[BRAYDEN]
He broke.
I watched Artemy break right in front of my eyes.
I have known him for years-since we were babies-and very few times had I seen him at his weakest moment.
Since his mother’s death, I had never seen him shed any tears. Of course not. He was the boss of four families. The Pakhan of the most ruthless Bratva. He was cruel and heartless.
Artemy Loskutov didn’t cry.
But right now, he was breaking.
He didn’t care that his men were watching. All his focus was on Rebecca.
I watched him cry. As he rocked Rebecca back and forth, his arms tight around her, I watched my boss, the man whom I have known to be ruthless, cry for his woman.
I stood frozen, just a few feet away from them. My eyes shifted to Rebecca, and my chest tightened. It was a small change of emotion, but it was painful. Painful because I had never felt this way before.
Avim moved to stand beside me, and I quickly shook my head, trying to clear my mind.
“This is messed up,” he muttered, a look of horror masking his face.
As I nodded, I saw Bernadette rushing past me. She knelt in front of Artemy and Rebecca. Bernadette was still and I counted the seconds in my head.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
She turned around, her expression cold, but her eyes spoke volumes. She gave a slight shake of her head.
I understood what she meant. It was bad. Very bad.
Bernadette turned back around, and I saw her quickly removing her jacket.
“Artemy, we need to go,” she said, placing the jacket over Rebecca’s almost bare body.
He didn’t move. Artemy was so lost, he didn’t even hear us.
“My jacket is too short. It barely covers her.”
Avim moved forward, removing his jacket. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We were wasting time.
Fuck! We didn’t have time to waste. For all we knew, we were about to be ambushed as we stepped out.
I waited for Bernadette to wrap Avim’s jacket around Rebecca’s body as much as she could with Artemy in the way.
When she was done, I nodded at her to move away. Taking her place in front of Artemy, I looked down at Rebecca. Her face was pressed in Artemy’s neck, and it was hidden by her greasy, matted hair.
I leaned forward, ignoring the sound of Artemy choking back his cries. I even ignored the way my stomach cramped at the sight of Rebecca like this. Moving her hair to the side, so that her bruised face and neck were visible, I placed my finger on the side of her neck, right over the pulse.
It was faint. Slow, but at a steady rate. It was good. At least for now.
My eyes shifted to her chest, watching the slow rise and fall. It was too slow, almost as if she was fighting to take each breath.
My gaze followed a path down her body to the shackles around her. I touched the heavy chain and pulled at the small latch on her left ankle. It gave way. The shackles weren’t locked around her wrists and ankles. One after another, I pulled them off until she was no longer chained.
Sighing, I looked up at Artemy. “We have to go.”
When he didn’t respond, I touched his shoulder. “Artemy, we need to get out of here. Now!”
No response. What was going on in his fucking mind right now? Was he too far gone?
Shaking my head, I pushed the thought away.
My hand tightened on his shoulder. There was only one way to snap him out of his daze.
“We need to get Rebecca out. She is not safe here,” I muttered quietly.
His head snapped up, his eyes meeting mine. My heart might have stopped for a second. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking.
I remembered the day of his mother’s funeral. Or even the moment we found him after his mother’s death. He didn’t cry. No, he stood there emotionless, watching everything happening around him.
You would think a man like that wouldn’t understand heartbreak.
But the look in his eyes right now showed so much pain that even I felt it.
The look was there for a brief moment. Artemy changed almost too quickly, masking his emotion.
His eyes flared dangerously and I knew my words had hit home. Good. He needed to snap out of it.
Artemy looked down at Rebecca again. His expression softened the slightest bit. “She…I…” he choked, pulling Rebecca into his chest more.
“I know. We’ll take care of her back at the estate. Right now, our priority is to get her to safety,” I reasoned.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. Artemy caressed Rebecca’s cheek, his fingers barely touching her skin. He handled her with a gentleness that I didn’t think he was capable of.
I stared at Rebecca, my eyes moving to her neck. My fingers were still on her neck too, but now I was mindlessly caressing her pulse, my touch light on her skin.
Quickly snatching my hand away, I stood up. My hands fisted at my side, my jaw grinding in sudden frustration.
Artemy shifted Rebecca in his arms and slowly stood up. My eyes went to his legs when I saw him limp forward.
“Let’s go,” Avim called. I nodded and quickly walked away. Following Bernadette and Avim, we started to climb up the stairs.
They made it out first, but I stopped in the middle to see Artemy still on the first step. I ran down the steps, stopping in front of him.
“Give her to me,” I said with my arms out.
Artemy shook his head, his arms tightening protectively around Rebecca. “Artemy, you can’t carry Rebecca out like this. You can’t keep her safe with an injured leg.”
His eyes glinted with anger, and he growled. “I can protect her. Move out of my way, Brayden.”
With a sigh, I stared into his eyes. “After everything we’ve been through, do you not trust me?”
“Brayden,” he warned. “Move.”
“Give her to me. Damn it! Stop being so fucking stubborn.”
When Artemy didn’t move to do so, I finally understood. Seeing Rebecca like this, there was no bound for his protective instincts. Hell, there was no fucking way he would let another man near her.
“I’ll carry her out, Artemy. Think about it. You can’t keep her safe with your leg. I’m faster.” I sighed, my eyes shifting yet again toward Rebecca. “I will protect her as if she were my woman.”
Artemy’s eyes glowed dangerously. He moved forward, his face mere inches from mine. “She is not yours,” he snapped. Even though the anger was there, I saw his resolve slipping away.
He looked down at Rebecca again. “If something happens to her, I will kill you.”
“I know,” I replied with a nod.
Artemy finally shifted Rebecca into my arms, and I quickly brought her to my chest. Rebecca was light, barely weighing anything. She felt fragile in my arms, and my eyes moved to her rounded stomach.
I avoided looking at it before, but now that she was in my arms, there was no avoiding the round bump.
I couldn’t even imagine the horrors Rebecca had to go through with Raffaele.
Artemy touched her cheek in a soft caress before nodding at me. I returned the nod and quickly walked up the stairs with Artemy right behind me.
We didn’t stop until we were out of the house. After Artemy climbed in the backseat of the car, I placed Rebecca on his lap. He immediately wrapped his arms around her.
“Get us home as quickly as you can,” he ordered.
“Boss,” Avim acknowledged his words before climbing into the driver’s seat. Bernadette was beside Artemy while I moved to the front with Avim.
“She’s going to be okay,” Artemy said. I glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw Artemy’s gaze fixated on Rebecca. He placed a kiss on her nose. “Nothing is going to happen to her. I won’t allow it.”
I closed my eyes, leaning against the headrest.
I hoped he was right. There was no other option.
Rebecca had to be okay. Not only for her sake, but for Artemy’s sanity.