“Let them take care of her,” Tomas says behind me. I didn’t realize he was here. I turn to face him with a sigh, but don’t speak.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you and Taara, but it doesn’t take a genius to see it’s not good,” he says. “Death has a strange way of either bringing people back together or driving them further apart.” He holds my gaze before he finishes. “See to it that it doesn’t do that latter, and you two will weather this.”
I walk to him, my hands shoved in my pockets. “How the hell do you know that matters to me?” I ask, feeling like a petulant child. “Her mother’s death fucking killed her. And if she’s with me, she only experiences more tragedy. More violence. More fucking death.”
We walk together toward the compound, where our men are convening this afternoon.
“Larissa called Laina, who told Marissa, who told Nicolai, who told me,” he admits.
“That’s bullshit. Like seventh fucking grade.”
He shrugs. “Unions within the Bratva matter,” he says.
“Of course they do, but this is no fucking union.”
I wish it was. God, I wish it was.
Tomas just raises a brow in my direction and doesn’t speak at first. Finally, he shakes his head and chuckles. “You mean to tell me you have no feelings for Taara?”
My silence makes him laugh out loud.
“Fuck off,” I mutter, not wanting to deal with him right now.
“Christ, we’re having a pissing match now, are we? I haven’t even had a shot yet.” Demyan stands outside the entrance to our meeting room, rolling his eyes heavenward.
“You can fuck off, too,” I tell him, though I love these two like the brothers they are, and even if they sometimes make me want to beat the shit out of them, they are family.
“Stefan,” Demyan says, sobering. “I saw you two in Russia. You can’t hide the way you feel about her any more than she can hide the way she feels about you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to have this conversation,” I mutter.
“Right,” Tomas mutters. “Who was the one who pulled away first?”
“I said, I don’t want to have this conversation,” I say through tight lips.
Demyan smirks. “If you don’t, I’ll call the girls down and we can get Taara’s side of the story.”
“You wouldn’t.”
But now he’s deadly sober. “Sure as hell would.”
I curse him out in Russian, but he doesn’t even flinch.
“Fine,” I finally admit. “I decided it was too dangerous for her to be with me. She’s too young, and she has her whole life ahead of her. I can’t let her get close to someone like me.” I swallow hard. “Seeing her in that room, knowing they got their hands on her—”
“Tell me about it,” comes a voice behind me. Nicolai joins us, his hands in his pockets and his blue eyes that mirror mine meeting mine unblinkingly. “Tell me what it’s like seeing her at the mercy of another man.”
I know Nicolai knows this pain badly. He witnessed his own woman fall victim to the slave trade himself.
I sigh.
“Or mine,” Demyan says. “You do know Larissa was captured by my men as punishment for theft against the brotherhood?”
“And you know Caroline was arranged to be wed to me by her brother, to pay off his debt,” Tomas finishes. “So, go on, Stefan. Tell us how you don’t want your woman endangered.” Tomas reaches for my shoulder and squeezes. “Just because Amaliya died doesn’t mean Taara will suffer the same fate. For all you know, she’ll outlive you by decades, bury your sorry ass and live in the lap of luxury with your money for the rest of her life. And honestly, with the age difference between you, there’s a fucking good chance.”
That makes me unwillingly smile.
I look at each one of them, and it finally seems so clear. So damn clear. They’re right.
Tarra is withdrawn, but she just lost her mother. She’s deep within the throes of grief, and I can’t fault her for literally anything she does right now.
“Let’s have our meeting,” Demyan says. “Taara is in good hands. Give this time to pass and take good care of her in the meantime. And when all is said and done? You make your move.”
I swallow hard. “I will,” I say. Christ, I love these men. “Thank you.”
He punches my shoulder. “Good, then let’s get this meeting over with. Someone told me Caroline’s cooking us dinner?”
Tomas’ eyes light up. “Wait until you see what she has planned for us.” The two of them enter before us, and Nicolai lags behind to walk in with me.
“You alright?” he asks me.
I nod and scrub a hand over my brow. I’ve been taking care of Taara and seeing to her own wellbeing, but I haven’t slept well in days.
“You need some sleep,” he states.