Page 28

Not once in my life had I ever found myself in a situation like that.

Being tied up with my face pressed against the tarmac while bullets flew right above me, unable to flee without risking being shot. Having to listen to the fear in Dad’s breaths while he remained beside me, just as helpless.

I never wanted anything to do with the dangers Val was a part of. While I knew I couldn’t change it, and I wanted to be supportive of him, I needed that world to stay at a distance for my own sake.

Even if it had been a hurdle for me to get over, I was willing to do it for Val. But every worst fear of mine had materialized itself, and there was nothing I could do but face it.

I had never felt that kind of genuine fear before, to the point where it hurt to even breathe.

Every part of me was screaming to just keep my eyes closed and hope for the best; then, maybe if I did, I’d open them again and everything would be fine.

Yet, that wasn’t the case.

Instead, sparks of pain shot through my head as Francesco gripped my hair and pulled me into a kneeling position with my hands behind my back. I yelped, but the sound was mostly drowned out by the sound of the jet in the distance.

The electricity behind my eyes at his iron grasp was dizzying, but it forced me to see it all. To witness the gruesome scene ahead.

Bodies were strewn about the tarmac, mostly dead with some suffering in their final moments from various gunshot wounds. Most of them belonged to Francesco and Tomasso.

Across the strip, what looked like a wall of men stood against us. At once, a loud, commanding voice made them all stop, keeping their guns in the air.

Then, through the haze of my confusion, I realized who it was.

Val stepped forward with his weapon raised, trailed by his brothers, who all wore similar focused expressions.

Seeing him there both brought me a sense of relief and further panic, as it seemed to cement reality for me. I hadn’t imagined it all—I was there, and I could feel the cold barrel of a pistol against my head.

Wincing from the pain of Francesco tugging on my hair, a shaky breath escaped me, and I tried to keep myself together.

It became incredibly clear to me how different they were compared to the Novikovs. How their handling of me was such a start contrast, I couldn’t help but think about how gentle Val had been in comparison. It was like night and day, and I couldn’t deny that.

Seeing Val there only made me want to be back with him more.

Even if we struggled through the beginning of our marriage, and there had been a time when I wanted nothing more than to get away from the entire situation, that feeling seemed so distant. In comparison, being by his side and enduring his teasing was like paradise.

I hated the fact that my father worked against my best interests and forced me into the arrangement, but I couldn’t deny how it changed everything for me in a way I never expected. How I had the chance to see the real Val beneath the bravado, and I found myself genuinely connecting with him.

More than anything, I just wanted to get back to that. To the tender moments we shared, and to the hope for what we were becoming to each other.

“Please, Francesco, just let my daughter go,” Dad said, giving him a pleading look. “We don’t need to bring her into this.”

“You know damn well why she’s here, Andrey. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for making promises you couldn’t keep,” he barked back without relenting in the slightest. “I never should’ve entertained the likes of you in the first place…you’re spineless and entirely self-serving…all you had to do was keep your word. But instead, you bent to the will of those Novikov bastards.”

“Andrey is right,” Val interjected, keeping his focus entirely on the two men holding us captive. There was a serious determination in his eyes that I had never seen before. It seemed to come from years of practice and being desensitized to similar situations. Even so, there was a touch of concern in his eyes. “Tia doesn’t need to be involved. This is between us and Andrey.”

An irritated sound came from Francesco, and he bumped the pistol against the back of my head. “You think I want to negotiate with you? The one who took what belongs to my son?”

Val’s expression hardened. “Tommaso has no claim over her…he never did.”

“That’s easy for you to say, isn’t it? You weren’t there for the negotiation,” Francesco uttered. “No…you were off, refusing to acknowledge Andrey’s offer in the first place. You wiped your hands clean of it, only to change your mind right before my son could take her as his wife. We were mere days away.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“No? But it sure seems to be now, with your precious usurped wife in my possession,” he snapped back, well aware that he had more control over the situation than Val did.

“Please, Francesco…I know what I did, and it was a mistake. You feel wronged—that much is clear. But surely, we can figure this out without hurting my daughter in the process,” Dad said through his shaken breaths. “We can choose to be diplomatic about this.”

“Diplomatic?” Francesco echoed incredulously as he leaned a bit closer, eyes wild. “I was nothing but diplomatic about the entire affair, only for you to go back on your word. To string my poor boy along and make a fool out of him.”

“That was never my intention—”

“No, but it happened, and I don’t take kindly to anyone trampling over my family. Least of all my son. Consider yourself lucky that I haven’t ended you yet myself.”

While I was furious and terrified over what my father did, for all the ways he used me and landed me in that very position, I didn’t want anything to happen to him.

“They are my mistakes, and my consequences to face,” Dad continued, speaking bravely despite the circumstances. “But don’t let Tatiana suffer for it. Make me pay for it, not her.”

The words and the sincerity in them made my heart twist.

Despite being responsible for the soured deal and for the conflict, it seemed he was more than willing to face it on his own, even if it meant suffering. He could acknowledge where he went wrong, and while some part of me still wanted to be angry, I couldn’t bring myself to hate him.

He was being more protective and caring in that moment than he ever outwardly had been before. It surprised me, but it was at least somewhat reassuring, despite it all.

