“It’s going to be okay. No one is going to hurt you, you hear me. I won’t let anyone get to you. I’ll kill anyone who tries to touch you.”
Mine. All mine. The words appear in my mind and I let them stick.
The guy that punched me stirs on the floor and I know I need to call Ivan before I lose my fucking mind. Exhaling I pick Sophie up and carry her to the bed so I can grab my phone. Without letting go of her, I dial my brother’s number. He answers on the second ring
“Roman?” His voice is sleepy, but I can still hear the concerned tone in his voice. He knows I wouldn’t call him in the middle of the night unless something was seriously wrong.
“Ivan, I need you to come to my place. Someone just broke in trying to take Sophie...”
“I’m on my way,” he cuts me off, hanging up the phone before I can respond. Before I put the phone away, I call Devin and Mac, asking them to come over as well. I need help dealing with these fuckers, but I won’t leave Violet and Sophie unprotected either.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I whisper into her hair. If he hurt her, I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold myself back from killing him.
“No, I’m just scared.” Her voice is trembling just like the rest of her body and all I want to do is wrap her up in a cocoon and protect her from the world.
I hate that she is scared. I don’t want her to have to be afraid anymore. I want her to feel safe and to be happy, she deserves happiness, a normal life. I remember how she kept telling me that she felt safe with me…only with me and even though I don’t understand why, I decide that she won’t be going anywhere at least right now. I don’t care what Ivan says, she’s safer here with me…and I won’t let her go.
“I’m here, you don’t have to be scared. I’ll always be here. I’m not letting you go...no one is going to take you from me.”
I can’t possibly mean that. Eventually, she will have to go. I’m not good enough for her, but for now, I’ll protect her. I’ll ensure she’s safe at all times.
When Ivan and Violet show up, I’m still holding onto Sophie, while keeping an eye on the two passed out guys on the floor.
“Are you okay?” Ivan asks, and I’m not sure which of us he is asking.
“I'm fine. Sophie is shaken up.” Feeling her body vibrate against mine kills me.
“Good. I mean not good, but you understand…” He huffs, while shaking his head. Leading the compound while expecting a baby, it's all weighing on him. My eyes collide with Violets. She looks like she might be sick at any second and I feel bad for having Ivan drag her out to deal with this. I can't imagine if Sophie was pregnant and my brother called me to help with a situation.
“I've got to help Ivan baby…” I whisper into Sophie's ear, and she nods acknowledging my words but says nothing. I release my hold on her and move from the bed.
“You two wait in the guest bedroom across the hall. Devin and Mac should be here any minute now.” Violet takes Sophie’s hand and tugs her off the bed. I can see the apprehension in her blue eyes, and I know she's afraid but I need to do this. Her safety is the important thing right now. I watch them leave the room,
“Let's take them to the compound, and interrogate them,” I tell Ivan.
“Yeah, let’s tie them up just in case they wake up on the way,” he says as he pulls out some cable ties from his back pocket and hands them to me.
“Thanks, boy scout.” I smirk and press my knee between Andi’s shoulder blades while pulling his arms back roughly and securing his wrists together. He grunts in pain in response to my actions and all I can think is good, I hope it hurts. I tighten the cable tie so they dig into his skin and I enjoy another pained cry that slips from his lips.
As I finish tying the piece of shit up, I hear the front door opening. I push off the floor, ready to defend, to kill, when Mac and Devin’s familiar chatter fills the hallway.
“Bedroom,” I yell down the hall and a moment later the guys appear in the doorway.
“What the fuck happened?” Mac questions.
“Don’t worry about it,” I snarl. “I need you to stay here with Sophie and Violet. You’ll protect them with your lives.”
“Of course.” They both nod and I pull Andi up off the floor by his arms. Ivan finishes tying up the other asshole and we drag them down the hall and out to Ivan’s SUV. I toss Andi into the backseat and slam the door closed as he lands at an odd angle against the seat. I don’t care, though. I have no remorse for this fucker.
You can't call yourself a friend, and then do what he did. An image of him hurting Sophie appears in my mind, of him bruising her soft skin, selling her body to one of those sick fucks and I see red. I can’t stop myself from punching the dashboard and even as my fist makes contact with it, I still don’t feel better. The fact that I let the son of a bitch inside my house only makes matters worse.
Ivan slides into the driver’s seat, he’s cool as a cucumber where I’m seconds away from snapping necks. That’s probably why this job isn’t suited for me. All I want to do is kill…
“Are you okay?” Ivan asks, as he drives us to the compounded. The two fuck faces are still passed out in the backseat, most likely wishing for death already.
“Sophie isn’t going to that stupid fucking house you bought.” I ignore his question and instead make my own statement. “I’m not letting her out of my sight, not after tonight.”
Ivan’s thick brow furrows, “I thought you’d want to get rid of her as soon as possible. You said so yourself. And you aren’t exactly in the right mindset to be watching over her. You can barely take care of yourself nowadays.”
His disapproval of me doesn’t matter, all that matters is Sophie’s safety.
“I don’t really give a fuck what you think Ivan. All I care about is Sophie and if you try and take her from me...I’ll…” I don’t want to say it, because I’m not one hundred percent sure what I’ll do but it won’t end well for anyone, especially not him. Sophie’s my new drug…the most potent drug of all. The only thing that matters to me now is keeping her close so I can keep her safe. I don’t give a fuck if she makes my heart beat out of my chest, or my stomach twist into knots.
There's no point in protecting my heart, not when she already owns it.
“Okay...okay, she can stay with you, but only if she wants to that is. I can’t make her stay with you Roman, and I won't.”
As we roll up to the compound, I turn to him, “You won’t have to make her. She already knows I’m the best man for the job.”
Two hours and many broken bones later Andi finally starts talking. I think up until now he still believed that I would let him go. He thought that I would spare his life because we have been friends for so long... except he stopped being my friend the moment he put his hands on Sophie.
“Please, man, they’re gonna kill me if I tell you.” Andi’s pathetic plea rings in my ears.
“You’re going to die either way...whether it’s painful and slow or pain free and fast is up to you.” Those are the only two options he has. I will not allow him to walk out of here alive.