The Bastard's Betrayal (Scandalous Scions 1)

“There were complications. Rose will fill you in with the details.” He jerked his chin at Grady. “Let’s go.”

“See you around.” He gave her parents a respectful nod and followed his father to the truck parked a short distance away. Within seconds, they were inside and roaring away from the plane. No doubt headed back to Boston and away from all this trouble. She couldn’t fault them for it. They chose to stay as far from the sketchy shit as possible, and even if they hadn’t… Ultimately her Boston family had their own battles to fight. If the situation became truly desperate, she could call on them for help, but it would look weak to do it now. She couldn’t afford to look weak. Not with so many unfriendly eyes on her.

“Roza.” Mama dragged Rose into her arms and held her tightly, and then Papa wrapped his arms around both of them. Rose closed her eyes and let her parents comfort her for several long seconds. In that moment, she was a child again and there were no battles her parents couldn’t win to keep her safe.

She wasn’t a child any longer, though. She was an adult. More, she was heir. She had to fight her own battles instead of hiding behind her parents and letting them do it for her. That started now, with the rough conversation they needed to have. She counted slowly to ten…and then did it again. It wasn’t enough, would never be enough, but she still managed to step back. “We need to talk.”

“Da.” Papa looked around as if expecting an attack from any angle, and then ushered them into the car. She caught sight of Vasily behind the wheel and they spared her a brief smile of relief. Papa settled into the seat across from her, and Mama took the seat next to her. His gaze lingered on her throat. “Now, tell us.”

“Casimir Romanov tried to kill me.”

Papa startled. “What?”

“Da. This?” She touched her throat. “His handiwork.”

Her parents exchanged a look, and Mama hissed out a breath. “I told you so.”

“That’s not—”

“No, Dima. I told you they wouldn’t just lie back and allow Rose to stand on her own. They still see gender as a defining characteristic.”

Rose sighed. “I’m sitting right here.”

“Keira, moya koroleva.” He reached over and covered her mother’s hand with one of his. “They won’t risk such pointed attacks now that she’s back in our territory.”

“You can’t be sure.” She flicked her hand at Rose. “Look at our daughter. They never should have dared lay a hand on her.”

“Still sitting right here.” Most of the time, her parents were good about including her in any and all major conversations about the territory and the family business, but sometimes they’d do this kind of bullshit. They got so caught up in each other that they seemed to forget there was anyone else in the room. Namely, their very uncomfortable eldest daughter.

“Da.” He squeezed her mother’s hand and sat back, finally focusing on Rose. “We need the full story, Roza.”

Apparently they wouldn’t be answering her questions until they had her side of things. So be it. She honestly couldn’t expect much different, not with so much hanging in the balance. Rose strove for calm and relayed the events since her kidnapping in as much detail as she could remember. She left out sleeping with Dante. It wasn’t her parent’s business. More importantly, she didn’t have good reason for doing it, no matter what she’d told herself in the moment.

She’d wanted him—had missed him—so she spun the fiction necessary to justify taking him. She still wanted Dante if she were perfectly honest with herself. It didn’t matter. She’d told him the truth when she said they weren’t meant for each other. The barriers were too high, too strong. The best she could hope for was that he took her at her word and stayed out of New York. At least that way, he’d stay alive.

When she finished, her parents were silent for a long moment. Finally, Mama said, “You did the best you could, given the circumstances and the knowledge you had at the time.”

It wasn’t a condemnation, but it sure as fuck felt like one. “Was I supposed to risk someone getting hurt when I had a chance to find a solution for myself?”

“No.” Mama sighed. “But your disappearing…complicated things.”

Once again, frustration choked her more effectively than the Mad Wolf ever could. “I’ll make nice with Romeo and beg a little to assuage his pride. It will be enough. Even with a little pie on his face, he’s too smart to go to war over something like this. There’s a way around it, even if it means we shift the marriage contract to be more in his favor.” A concession she didn’t like, but with the situation spinning so out of control? Better to bend than to break.