Chapter 38
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
GORAN
They put me in a room without windows. No bars. No cellmate. No noise. Just painted concrete walls, a one-way mirror, and a single metal table and chair bolted to the floor. This tactic wasn’t about punishment. It was about pressure. I knew the training well.
I didn’t sit or pace. I stood in front of the mirror and stared at whoever watched from the other side. I would not give them the satisfaction of thinking they intimidated me.
The floor was hard beneath my boots, and the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. I took it all in. My knuckles were scraped. My hip throbbed where they had driven me into the ground. I catalogued the damage, giving my mind something to focus on besides what they might be doing to Kaylani.
I had no serious injuries. Nothing physical, anyway. The real damage was the thing clawing at my ribs. The moment they forced Lani to her knees, and she winced, my brain fried. That scene replayed on loop like a broken record, each repetition another knife to the chest.
It was my job to protect her, and I should have seen this coming. Dylan had given me more than enough reasons to believe he had called her father. But I ignored every single one. I wanted to give Kaylani a chance to win, to smile before the next layer of chaos was forced on us.
Now Dimitri had the upper hand, and I didn’t like that. Not one fucking bit.
The door opened.
I didn’t turn immediately, but I knew who it was. Even if I hadn’t seen his reflection in the mirror, the scent of his cologne gave him away.
Dimitri shut the door behind him with a thud. Slowly, I turned to face him.
He stood tall, chin up, as arrogant and cold as ever. He looked like he owned the building as if the state answered to him. His suit was immaculate. His expression was unreadable.
“You lied to me.”
“My loyalty was secured a long time ago.”
His gaze narrowed.
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
Silence filled the space between us, a dangerous energy building. It felt like a loaded gun, daring both of us to flinch and fire the killing shot.
“You disappoint me.”
That almost made me laugh.
“Sir, I have never strived for your approval.”
Dimitri’s eyes narrowed further, his calm surface beginning to crack.
“You’re well aware that my loyalty has always been to Nathaniel.”
“And not to this family?”
“I serve the family. I do not answer to you.”
His jaw flexed, muscles twitching. If there was one thing in this world Dimitri hated, it was being denied obedience. The insult only compounded when Nathaniel was involved.
“You assisted in the theft of property that belongs to Mikhailov Enterprises.”
“I assisted your daughter, who is part of the Mikhailov family and Enterprises,” I corrected.
“You enabled her rebellion.”
“I prevented you from crushing her spirit. You don’t seem to understand what your demands are doing to your daughter. Or maybe you simply don’t care.”
His eyes turned glacial.
“You have courage, Goran, I’ll give you that. But this is not some romantic movie. You don’t get to run off and take my daughter.”
He stepped closer, and it felt like he was goading me into attacking him.
“Technically, she ran off and took me. But either way, she’s an adult and can make her own decisions. I didn’t force her to do anything.” My head tilted slightly. “Why don’t you just say what’s really on your mind?”
“And what is that?”
“You hate that your control over Kaylani is slipping. She no longer sees you as the hero and more like the villain in her story. Your grip on the family has crumbled. You’re hanging on by a thread, and this is a desperate attempt to cling to some semblance of what you think you’re still owed.”
The insult landed and his eyes flared with anger.
“How dare you!” He growled, stepping closer.
“How dare I speak the truth?”
“She is my daughter.”
“But you treat her like a thing. You had her dragged through dirt. Physically, mentally, and publicly. You humiliated her and treated her like property, rather than someone you’re supposed to love.” I shook my head. “What shocks me most is that you’re blind to what you’re doing.”
If he was going to kill me, I was going to get out what I wanted to say.
“She forced my hand.”
“No. She forced you to act like a father. Instead, you acted like a tyrant.”
Something dark flickered behind his eyes.
“Do you think this will make her love you? Or have you stopped caring whether she does? Does true family loyalty mean so little to you now?”
His shoes struck the floor like a slap as he closed the remaining distance between us until our noses were touching.
I didn’t flinch.
“You’re a soldier, nothing more,” he hissed. “What do you know about the inner workings of keeping a family like the Mikhailovs on top?”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
His expression faltered for a second as if he expected me to argue and list off what I knew.
