Page 105 of Protected By the Sinner

“I don’t get why you didn’t want to come with us yesterday to find out Violet’s gender.”

We finally had the ultrasound and found out we have a baby girl on the way.

“First child,” Elodie says. “It was your moment. I’ll be there for the next ones. Maybe even twins or triplets, who knows? There’s a strong chance—it runs in the family.”

“Hey now, I haven’t even tested my parenting skills with the first one yet. Let’s take it slow.”

She laughs and hugs me. “I’m so happy for you. Now all that’s left is for the girls to be freed and for Tobias and the elders to be arrested so we can finally start over.”

I nod, even though deep down I don’t think any of them will actually be arrested. I’m pretty sure Beau plans to eliminate them.

“Yeah, just that, and then we can truly begin again,” I say, hugging her.

“I want to choose Violet’s baptism dress. I insist on paying for it myself,” my sister says. “And I hope you guys give me a lot more nieces and nephews.”

We’ve just finished dinner and Beau’s stepped out of the room to take a call. When he comes back, his face is tense. Even Elodie notices.

“Beau, what happened?” I ask, worried.

“They’re free. All of them. Nineteen girls,” he says, and my heart races. “Now it’s time to begin the cleanup.”

“Where were they taken?”

“For now, they’ll stay under government protection. They don’t have any documents. They don’t exist to the world because they were born inside the cult. But we’ll be watching them. We have a plan. Your brother said they already have a place lined up for them[15].”

He doesn’t explain further, and I don’t press. Getting them out was the most urgent thing.

“And what’s going to happen to Tobias and the others?” Elodie asks.

“I can’t answer that without involving you. Just watch the news—you’ll see. But there’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“The leader escaped.”

“What?” My sister steps back, pale.

“We’ll find him. It’s only a matter of time. He doesn’t stand a chance. In the meantime, I need you both to cooperate with the guards and not leave the house alone.”

We look at each other, and I know that, like me, the idea of arguing doesn’t even cross her mind.

“Okay,” we both agree.

Chapter 49

Somewhere in Europe

“A neutral location for a meeting? Doesn’t sound like your style,” says Roberto Brambilla, the head of the Sicilian mafia in the United States, as he steps into the warehouse.

“Consider it a gesture of goodwill.”

“Goodwill, my ass,” I think, eyeing the number of bodyguards we both brought—not to mention the snipers I’m sure we each have in place.

“What do you want, Ruslan? We’ve never made a deal in our lives, and we’re both too old to start now.”

“I don’t want a deal. I came to give you a warning: Beau LeBlanc, his wife, and all their future descendants, are untouchable. He may not share my blood, but he is as much my grandson as any of the others. If anything ever happens tohim, today or twenty years from now, I’ll wipe out your entire bloodline. And don’t be fooled by my age. This order will be passed down to the next generations. You know how many grandchildren I have in this world. It’s not an empty threat.”

“He killed my nephew.”