Chapter 15

Anna let out a long, shuddering breath. She didn’t ask questions about the violence; she accepted the brutal reality of his world. She gently laid the sleeping three-year-old down on the small cot in the corner of the room, pulling a blanket over her.

She turned back to Alexander. “Are you hurt?” she asked quietly, noticing the blood on his cuff.

“It is not my blood,” Alexander replied, his deep voice devoid of emotion.

He closed the heavy steel door behind him, sealing them in the quiet, secure room. He walked toward her, the adrenaline of the battle slowly receding, leaving behind a raw, intense focus. He stopped inches away from her, his imposing, masculine frame completely overwhelming the small space.

“You did exactly as you were instructed,” Alexander noted, his dark, penetrating eyes scanning her face. “You didn’t hesitate.”

“I told you I would protect her,” Anna whispered, her expressive brows drawing together. “I meant it.”

Alexander reached out, his heavily tattooed hand gently touching her cheek. The contrast between the violent killer who had just executed men in the snow and the tender man touching her face was staggering.

“I know you did,” Alexander murmured, his voice dropping into a low, terrifyingly intimate register. “But I realized something tonight, Anna, while they were trying to break down my gates.”

Anna’s breath hitched. She looked up into his cold, intimidating eyes, finding them burning with an intense, proprietary heat. “What did you realize?”

“I realized,” Alexander whispered, leaning down so his lips were mere inches from hers, “that I wasn’t just fighting to protect my daughter. I was fighting to protect you.”

>>Chapter 16