“Thank you,” I say brightly.
She frowns, her shoulders caving forward. “I had a nice ring too. Big diamond.” A sarcastic laugh escapes her. “Big house. Everyone thought I lived the perfect life.”
I’m speechless for a moment.
“He used to beat me,” she says, making sure to keep her voice low enough that Nova’s singing drowns out her words. “Broke my fingers. Left bruises.”
My chest tightens. I reach for her hand and squeeze it gently. “I’m so sorry, Renea.”
A tear slips down her cheek.
I swallow, holding back my own.
“You’re safe here,” I assure her. “You and Nova both. We’ll take care of you. Your husband will never touch you again.”
It’s at that moment that I decide this is where I’ll stay.
Working at the clinic isn’t temporary for me.
Like Genesis, I want to help these women and children.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a husband who’d rather suffer every ounce of pain than for you to feel even a pinch of it.
And if needed, I’ll have my husband hurt the men who hurt these women, like he did to the one who had hurt me.
Tears prick at my eyes as I give her hand another squeeze. “You’ll find happiness. A love that cherishes you. Until then, you have us.”
44
“Rurick Morozova,”Antonio says, taking a step forward, meeting the old man’s stare.
Ah.
While I’ve never met Rurick, I’ve heard of him plenty of times. He’s Liliya’s grandfather. Head of the Bratva out of Moscow. He ran things in Russia while his son, Yaroslav, controlled the Bratva in the States. He’s also the one who approved for Aleksy to step in after Yaroslav’s and Dima’s deaths.
The SUV’s back doors open again, and two other men step out.
Both in sharp black suits and wearing thick gold chains around their necks.
One is nearly seven feet tall, and the other hardly hits five-five.
Rurick gestures toward the SUV. “Can we speak privately?” His English is somewhat broken.
Antonio scoffs, not showing Rurick the respect he’s used to, and shakes his head. “You just chased us down in your vehicle. I’m not getting in there with you.”
Like me, Antonio trusts no one.
Rurick lifts a brow. “Then where? There aren’t many places men like us can speak freely.”
“There’s a diner around the corner,” Antonio replies. “We can talk there.”
Rurick glances back at Lev and the other men.
“Just us,” Antonio adds. “You and Lev. Me and Emilio.”
“All right,” Rurick says. “To the diner we go.”
We getplenty of stares when we walk into the diner.
