Page 65 of Pregnant Virgin of the Bratva

“Like what?” His voice is quiet, rough around the edges.

“Safe.”

He doesn’t reply right away. Just keeps holding me. Then, “I’m not a safe man,” he says eventually. “But you’ll always be safe with me.”

I tilt my face up, brush a soft kiss over his jaw. He turns into it, catches my mouth with his again—slower this time, unhurried.

When we part, he whispers, “Sleep, Esme. I’ll be right here. And if you have nightmares, wake me up—I’ll scare them off for you.”

Chapter Eighteen - Kion

The house is still.

Too still.

I can hear the tick of the grandfather clock in the main hall, the hum of the low-watt lights tucked along the corridor edges. Somewhere far off, a door creaks as one of the overnight staff shifts their patrol.

Here, in my study, it’s silent.

The ledger lies open in front of me, its corner stained a rust-brown that used to be red.

It’s hers, from the night it happened. The night Clarke’s filth got close enough to touch the air around her. One of his men grabbed this from her bag as she ran—thought it might be useful. Thought it might matter.

I stare down at the page, its numbers blurred, ink smudged. I don’t see profits. I don’t see forecasts.

I see her face. Wide eyes. Trembling hands. That split second when she thought I might be too late.

My hands curl into fists. I told myself I’d never feel anything again. That nothing soft would survive in a man like me, but then she came.

Now softness has turned to obsession.

My mind is distracted when I hear a knock break the quiet.

Yuri’s voice follows. “We’re ready.”

I close the ledger.

The study door opens with a slow creak. The hallway outside is dark, but I don’t need light to find my way. I built thishouse to contain every part of me. Including what happens when someone breaks my rules.

In the inner chamber—low ceilings, no windows—Arseni and Yuri wait at the round table. Arseni’s jaw is tight. Shoulders stiff. He knows why he’s here.

The second the door closes behind me, the tension shifts.

Yuri stands.

I take my time circling the room.

“You failed,” I say simply.

Arseni’s mouth opens. “Sir, I—”

“You failed,” I repeat. “She left the perimeter. Right through the fucking gates, under your noses.”

“I thought she had clearance—”

“You thought?”

I stop behind him.