<b>49 </b>


    He could have stuck a hot branding iron to my skin, and it would’ve been less painful than that reminder. “I’m aware of that. But I didn’t give you the go–ahead to bring him in.”


    “I thought when it came to things like this


    “I do the thinking. Not you. I give the orders, and you follow. You don’te to me after the fact, then announce you essentially kidnapped him.” Eyeing him, Ladd, “Considering the blood on your shirt carlier, I’m guessing he’s not in good shape.”


    Roger hasn’t flinched; he’s barely blinked. Only his jaw twitch reveals he’s fighting against the impulse to argue. “He deserves. death, so he should be thanking me that he’s still alive. Unfortunately, he needed a little… convincing to behave.”


    “I should have been the one to do that. It’s my right.‘


    “Something tells me you’ll have the chance again. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who learns his lessons the first time.” When he reaches up to brush wet <b>hair </b>back from his forehead, I notice his bruised knuckles.


    “I can’t have you going over my <b>head </b><b>and </b>making decisions like this. You know I trust you-


    “Trust me? You walked into my home unannounced and used me of betraying you.”


    “Says the man who left his fucking phone off all day instead of checking in with me. That’s unlike you. What was I supposed to think?


    Color rises in his high cheeks as he leans forward<b>, </b>his lip lifting in snarl I’ve seen before–just not while it was directed at me “You were supposed to <b>think </b>that everything I fucking do is for <b>you </b>and your family and your business.”


    “You didn’t do this for me. You did it for <b>you</b>,” I <b>growl</b>.


    I saw the look in his eyes when Tatiana told us what the piece of slit <b>did </b>to her. It mirrored my own. Roger might seem like a gentleman, but beneath his <b>mask </b>is a bloodthirsty viin waiting to shed his good–guy image. It’s how I know he wants revenge for my Tatiana, but he can’t just make choices that could jeopardize everything I’ve built


    “Or maybe I did it for her.” His eyes widen <b>a </b>fraction before he res himself back in the chair. He looks downright shocked to admit such a thing. Rather than look at me, he stares out the window while his stubbled jaw tics.


    I’m still reeling from that outburst when a sott female voice pipes up. <b>“</b>Did what for who? Who’s her?”


    nde hair is


    Tatiana enters the room, arms folded, shoulders hunched. I might not recognize her if I knew her any less. I pulled into a bun on top of her head. Smeared eyeliner is under her <b>eyes</b>. Her oversized tee and ck leggings are <b>stained </b>


    Who is this girl?


    Her gaze ping–pongs between Roger and me. It seems Roger, like he, <b>has </b>lost his voice. All he does is stare at her, nk–faced A b of stone would have a better reaction at this point.


    “Tell me,” she insists. “What did you do? And be careful how you answer, for I <b>hate </b>to tell you how voices carry around this ce. I could hear you all the way down the hall.”


    Now I know how an explosives expert must feel while handling live ammo. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go back to your room? We can talk about thister.”


    “I’m not a fucking child. If you’re talking about me, or anything rted to me, I <b>have </b><b>a </b>right to be present and defend myself.” She steps up to the chair Roger sits in, standing over him, daring in to look at her.


    He sighs, his eyes narrowing. When ites to Tatiana<b>, </b>there is <b>a </b>weakness that seems to linger in Roger, I <b>can’t </b>put my finger on it. “Christopher flew back into the states overnight. I had your ther’s men pick him up at the hanger and then gave them the order to hold him so he <b>can </b>be <b>dealt </b>with.”


    “You what?” She nudges the chair with her knee. Disbelief painting her delicate features. The shock in her voice makes me pause. What did she think would happen? That we would let the bastard go? After what he did to her. Not happening. “You did


    +25 <b>BONUS </b>


    what? I think I’m going to need you to <b>repeat </b>yourself because I can’t fucking believe what I just heard!”


    Tatiana “Ind, rounding the desk, reaching for her. In true Taina fashion, she hacks away, shaking her head, her <b>eyes </b>– feral. Distress ripples off her in waves. I’m tempted to go to her, yet don’t want her to nm, regardless of what I said about her


    going to her room. At this moment, she’s fragile and I don’t want her to crack more than she already has.


    <b>Finally</b>, she reaches the windowsill and has no choice but toe in a stop. She’s not at the jumping–out–a–window stage yet I don’t know why I’m surprised,” she mumbles under her breath. And don’t bother lying to me. I know what you’re going to do


    next.”


    Π


    Keep <b>calm</b>. “Sweetie, I just learned about this a


    sa few minutes ago. haven’t made any decisions.”


    “That’s bullshit, and we both know it. You deckled exactly what you would do the moment you discovered what happened. His days were numbered, then.”


    I <b>can’t </b>stop myself this time and cross the room<b>, </bing to a stop in front of her, my arms falling to my sides when it’s clear she’s not going to let me hold her. “You can’t expect me to let this go. I won’t apologize for protecting you. You’re my daughter, goddammit, I won’t let him get away with this, and you shouldn’t want him to either.”


    “It’s not your revenge to take. You’re not the one he..” She stops in her tracks, her green eyes filling with unshed tears. The image before me makes my heart ache. He did this to her. He took her and made her a shell of the person she used to be, for that, he will wish for death a million times over.


