Page 126 of The Enemy Protector
“I married you for an alliance.”
“You married me because you knew I would keep you alive.” I move closer, crowding her space. “And I will. Whether you like my methods or not.”
She tilts her head back to maintain eye contact. “You don’t get to make unilateral decisions about my life.”
“I already have. Multiple times. And I’ll do it again.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I’m effective.” I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She doesn’t pull away. “I know you want to believe there’s a clean way out of this. That you can outsmart Yuri or outmaneuver him or convince the other families to side with you. Maybe you can. But if you can’t, I’m going to do what needs to be done.”
“And if I tell you not to?”
“Then we’ll have a problem.”
She stares at me. I watch her process this. Watch her calculate her options.
“I want to try it my way first,” she says finally.
“Fine.”
“You mean that?”
“I mean I’ll give you time to try. But if he makes a move on you—if he gets anywhere near you—all bets are off.”
She nods slowly. “That’s fair.”
“I’m not trying to take over your operation, Sofia. I’ve told you that. I don’t need to absorb the Baranov empire or strip you of your power. Again, I’m trying to keep you alive so you can actually run it.”
“I know.” Her voice is softer now. “I know you are. It’s just?—"
“Hard to trust anyone.”
“Yes.”
I pull her against me. She resists for half a second, then melts into my chest. Her arms come up to wrap around my waist.
“I hate that you’re always right,” she mutters against my shirt.
“I’m not always right.”
“You think you are.”
“I think I have more experience navigating this world than you do.”
She pulls back enough to look up at me. “Teach me.”
“What?”
“Teach me how to do this. How to be what I need to be.” Her eyes are fierce. Determined. “I don’t want to be managed or protected like I’m fragile. I want to learn. I want to be able to handle threats myself.”
This is what I’ve been waiting for. Not the compliance. Not the obedience. This—the fire. The willingness to become dangerous.
“Alright,” I say. “But you’re not going to like it.”
“I don’t care.”
“You’ll have to get your hands dirty.”
