Ivan by the arm. Then he starts to half carry his brother to the back seat, leaving me standing there, still recovering from the panic attack he just gave me.
“Get in or I’ll leave your ass here,” Roman yells, and my heart jumpstarts, pounding furiously against my ribcage. Not wanting to test him, and knowing he most likely will leave me here, I run around the car and get into the back seat on the driver’s side. Ivan is already laying across the bench, and I lift his head, slipping into the seat, resting it against my thigh.
Roman slips into the front seat and turns around in his seat. “Don’t do anything stupid, keep your mouth shut, and don’t ask any questions. You do those things and we won’t have any problems.”
I gulp and nod, running my fingers through Ivan’s thick unruly locks to calm myself. I’ve met a lot of scary men in the last month or so, but Roman is probably the scariest in my book, and all because I don’t know what he will do next. He’s hot and cold. He says one thing and does another. At least with the other bad men, I knew they were mad and always would be.
He’s Ivan’s opposite in every way possible, and I wonder how that happened? Is Ivan really this dark and moody? Or is there something deeper going on inside Roman? When the SUV starts moving, Ivan groans, holding a hand to the wound on his stomach.
I barely look out the window to see where we are driving. Instead, I keep my eyes on Ivan, making sure he is okay. Only when we come to a stop do I look up and realize we are in front of a house. No, not a house, a fucking mansion. Even in the dark, I can see how huge the place is.
“Is this your…” I get out before Roman twists around in his seat, his glare stopping the rest of the words from escaping my lips. I’m reminded of the no question rule then and I squeeze my lips together tightly. I don’t want to find out what he will do if I don’t listen to him. With Ivan injured and barely clinging to life, all I have is Roman and the help he’s offering me.
We get out of the car in silence. Roman helps Ivan out of the car and up the walkway, into the house. I follow behind them like a lost puppy. I can’t stop my eyes taking in the house. It’s simple, but unlike anything I’ve seen before. Sleek and manly.
He takes us down a long hall with numerous doors and stops at one at the very end of the hall. He opens the door with the flick of his wrist and deposits Ivan on the king-sized bed.
Then he turns around to face me. “You can stay here until he is healed up enough to move around on his own but then I want you two out of my house and out of my fucking life. Got it?” The look in Roman’s eyes tells me not to test him. He’s like a feral dog, ready to bite at any given second.
I just respond with a nod, too scared that talking may set him off. A thank you sits on the tip of my tongue, but I keep it there. There isn’t any point in thanking him, not when it’s obvious he doesn’t want us here. He leaves the room a moment later, slamming the door closed behind him.
I slip out of my shoes and then pull Ivan’s boots off of him. Exhausted from everything that has happened today, I lay down on the bed next to him and let my eyes drift closed. I take one of Ivan’s hands into mine and cuddle into his side. I don’t know what we are going to do next but at least we are safe, and at least we have each other.
That’s all that matters now.
18
Ivan
I blink my eyes open slowly. It’s hard, really fucking hard, but I do it. My lungs burn and my body aches like I got hit with a goddamn truck as I try and sit up. Fuck, Luca really got a good shot on me. At least the fucker is dead now. All I need is this fucking bullet wound to heal, and I’ll be back to my normal self and out of my brother’s hair.