom skips the sympathy. I’m grateful. I don’t want to repeat her words. Don’t want to relive them.

“She told him the first time they spoke that she’s mine. That the Syndicate would come for her. She thinks he believed her at first, but after a while… he doubted it. He figured we weren’t coming. That puts this on him, right?”

“Yes. That helps us. What else?”

“She said the men who attacked her were the reason Viktor wanted revenge. She told him I stepped in to protect her. I think he bought that and realized she wasn’t the one who took out Bratva men.”

Dom hums in approval. “You defending your woman, especially on our territory, is justified. And the shipments?”

“She told him she didn’t know anything. Said she noticed a discrepancy, told her boss, and that was it. She never leaked anything. She said he didn’t believe her at first… but by Saturday, he didn’t seem to care anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“She said one of the men told her they were ‘done with her’ and ‘taking her to the docks to join the new shipment’. What the fuck does that mean?”

Dom’s quiet for a beat, then, “Nothing good. We’ll figure it out.”

He’s angry. I can hear it.

“So, what now? ”

“I’ll talk to Viktor. Smooth it over. You’ve claimed Margot, so she’s under Syndicate protection. We’ll deny any knowledge of their shipments and keep ourselves out of a war.”

His calm is reassuring. I let myself breathe.

This is it.

Margot is safe.

“Good. Now keep us out of it. I don’t want anything of your Syndicate bullshit to touch her again.” My voice hardens to steel.

“Matthias… you know how this works. I’ll give you space, but when you’re needed, you’ll have to step up.”

I see Margot start to stir. She doesn’t need to hear any of this. She’s safe now. That’s all that matters.

“Fine. I have to go.” I hang up before he can respond.

I watch the rise and fall of her chest. Every breath she takes soothes the fire in me. I can’t bear to let her out of my sight. I don’t know how long this’ll last.

I love her. God, I love her. And all I want to do is be close to her. To be with her in every way.

But she’s still healing. Still climbing out of this nightmare. So, I’ll keep my distance.

As much as it kills me…

I won’t touch you, sweetheart.

Not until you’re whole again.