Page 64 of Bought to Bear Bratva Heir

"If you leave now, I will make sure you never see him again." Ilya's voice was a low, angry promise.

Ice filled my veins. "Not the first time I’ve heard threats from a Popovitch. But I’m not a girl anymore, Ilya. I will fight for him." Taking a deep breath, I met my son's eyes for what could be the last time. "I will come back for you, Alec, and I will get you out of this hellhole. I’ll be back because even if your papa doesn’t choose you, I always will."

And then I walked away.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Daisy

There was only one place I could go in the entire city. Just one.

And it took me all night to reach the house I grew up in. I had some money to get a cab, but the walk—the pain from the blisters that covered my feet by the end of it—felt like some kind of payment for leaving my son.

Again.

His face haunted me. The way he had reached for me and screamed for me to take him with me would be with me for the rest of my life. I knew he thought I’d abandoned him again. That probably Ilya would tell him even worse, but I couldn’t stay there.

Not because of the harsh words of Marguerite. I didn’t care about her. No, I had to leave because of Ilya's refusal to see what was right in front of his face. He was so busy making me pay for the things he had ordered in the past that he was no longer protecting our son.

Only I could do that. And I couldn’t do it locked in a room with Ilya sneaking in because he couldn’t stay away from me even when he said he hated me.

It was all so confusing. What was happening. The feelings being around him made me feel. I needed to clear my head. I had to get away from this mess.

But I would get Alec out of that house. I would not let Marguerite destroy my child with her lies and venom. If Ilya was too blind to see the truth, then he would have to suffer the consequences. He was grown, and—

I let out a sigh of relief when my key slid into the lock and turned. I had half expected that Ilya would have had the locks changed when he found me in the city, but no, everything was just how I left it. The only difference was a fine layer of dust over everything.

Kicking the door shut behind me, I leant against it for a second, just trying to catch my breath. It wasn’t the walk that had left me out of breath. It was the fear. The fear that at any second Ilya's men would grab me and drag me back.

Or worse.

I had shown him up last night, and he wasn’t going to let that go. I had to—I had to—

A groan ripped its way out of my lips as I eyed the sofa. What I had to do was sleep. Just for a few hours. I couldn’t even think straight, I was so tired.

Pulling out my phone, I swiped to a picture of my son and me together at the zoo. Both our faces happy and open. Running my fingers over his face, I let the tears fall down my cheeks. "Mommy is coming back for you, Alec," I promised the empty house. "Mommy is not going to be driven away again. I love you."

I knew he couldn’t hear me, but I hoped he knew that. One last look at the happy memory, and then I locked the door and fell face-down on the sofa.

I was asleep before I’d even hit the cushions.

The sound of screaming pierced my dreams, and I bolted upright. Bright sunshine blazed through the open curtains and hit directly on my face. I blinked rapidly, trying to pinpoint the sound. Even though my heart was racing and panic was gripping me, it took me a few seconds before I realized that it wasn’t screaming at all.

It was my cell phone ringing.

Fumbling in my pocket, I stared at the unknown number for a second. It had to be Ilya. There was no one else who would ring me on a withheld number. Steeling myself, I answered.

"Mama?" Alec’s tear-filled voice filled my ears, and my heart clenched in my chest. "Mama, is that you?"

"It’s me. Are you okay, Alec?"

There was a little sob, like he was trying not to make a sound.

"Alec, where are you?"

"Under my bed. I’ve been hiding, and—" his voice dropped to the tiniest of whispers. I could almost picture him hiding under his bed, his Papa's stolen phone in his hand.

"Papa is so mad," he whispered. "Can you come and get me? I don’t want to be here anymore."