47. Kiera
KIERA
There are voices. Lots of them. They float around me like I'm underwater, muffled and distant. I try to focus on them, to make sense of the words, but they keep slipping away before I can grasp their meaning.
Something soft is beneath me. A couch, maybe? The cushions are plush and expensive, the kind that mold to your body. I'm lying down, that much I know. But why? And where?
I force my eyes open, blinking against the brightness of the room. The light is too harsh, making my head throb with a dull ache that pulses behind my temples. Shapes hover above me, dark and indistinct, like shadows cast by flickering candlelight.
It takes several long blinks before the shapes begin to resolve into faces. Male faces. A lot of them. They're all staring down at me with varying expressions of concern, worry, and fear.
Kevin's face comes into focus first. His jaw is tight, his eyes dark with anxiety.
Beside him is Devin, his muscular frame tense, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Jack stands just behind them, his cop instincts clearly on high alert as he watches me with that analytical gaze he gets when he's trying to piece together what happened.
Kaleb is there too, his expression softer but no less worried, his hand gripping the back of the couch like he needs something to hold onto.
And then there's Emil. He's closest to me, his dark eyes locked on my face with an intensity that makes my breath catch.
His expression is harder to read than my brothers', a mixture of relief and something darker, something almost possessive.
Behind him stands a man I vaguely recognize as the doctor who treated Emil after the honor fight with my brothers.
He's holding a stethoscope and watching me with professional concern.
"Kiera?" Kevin's voice cuts through the fog in my brain. "Can you hear me?"
I try to speak, but my throat is dry and my tongue feels thick. I swallow hard and try again. "What happened?"
The question comes out as barely more than a whisper, but it's enough.
The tension in the room ratchets up another notch, and suddenly, everyone is talking at once.
My brothers' voices overlap, each of them trying to explain or ask questions or express their worry.
The cacophony makes my head pound harder, and I wince.
"Enough." Emil's voice cuts through the noise like a blade. The room falls silent immediately, and I'm reminded once again of the power he wields, the authority that makes grown men obey without question. He looks down at me, his expression softening slightly. "How do you feel?"
I take stock of my body. My head aches, and I feel a bit dizzy, but otherwise, I seem okay. "I'm fine, I think. What happened?"
"You fainted," the doctor says, moving closer. He's an older man with graying hair and kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. "Your brothers said you were standing one moment and unconscious the next."
The memory comes back in a rush. The phone call. The threat against my brothers. Emil, Luca, and Jack leaving for the meeting location. Waiting here with Kevin, Devin, and Kaleb, my anxiety building with every passing minute. And then… nothing. Just darkness.
"I remember," I say quietly. I try to sit up, needing to see everyone properly, needing to not feel so vulnerable lying here while they all hover over me.
"Lie back down," Emil says immediately, his hand moving to my shoulder to keep me in place.
I ignore him, pushing myself up despite the way the room spins slightly. "I'm fine."
"Miss Walker, I really think you should rest," the doctor says, his tone gentle but firm. "You seem fine, but I'd like to run some tests just to be sure. And you need to take it easy for the rest of the night."
"I don't need tests," I say, swinging my legs off the couch. My feet touch the plush carpet, and I'm grateful for the solid ground beneath me. "I just got dizzy. It happens."
"It doesn't just happen," Jack says, his cop voice coming out. "When was the last time you ate?"
I open my mouth to answer, then close it again. When was the last time I ate? Breakfast? No, I'd been too anxious to eat breakfast. Lunch? I can't remember having lunch either. My stomach had been in knots all day, worry about my brothers and the mysterious caller consuming every thought.
"That's what I thought," Jack says, reading my silence correctly. "You need to eat something."
"I'll have the kitchen prepare something," Emil says, but he doesn't move. He's still watching me with that intense gaze, like he's afraid I might disappear if he looks away.
Kevin moves closer, crouching down so he's at eye level with me. "You scared the hell out of us, Kiera. One second, you were standing there, and the next, you just… dropped."
"I'm sorry," I say, and I mean it. I can see the genuine fear in my brothers' eyes, the way their faces are still pale with worry. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"Of course you didn't mean to," Kaleb says softly. "But that doesn't change the fact that we were terrified."
Emil suddenly stands, the movement so abrupt that everyone's attention snaps to him.
He runs a hand through his hair, messing up the already disheveled strands.
His shirt is still untucked from earlier, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
He looks tired, I realize. Exhausted, even.
The lines around his eyes are deeper than usual, and there's a tension in his shoulders that speaks of stress and worry.
He turns to face all of us, his expression hardening into something determined and unyielding. "We're not waiting any longer," he says, his voice carrying the weight of absolute authority. "We're getting married tomorrow."
The room erupts. My brothers start talking at once, their voices raised in protest and disbelief. The doctor takes a step back, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden shift in atmosphere. Luca, who I hadn't even noticed standing near the doorway, straightens to attention.
"Tomorrow?" Kevin's voice rises above the others. "Are you insane? She just fainted!"
"Which is exactly why we're not waiting," Emil says, his tone brooking no argument. He turns to Luca, his expression all business. "Make sure the church is available tomorrow. I don't care what you have to do or who you have to pay. Make it happen."
