2

Three Months Later

Putting my gun away, I quickly pull off my hoodie and jeans and start the shower. Dried blood still covers my hands, and it’s splattered all over my face and clothes. Fucking hell, that better wash out. I toe the blue hoodie, wishing I’d chosen something different to wear tonight. In all fairness, I hadn’t known I was going to be killing anyone; otherwise, I would’ve worn myI don’t mind if these get splattered in bloodclothes.

It couldn’t be helped, though. After Anatoly and Grisha had turned up dead, the Safronov Bratva’s been on high alert. I got the order to take out a couple of suspicious-looking men who’d been hanging out in one of our clubs, and it wasn’t an order I could say no to, at least not yet.Once we take over, I won’t be taking orders ever again, but even though we’re close, we haven’t taken over yet.

The hot water runs over me, washing me clean and leaving only the scarred, tattooed skin behind. Sometimes it’s hard to even remember a time when my back and arms and hands weren’t covered in rough scars. Hell, I can’t even remember what my voice sounded like before the smoke inhalation left me with the raspy one I have now.

It’s for the best, I tell myself, turning off the water and running the towel through my hair before dragging it over my body and wrapping it around my waist. It’s best not to remember what life was like before the fire, and it’s definitely best not to remember the little sister who laughed at my jokes and loved to watch cartoons while she ate her breakfast. I can’t remember her voice either, but I do vividly remember the sounds of her screams as she burnt to death.

Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I leave my bathroom and step into my bedroom, not at all surprised to find Amber lying on my bed, reading her book. She tries to pretend she’s still reading, but her eyes keep darting over to my bare upper body. If she was anyone else, I’d be pissed off and reaching for a shirt to cover my scars, but this is Amber, and the only irritating thing about this is that I can’t drop my towel and bury myself inside her, at least not yet. She’d be more than okay with it, but I want to take things slow. She’s still so damn young, and I don’t want to rush her.

When her eyes run over my chest again, I lift a brow and ask, “Good book?”

“Mm-hmm.”

She manages to keep her eyes on the book for almost a full minute before they dart right back to my chest. She finally meets my eyes when she hears me laugh.

Giving up the pretense, she sets the book aside. “It’s not funny.”

I smile at her. “It kind of is.”

She smiles back and pats the bed. “Come lay down.”

I grab my boxer briefs, ignoring the disappointed look she gives me and slip them on under my towel before grabbing a long-sleeve tee.

“Well, that’s no fun,” she mutters, making me laugh as I turn off the overhead light and crawl into bed next to her. Every night that she stays at the penthouse, she sneaks into my bedroom. It’s gotten to the point where I’m not so sure I can fall asleep if her small body isn’t tucked up against mine.

As soon as I’m lying down, she finds me in the dark. Her hands clasp behind my neck, pulling me closer. Smiling, I roll over. With my hand on her hip, I scoot her under me so my body cocoons hers, just like she likes it. I’ve memorized everything about her, the things that make her gasp and whimper, the soft caresses that make her shiver and kiss me harder, and the touches that make her wrap her legs around me and rock her hips like she’ll never be able to get enough.

Her hands slide under my shirt, and my first instinct is to tense up when I feel her fingers run along my scarred back, but she whispers my name and kisses me so damn gently, making me immediately relax into her touch.

“Your scars don’t bother me,” she whispers in between kisses. “They never have. They’re a part of you, and I love every damn part of you, Mateo.” Her fingers lightly trail along my spine. “These remind me that you’re alive. I could’ve lost you so easily that night.”

The tremor in her voice has me cupping her face. “But you didn’t. I’m here, Amber, and I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to have a lifetime together.”

The heat of her breath hits my lips, and when she starts to pull my shirt off, I let her. I don’t even stop her when she quickly yanks her own off, tossing it aside and making me let out a groan at the feel of her bare chest against mine. It’s the sweetest kind of torture, and I honestly don’t know how much longer I can hold out. She’s getting harder and harder to resist.

“Mateo.”

That one word holds so much in it. It’s a plea for more, a declaration of love, and a promise of a future that I can’t wait to live.

“Malishka.” I murmur the word against her skin, knowing how much she loves it when I call her baby girl. “You constantly threaten to destroy what little willpower I have.”

“Then stop fighting me.”

I give a soft laugh and then reach down to stop her curious fingers from sliding into my boxers. I’m only human, and there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to resist her if she wraps her hand around me. I distract her by running my tongue over her nipple. It works. Both her hands reach for my head as she threads her fingers in my hair. What was supposed to be a distraction for her, turns into an inner battle for me that borders on cruel and unusual punishment.

