Page 95 of Thorns of Love

Without a doubt, I knew my words were true. I might not live long enough to see it, but Adrian wouldn’t come out of this alive.

The cold barrel of Adrian’s gun pressed against my temple.

“By the end of this, someone’s going to hurt,” Adrian said, his voice whipping through the air. “But it won’t be me.”

My body trembled and tears sprung free. My head swam with emotions and memories. Images of Illias flashed in front of my eyes. The night he dragged me out of the burning car. His words ordering me to remain alive. Our fleeting moment in L.A. before I realized who he even was to me. Gazebo.

We had barely gotten started. I wanted to tell him I loved him. Ineededto tell him that I was his, just as he told me he was mine.

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. Tears refused to stop falling. They found a way out, freezing on my eyelashes. Some made it down my cheeks and onto my tongue. My lips trembled as I tasted salt.

My ears buzzed, drowning out the howl of the wind. Numbness took over. My skin was so frozen I no longer felt the cold. Nor the pain. I was too late. I’d run out of time.

Did I tell my brothers I loved them?

I hoped they knew. I should have told them more often. God, my little nephews and niece. They wouldn’t remember me.I’ll miss them growing up. I’ll miss it all.

The lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger. Something clawed at my chest and my breathing hitched, the freezing temperatures invading my lungs.

I tried to remember a prayer. Just one before my last breath. I couldn’t remember a single prayer.

I’m going to hell, I thought with horror.My babies and I are going to hell.

Screeching tires came through my scattering throughs.

Pop. Pop.

Absolute terror consumed me. I could no longer feel the barrel against my temple. The nails dug painfully into the palm of my hands. My head swam like I was in the clouds. Was I dead?Thud. A cold, soft powder splashed against me. Warm liquid splashed over my face.

I could feel its warmth. I could feel the pain. I couldn’t be dead.

I opened my eyes. Shouting. The loud heartbeat in my ears made it hard to make out any words. More bullets. I sat frozen on my knees. The commotion around me was real, but something inside me went deadly silent for a beat.

Then I heard it.

“Tatiana!” The familiar voice. My chest warmed. Eyes wide, I stared at men, my roaring heartbeat increasing its staccato rhythm.

“If she’s hurt, I’m killing you, Konstantin.” Another familiar voice.

A sob raced up my throat, but I kept it muffled. My husband was here. Relief flooded through me, followed by a whimper. I stumbled onto my feet, my limbs stiff from the cold and my feet frozen. But I Ignored it all.

I ran towards him and collided into his warm chest, smelling of citrus and sandalwood.Home. Heart.It was all here.

Illias immediately lifted me into his arms, my legs circling his waist. I buried my face into his chest, heaving and sobbing. This brush with death was too real. Too close. My bones rattled with the intensity of my cries.

A warm touch. “I’m here, moya luna,” he rasped. Then he repeated it. Over and over again. As if he needed to assure himself as well as me. “Look at me.”

I lifted my head, my eyes meeting his dark consuming gaze. He squeezed me against his chest, keeping me in his arms. I buried my face in his neck, inhaling that familiar scent.

“You came for me,” I croaked.

“Always,” he murmured. “I’ll always come for you,” he chanted. “I’ll always save you.”

Just as he promised.

Pieces of me crumbled, only for him to put them back together. “You’re safe,” he murmured. “Never again. He’ll never hurt us again.”

He fell down onto his knees, as if he was overpowered by relief, while holding me tightly like a god of vengeance. He drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.