Mended Oath (Crumbling Empire Book 2) by Maia Terry

Author:Maia Terry [Terry, Maia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-06-30T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter twenty

Declan

The next evening, Natalia and I lie on the couch. I have to leave her soon per the plan we have in place, but this is probably the hardest goodbye I’ve had to date. I’ve been putting it off for the last two hours as I try to ignore the extreme feeling of dread that has taken up residence in the pit of my stomach. The unease that something will happen to her while I’m gone must be taking over my mind the closer I get to leaving.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” I ask, fiddling with our entwined fingers, trying to play off how nervous I am about her going to my father's warehouse alone. I wasn’t a fan of the idea at first. Dmitri wasn’t either, but we knew that it was our only option. We couldn’t risk Rian finding out about him yet. We can’t risk everything blowing up in our faces before we’ve even had a chance to get revenge. There’s no fucking way. If we didn’t do this, it would compromise everything.

She shrugs a shoulder and leans her head back against my chest, thumb wrestling my fingers with hers. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she mumbles. “It has to be done, unfortunately. I don’t want you to get hurt, I don’t want to get hurt, and I surely don’t want Dmitri to get hurt. At least if it were me, I don’t have anyone to go home to, any little people to be a role model for. Dmitri and you are both strong, I know. You both have connections, I know, but what about me? What happens if shit hits the fan? That’s the part that I’m not ready for.”

“Baby, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can get someone else to do it. Finn volunteered,” I rush, my words come much quicker than they should have, and I worry she will think that I am coddling her. I guess it wouldn’t be a wrong assumption, because I absolutely agree with her. There is no chance in hell I’d risk her getting hurt. Unfortunately, she doesn’t agree with me. “I don’t want you to be in the cross fires, Nat. I understand that this is your revenge, but there is always another way for this to happen. Finn is more than ready to take the necessary shots. All you have to do is say the words. He was just complaining that he didn’t get to have any fun! You’d practically be giving him an early Christmas present.”

After a moment of silence, she sits up and turns to face me. Her eyes are steel blue as she focuses on the tattoo covering my chest, indicating that she’s not giving this one up. “No. It has to be me.” She squares her shoulders as her eyes find mine, daring me to tell her otherwise.

“Baby,” I try once more, sitting further up on the couch. I try to change her mind, but she shakes her head adamantly, her eyes pinching in frustration.

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