Dulce

With my arm in a sling and some painkillers in my belly, I’m feeling less like I’m about to puke but more like I might keel over.

I burrow closer to Dmitris’s chest and let his warmth soothe me.

“How long did they say they were going to be?”

“About an hour. I asked them to pick up some food while they collect their things.”

“You don’t mind them crashing here for a few days while we figure things out?”

“We’ll make it work. Somehow, I don’t think they mind sharing a bed.”

“They can fuck on Luke’s bed just to spite him.” I laugh, feeling him tense. He soothes a hand through my hair as I look up at him.

“We have a lot to talk about and not a lot of time. I’ll give you the quick version now and answer any questions that we don’t get to when we’re alone later, okay?” he offers.

“Deal. Start from the beginning.”

With a sigh, he holds me tighter and begins.

“My father used to be the big power back home. Even the other families were wary of him. He could be brutal, but he wasn’t completely without morals like some of the men around him.

“His marriage to my mother was arranged, which is how things were done, still are really. But they made it work and what started as duty turned into love.

“He was the king of the castle, and she was his queen until I was ten years old. She was gunned down in the street by a rival, or at least that’s what was assumed at the time.”

“Your uncle?” He nods and squeezes my leg before continuing.

“Yes, but we’ll come back to that. My father…he changed after she died. He loved me, but he was distant. He fucked women and discarded them as if they were nothing more than dirty tissues until one of them got pregnant.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Oh, shit is right. My uncle already had me in the wings as next in the line of succession. He was fine with that, but now he would have to deal with another threat too.” He shakes his head.

“What happened?”

“He killed my dad. Blamed it on someone else and took the crown before I came of age.”

“Jesus, I’m sorry.”

He twirls my hair as he looks off into nothing.

“I didn’t know, though. He acted like the supporting uncle he always had been. If I hadn’t heard him talking after my father’s funeral about his plans, I’d have been none the wiser.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but how come he didn’t kill you too?”

“Because he fucked my mom and I’m his only heir.”

“What?” I gasp. “And your father didn’t kill him?”

“I don’t know if he knew, and I’m not entirely sure it was consensual. It’s not like I could ask.”

“It would explain why he killed her, to keep his secret. But wait. I’ve heard you called the Bratva Bastard Prince before. I never thought much of it, but now it makes sense. I guess the secret’s out?” I frown.

“As soon as the ink was dry on my father’s death certificate.”

“Jesus. And he just let you leave? He didn’t try to drag you back?”

“He couldn’t find me.”

I frown. “Explain.”

“Part of what I heard was how he killed my dad and that he was actually my real father. The other part was his plans to find a buyer for my baby sister. People pay huge amounts of money for blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies.”

“That fucking bastard,” I hiss.

He nods before looking at me, his jaw clenched.

“I’d been smart enough to record the whole thing on my cell phone, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he made his move.

“I went home that night, relieved the nanny, packed only what I could carry, walked out the door with my sister, and never looked back. I left her somewhere safe, knowing it would be too dangerous for me to keep her with me on the streets. That was all I had to offer in the beginning, and she deserved far better than that. Besides, a sixteen-year-old boy with a baby brings too much attention and my whole plan hinged on us staying under the radar.

I cup his face, feeling my heart break for him.

“God, I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.”

He doesn’t answer, just swallows hard before continuing.