    “Listen to me.” Out of desperation, I reach for her <b>again</b>, more for myself than for her. My poor girl. I want to take her pain away, her heartache, and the only way to do that is to kill Christopher.


    This time she swings her arms<b>, </b>fighting me off. My God<b>. </b>What’s happening to her? Finally, I manage to take hold of her arms and pin them to her sides before pulling her in against my chest, using my strength to hold her still, no matter how she fights. Tatiana, sweetie, I want to help you, but you have to let me. I couldn’t stop <b>what </b>happened, but I can make him pay for what he’s done to <b>you</b>. Let me do this for you.”


    No matter what she says, he’ll pay for what he did to her. I’ll lie to her if I have to, but he’s not getting away <b>with </b>abusing and raping my daughter.


    “This isn’t helping!” Her tears soak into my shirt and her body heaves with the force of her emotions. “Don’t you understand, Dad? Killing him won’t <b>make </b>the nightmares stop. It won’t make me forget what he did. Even if I’m not the one to kill him, his blood is still on my hands, and I can’t…. I’m not that person. I have enough weight on me. I can’t be responsible for someone <b>else’s </b>death.”


    Again, the parallels between her and Caterina jump out at me. That’s exactly what she said, <b>that </b>she didn’t wa.. to have Luciano death on her conscience.


    “You aren’t responsible for anything that happens to that piece of shit. For <b>now</b>, I need you to forget about Christopher,” Ladd when she starts to argue. “Right now, we need to focus on you. Geting you the help you need. You matter more than he <b>ever </b>will


    I close my arms around her, breaking down a little further with every tremble, and choking so that escapes her. She feels thinner, for fuck’s sake<b>. </b>This is not my daughter. This is not who she is. But it is now. This is <b>what </b>he did to her, <b>this </b>is what you failed to see. The guilt threatens to choke me.


    “I’m going to start calling some doctors-


    “I don’t want a doctor!” she shoves away from me with all the strength in her body, enough to break <b>free </b>of my grasp. “There is nothing a doctor can say to me that will make it better. I only want to forget I <b>can’t </b>even sleep to escape the nightmare of my life because his memory haunts me. I close my eyes <b>and </b>he is there, his fingers, his body.” The terror in her eyes kills me. “Now I have to worry <b>about </b>this. How am I ever supposed to forget what happened it I know you killed him? If I knew the reason he died <b>was </b>because of me.”


    <b>“</b>Okay, I hear you.” I nce at Roger, though he doesn’t notice while staring at her. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s been <b>very </b>in tune with hiding his emotions. Although over thest few weeks, that mask seems to have slipped off. Looking at him now, the rage in his eyes mirrors my own, but beneath that rage is something else, something tender. “I won’t kill him. Neither


    49


    will Roger. I’ll let him keep his miserable life. Only you have to do something for ine. You have to let me help you get through this. You can’t just forget it–or else you would have been able to do so by now. Do you understand what I’m saying?”


    Her wild eyes dart back and forth between Roger and me, her head appearing to be on a swivel. “I don’t believe either of you. It’s just another lie on top of a stack of never–ending lies. If I didn’t happen to hear this conversation, then I’d bet he would be dead already.”


    She’s still sharp. Tatiana might be broken, but the pieces of her the are still intact are all there. “That’s not true.”


    “Yes, it is. I know you better than that. All you ever do is lie! To me, to Caterina, to everybody you’re supposed to care about and want to protect. You lie to protect us. Except you aren’t protecting us, you’re controlling us. Making choices for us,pletely disregarding our feelings. I’m sick of it!” I don’t even get the opportunity to speak before she’s whirling around, running from the room. Her broken sobs echo down the hall. There’s nothing I can do to stop her, but no matter what, I have to find a way to get her through this. I can’t lose my daughter. This is merely another reminder of everything slipping through my grasp, and I’m trying to catch them all like grains of sand.


    “Please tell me you didn’t mean it?” Roger’s question is practically a whisperpared to all the screaming I just endured. “Are you really going to let him live?”


    Rage simmers in my veins. “As badly as I want him dead, I can’t risk hurting Tatiana further. This might be thest thing holding her to <b>the </b>ground, and I’ll never forgive myself if I was the reason for herplete fracture.” I stare out the door into the hall while my temperature rises and my pulse picks up speed. Slowly I turn my head, meeting his concerned gaze. “That doesn’t mean we can’t draw it <b>out</b>. Just because I won’t kill him doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy every minute of torturing him. By the time I’m finished with him, he’ll be begging for death.”


    “It’s what he deserves. I know Tatiana doesn’t want his blood on her hands, but if we don’t end his pathetic life, he could hurt others. I refuse to let that happen.”


    “Eventually, he’ll die, but my primary <b>focus </b>is helping Tatiana heal. In the meantime, we make this fucker suffer. ”


    The way Roger’s gaze darkens tells me he likes the idea more than ever, but I have to wonder what percentage of what he’s saying is true. Sure, he doesn’t want Christopher to do this to someone else, but I fully believe he wants to paint the streets with his blood for a very different reason. Is it possible Roger cares deeper for Tatiana than I may have thought? I shake the thought away. No, Roger and Tatiana despise each other. This is revenge, pain and simple.