"Yes, Pakhan," Luca says immediately, already pulling out his phone.
Emil's gaze sweeps over my brothers, and I can see the calculation in his eyes. "You're all staying here tonight. I'll have the staff prepare rooms for you."
"Now wait just a minute," Devin starts, but Emil cuts him off with a look.
"This isn't a request. Someone threatened you tonight. Someone knows where you live, your routines, and how to get to you. Until we find out who and why, you're staying here where my security can protect you."
The logic is sound, even if the delivery is autocratic.
My brothers exchange glances, and I can see them weighing their options.
They don't like being told what to do, especially not by Emil.
But they also can't argue with the fact that someone did threaten them tonight, that there is a very real danger.
Before anyone can respond, Emil moves. He bends down and scoops me up into his arms, one arm under my knees and the other supporting my back. I let out a squeal of surprise, my hands automatically grabbing onto his shoulders for balance.
"What are you doing?" I demand, my face flushing with embarrassment at being carried like a child in front of everyone.
"Taking you to bed," he says simply, already moving toward the doorway. "You need rest."
"I can walk!"
"I'm sure you can. But you're not going to."
I want to argue, to demand that he put me down, but the truth is I'm still feeling a bit dizzy and the idea of walking all the way to my room doesn't sound appealing. So instead, I just glare at him, which only makes the corner of his mouth twitch like he's fighting a smile.
My brothers watch us go, their expressions a mixture of concern and resignation. The doctor calls after us that he'll check on me in the morning, and Luca is already on the phone making arrangements for the church.
Emil carries me through the hallways of the estate, his steps sure and steady despite my weight in his arms. The house is quiet at this late hour, most of the staff having retired for the night. The only sounds are our breathing and the soft thud of Emil's footsteps on the marble floors.
When we reach my room, he somehow manages to open the door without putting me down, then carries me inside and deposits me gently on the bed. The mattress dips under my weight, and I sink into the soft comforter with a sigh.
"We don't need to get married tomorrow," I say as he straightens up.
"No." The word is flat, final. He moves to the chair near my bed and sits down heavily, like the weight of the world is pressing down on his shoulders. "We're not waiting. Not after tonight."
"Emil…"
"Someone threatened your brothers to get to you, Kiera. They knew exactly which buttons to push, exactly how to make you vulnerable. And it worked. You would have gone to that meeting if I hadn't stopped you."
I can't argue with that because it's true. If Emil hadn't been there, if he hadn't taken charge and sent his men to protect my brothers, I would have walked right into whatever trap was waiting for me.
"Once we're married, you'll have the full protection of my name and my organization," he continues. "Anyone who comes after you will be coming after me. And that changes everything."
"So this is about protection," I say quietly. "About keeping me safe."
"Yes." He leans forward, his elbows on his knees, his dark eyes locked on mine. "But it's also about making sure no one can take you away from me. Once you're my wife, you're mine. Legally, officially, in every way that matters."
The possessiveness in his voice should bother me. It should make me want to argue and push back against his need to claim and control. But instead, I feel something warm unfurl in my chest. Something that feels dangerously close to happiness.
My disappointment must show on my face because his expression softens slightly. "We'll have another ceremony later," he says. "Once the threat is eliminated, once it's safe. Something bigger and grander. Whatever you want. But tomorrow, we make it legal. We make it real."
I shudder at his words. Once the threat is eliminated. I don't need him to spell out what that means. I know how threats are eliminated in his world. With violence, blood, and death.
But as I study him, sitting there in the chair beside my bed, his hair messed up and his shirt wrinkled, his eyes dark with worry and determination, I realize something. I can't run away. Not like I'd thought I wanted to. Not like I'd been planning.
Because despite everything, Emil is a good man. He's protecting my brothers when he could have just as easily eliminated them as threats. He's worried about me, genuinely worried in a way that goes beyond just wanting to possess me or control me.
He cares. Maybe he doesn't know how to show it in normal ways, maybe his methods are extreme and his world is dark, but he cares. And that matters more than I want to admit.
"Okay," I hear myself say. "Tomorrow, then."
His eyes widen slightly, like he'd been expecting more of a fight. "Okay?"
"Yes. Okay." I settle back against the pillows, suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline from earlier is wearing off, leaving me drained and heavy.
We fall into silence, and I find my eyelids growing heavy.
Emil is still talking, saying something about the ceremony and the security arrangements, but his voice is fading, becoming distant and soft.
I try to focus on his words, to stay awake and engaged, but sleep is pulling at me with insistent fingers.
The last thing I'm aware of is Emil's voice, low and soothing, and the feeling of safety that comes from knowing he's there, watching over me.
When I wake up, the room is still dark, but there's a faint lightening at the edges of the curtains that suggests dawn isn't far off. I blink slowly, my eyes adjusting to the dimness.
Emil is asleep in the chair beside my bed, his head tilted back at an angle that's going to give him a terrible crick in his neck.
His arms are crossed over his chest, and his breathing is deep and even.
Even in sleep, there's a tension to his posture, like he's ready to wake at the slightest sound.
He stayed. All night, he stayed here, watching over me.