“But I do have two eyes. And I can see what’s happening. I’m saying what needs to be said. You may think you’re the head of the family, but that is a lie. Your empire is crumbling, and you’re too stubborn to accept it or change so it won’t.”
Dimitri sucked in a deep breath of air, but I continued before he could say anything.
“Even if you force Kaylani to agree to your demands, she will not love you for them. She will find a way to revolt against you. You will push her into Nathaniel’s arms and move further from whatever goal you think you’re protecting.”
His nostrils flared.
“You’re so focused on destroying your son that you no longer see the bigger picture. Nathaniel is bringing you down without lifting a finger. All he has to do is let you be yourself.”
Dimitri grabbed the front of my shirt in both fists.
“I should shoot you in the head for speaking to me like this.”
“It only hurts because you know it’s true.” My voice stayed even despite the fury coiling in my chest. “But you’d rather go to your grave telling the world you were right than admit you’re wrong. Your ego will get you killed. Sir.”
“Is that a threat?”
I drew in a slow breath.
“It’s a fact.”
He shoved me back and released my shirt. I stumbled with the force but straightened immediately.
Dimitri glared at me.
“What you think is of no consequence to me. What matters is that if I choose to, you will be charged for stealing my horse, truck, trailer, and kidnapping my daughter.”
My hands balled into fists at my side.
“You know that’s a lie.”
“The truth is what I make it,” he snarled, the control on his rage slipping a little more. “And on top of that, you assaulted officers.”
“They were hurting her,” I shot back. “I was just trying to protect her.”
“That is not justification.”
“It is to me.”
We stared at each other in silence, measuring. I had always seen Dimitri as a man of immense power and influence. Someone who could destroy anything or anyone in his path if he willed it.
But right now, all I saw was an old man clutching at power with desperate fingers because he felt his reign coming to an end.
“You love her,” he stated at last.
I didn’t say a word. My face was void of all emotion.
“Fine, don’t answer. But if you have feelings for my daughter, you will get over them.”
Something dark settled in my chest. The rage was swept aside for resolve, which was far deadlier for a man like me. He didn’t decide who I loved. I was a soldier. I had spent my life following orders. But my heart and soul were mine to govern. And they belonged to one person. And one person only.
“You will never control my emotions. Threaten me, punish me, kill me…I don’t care. My heart will remain off limits to you.”
“I give the orders concerning my family. Despite her disobedience, Kaylani is my daughter and under my authority. She will not end up married to the likes of a mere soldier.”
If he knew the truth, we wouldn’t be speaking right now. I would already be dead.
“You have a strange way of showing affection.”
My patience had begun to fray.
“Kaylani will marry a man of my choosing. A man who can provide for her and keep her in the life to which she is accustomed. She won’t be with someone who comes from nothing,” he sneered, looking me up and down like I was trash. “A beggar. Just like his father.”
I closed the distance between us until we were nearly chest to chest.
“My father never begged for anything. He was a loyal, hard-working man. We may not come from great means, but my family has always stood for honor.” My voice dropped lower. “Mention my father again, and I promise you, I’ll do something that neither of us walks away from.”
For the first time, Dimitri looked nervous. He glanced toward the glass. I knew someone was watching. His guards, Ronan, or the officers. It didn’t matter who. What mattered was that he understood the lengths I would go to protect my family, including Kaylani.
“She humiliates herself by loving you. I won’t allow it.”
The words hit with more force than anything else ever could.
“You’re wrong. You humiliate yourself, and you’re about to lose her love forever.”
His expression shifted, his lips curled, and I wanted to wipe the smirk right off his face.
“We’ll see.” He stepped back, which was a small victory. “You will be released.”
That stopped me.
“Why?”
“Because I allow it.”
I narrowed my eyes, studying him. Something was wrong. Dimitri wasn’t merciful. He certainly didn’t forgive betrayal. There was a motive here. I just couldn’t see it yet.
“And what about Kaylani?”
Dimitri paused, smoothing the front of his suit.
“She made her decision and has already been released.”
I froze.
“What decision?”
Dimitri didn’t answer. He turned to leave, presenting me his back like he knew I wouldn’t dare kill him in here. He knocked, and as the guards let him out, he looked over his shoulder at me.
“If you truly care for her, you will let her go.”
The door shut behind him.
And for the first time in my life, I felt true fear. What the hell had he done?