Her body writhes beneath mine as she tightens her legs around my waist and grinds against me with absolutely no regard for my sanity. I know what she’s doing, and I’m helpless to stop her. It’s not the first time she’s brought herself to orgasm by rubbing against me, and I very much doubt it’ll be the last. With her soft moans in my ear and my mouth full of her perfect breast, I rock against her, sliding my hard length along where she needs it most. It never fails to make her squirm, and now is no exception.

I lose myself in her, wanting to make her feel good, wanting to show her how damn much I love her and care about her. I don’t care if it kills me; I just want to give her as much pleasure as possible.

When she comes, she buries her face against my neck, moaning my name as her body trembles beneath mine, and I grit my teeth to not join her. I work her through the orgasm, flooding her body with pleasure until the aftershocks fade away and she becomes so tender that she starts to squirm to protect her overly sensitive clit.

“How long are you going to make me wait?”

I smile and kiss my way to her lips. “I did just make you come,” I point out.

“But I want you, all of you, and I want to give all of myself to you.”

Cupping her face, I kiss her gently and say the words that will soon haunt me. “We have all the time in the world,malishka.”

I roll over and pull her against me. She snuggles closer, letting out a soft sigh before resting her hand on my chest and her head on my shoulder.One of her legs is hiked over mine, and I smile at how perfectly we fit together. I hold her tighter and kiss her head.

“I love you,” I whisper, “and I’m going to marry you and we’re going to have a family one day.” My fingers run through her dark hair. “I’ll give you anything you want, Amber.”

Her response is immediate. “I only want you.”

“You have me.”

“Then I have everything.”

I smile at how damn sweet she is and kiss her again. “I’m still going to spoil you.”

“I’ll still let you,” she says, making me give a soft laugh.

I fall asleep easily, something I only started doing once she started sneaking into my bedroom at night. Since the fire, I’ve been plagued with insomnia. When I do manage to fall asleep, I have night terrors that leave me drenched in sweat and a throat raw from screaming. Sometimes the nightmares are so vivid that I swear I wake up with the smell of my sister’s burnt body clinging to me. It makes it impossible to fall back asleep.

The nightmares never come when Amber is next to me, though. She chases every bad thing away.

The next day I get assigned a hit that ends up taking longer than planned. By the time I get to the coffee shop where Amber’s supposed to meet me, I’m twenty minutes late and desperate to see her. I scan the crowd, ignoring everyone who isn’t her. I send her a quick text, and when she doesn’t immediately respond, my heart rate starts to pick up and a cold sweat breaks out along the back of my neck. This isn’t like Amber. She doesn’t play games. She would never just not show up or ignore my texts.

When I try to call her and it goes straight to voice mail, I start shouting her name, ignoring the looks people are starting to give me. My lungs constrict, and I can barely get a breath in when I call Roger.

“I can’t find her,” I say, hardly recognizing the sound of my own voice.

“What? Mateo, what are you talking about?”

“Amber. She was supposed to be here, and she’s not here.”

Whatever he hears in my voice has him saying, “Give me the address,” as he yells what’s happening to our brothers.

I tell him where I’m at and hang up. I keep yelling Amber’s name and searching the area, but I know in my heart that she’s gone. I can feel the loss of her, a deep ache that threatens to consume me until there’s not a goddamn thing left.

I was late. She needed me, and I wasn’t here. I couldn’t protect her, and now something’s happened. When my brothers arrive, we spread out and look for her, searching every place we can think of. It quickly becomes obvious that she wasn’t in some sort of accident. She wasn’t on her way to see me when she got hit by a car or got held up by a talkative friend or neighbor. Amber was taken. Some bastard came in and took the woman I love away from me, and every second she’s gone is like a knife to my fucking chest.

Twenty goddamn minutes is all it took to change my life. Twenty minutes that’s led to a two-year search and a heart that continues to beat, even though the loss of her has shattered it.

My brothers and I have devoted our lives to finding her, and we finally know the name of the bastard who’s keeping her. Konstance Lebedev—the man I’ve shaken hands with, talked with, and ate supper in his fucking mansion with.

I’ve thought about a lot of things over the last two years. I’ve imagined the things that are being done to her, I’ve tormented myself with images that I’ll never be able to rid myself of, and I’ve hated myself for being late on the one day she needed me most. I’ll carry that regret around for the rest of my life.

Along with my fears and self-hate, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my revenge, because I will have it. Tonight, my brothers and I are getting Amber back. We’ll do it together as a family, just like we do everything.

Brothers in blood, in life, and in death.

Tonight, we’re taking back what’s ours. Someone fucked with our family, and they’re going to pay with their lives.

And the man responsible for all this?

He’s going to pay with a lot more than just his life. I want blood and pain. I want my goddamn pound of flesh, and I’m damn well going to get it.

He hurt the woman I love.

I’m going to make damn sure he regrets that before he takes his last breath.

It’s time to take back what’s ours.

It’s time to bring Amber home.