“Is your measly life supposed to make up for the ways we’ve been wronged? Do you really think your suffering is all I want out of this?” Francesco said, never letting the heat subside from his words.

“Take my life, my money, and everything else I have…just don’t take my daughter.”

Francesco scoffed. “I will take what was promised.”

Dad closed his eyes tightly as if struggling beneath the pressure of what was being declared. He was trying, but his wishes were being completely ignored.

“In fact, you are not the only one who needs to make amends,” Francesco said, physically turning both of us to face Val. “The Novikovs can pay their debt by relinquishing this one. My son will have his wife, and I don’t care what it takes.”

Fear shot through my system at once, making me lock up further.

No…there was no way.

The thought of going anywhere with them made me feel sick. Of not only being taken but also forced to marry Tommaso.

I couldn’t let that happen—not after everything I’d been through with Val. Not with the child growing inside me.

It would be a complete nightmare.

“You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to allow that,” Val rasped, tightening his grip on the gun while he took a step forward. “You’ll have to kill me before I ever let that happen.”

“A tempting demand,” Francesco uttered before tightening his grip on my hair. “Then I’ll add your body to the pile, Novikov.”

At my pained yelp, Dad’s expression hardened before a look of resolve settled on his features. He turned to me, eyes set solely on my face.

“I’m so sorry, my dear…I haven’t been the father you needed, but I hope one day you might forgive me, even if I don’t deserve it,” he said just for me to hear. That remorse lingered in his face. “While I didn’t let you hear it enough, you’re my pride and joy. I’m sorry.”

Tears filled my eyes while I took in his words, able to feel every ounce of his regret. I could see the acknowledgment through his eyes while they set with a kind of accountability I had never seen from him before.

I wanted to say something, anything, but my throat closed around my words.

Then, he did the unthinkable.

“You’ll never have my daughter,” Dad mumbled before forcing himself to his feet and throwing his body into Tommaso.

At once, the flurry of movement happened so quickly that I could hardly process it.

Tommaso stumbled back, caught off-guard while he tried to reorient himself.

In his panic, Francesco shifted his gun, surely hoping to shield his son from any sort of damage. He aimed, then fired.

My head rattled from the loud crack of his gun, but through the brief haze, I watched as my dad fell back with a trail of blood leaving his chest and soaking the front of his shirt.

I froze up completely, and the breath was pulled from my lungs.

Dad…

In the heat of the moment, with their focus set on what just happened, neither Tommaso nor Francesco anticipated being left open. Not until the next two rounds of gunfire reached them both.

Through the overwhelming shock and noise of it all, I braced myself with my arms covering my head while labored breaths left me, unable to process what was happening or what I had just witnessed.

I could only see that mental image over and over again.

He sacrificed himself…he willingly distracted them, even at the cost of his own life.

The two bodies hit the ground around me with sickening thumps while I trembled and tried to block it all out.

It was all a blur…a painful, horrible blur.

“Tia…”

But that voice was the only light through it all.

“It’s okay,” Val murmured as he suddenly appeared in front of me. I felt his arms reach for me while his body pressed against mine, pulling me impossibly close. The familiar warmth and scent of him filled my senses, and I could only lean into it. “It’s over…I’ve got you.”

My mind was a mess while every immediate memory hit me harder than the last, and without realizing it at first, I started sobbing. Clinging to Val while he offered himself to me like a lifeline, I cried against his chest and hardly noticed as he picked me up.

While those painful emotions coursed through me all at once, I felt like I was only an observer in that moment. Like I had no control over anything at all, and I could only let the overwhelming feeling run its course.

I didn’t remember being moved, but when I finally ran out of tears, I found myself in the backseat of one of the SUVs, cradled in Val’s lap while he soothingly stroked my hair and gave me the time I needed to get through it.

Letting out a shaky breath, I felt myself coming back to the moment, and when I did, his eyes were on me with a tangle of concern and relief.

“I’m sorry, Tia,” Val murmured, pausing his careful movements to cradle my cheek instead. That regret looked so similar to my father’s, even if it was for a different reason. “This never should’ve happened…you never should’ve been caught up in all of this. I never should’ve let you out of my sight.”

While I didn’t trust my voice at first, I managed to speak anyway. “You didn’t know…”

“No, I didn’t, but I should have. I knew the Gallo family were angry with your dad…I should’ve anticipated this,” he returned gently, taking a breath before he leaned his forehead against mine. “I don’t deserve your trust, but I promise I’ll never let this happen again. You’ll never know this kind of feeling so long as I’m here.”

A complicated storm of feelings coursed through me at his words, but I was exhausted. Far too tired to argue. Instead, I closed my eyes and savored how it felt to be with him again.

“I’m just glad you’re here…that we’re both safe.”

“So am I,” Val hummed, stroking my cheek with his thumb before pressing his lips against my forehead. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m taking you back home where you belong.”

Pulling in a breath, I nodded, but wanted to stay that way for just another moment to take in the quiet and the comfort shared between us.

As angry as I had been with my father, it shifted into a feeling of deep sadness, yet also a gratitude that surprised me.

Even if I wished he didn’t need to face that fate, it felt like his final redemption. His attempt to fix things.

In a way, he helped me get back to Val, and regardless of that pain, I wasn’t going to let it be for nothing. He sacrificed his life for me, and I was more than prepared to honor that.