Chapter 35 Sera
SERA
The first thing I see when we enter Elite headquarters later that day is my brother pacing near the seating area like a caged animal, while Elizabeth gazes up at him in amusement from her seat on the sofa. Callum and Finn come out of the kitchen just as Brady spots us and charges forward.
“Where the fuck were you?” he roars at Liev.
Elizabeth jumps up, chasing after him. She grabs at his arm to slow him down. “Calm down before you blow a blood vessel.”
I open my mouth to defend him, but Liev is already shifting me behind him, blocking Brady’s path. It’s almost funny—thinking my brother is a threat to me—but the look on Brady’s face chases the smile away.
Brady’s eyes flicker at Liev’s protective move, and he breaks stride for a second.
Callum steps between the two men just before Brady plows into Liev’s chest.
“Easy, Boss.”
“Take a breath,” I snap, moving to the side so I can see Brady. “There’s no reason for you to be banging your fists on your chest. Nothing happened.”
Brady doesn’t even look at me. His chest heaves. “Where the fuck were you?” he snarls, leaning closer, but Callum’s massive body is an effective wall. “You just fucked off and left her there by herself. She could have been hurt—or worse.”
Liev’s body turns to stone. I get why Brady’s upset, but I also know he can’t possibly beat Liev up more than Liev is already doing to himself.
“I don’t have an excuse,” Liev says, voice flat.
“That’s not what I heard,” Brady sneers through his gritted teeth, nostrils flaring. “I heard you had a tummy ache and left. But funny—there was no sign of you in the room later.”
Thanks, Ray.
“Where’d you go? Strip club? Was getting your dick wet more important than watching her back?”
“Stop!” I shout when Liev stays silent. “If we thought there was any danger, he would have been there. He would never put me in jeopardy.”
I take a step toward my brother, blood boiling, but Liev catches my hand, tugging me back. Brady’s eyes drop to our joined hands, and his face turns even redder.
My own breath coming faster, I say, “Originally there was only supposed to be one bodyguard on this job. And when something happened, I handled it.”
“That’s not the point,” Brady hisses. “The point is—”
“The point is you didn’t think I could handle it. Guess what? I did. Even if Ray hadn’t come along, it was under control.”
Brady’s jaw works back and forth, veins bulging in his neck. “This isn’t about you, Sera! It’s about him leaving you with no protection because he couldn’t be bothered to stick around. Did the job get too boring, or did you have better things to do than to protect her?”
At his words my temper fully ignites. I’m tired of being underestimated. And I’m tired of being seen as a victim.
“I was the protection, asshole. In case you forgot. For fuck’s sake, you trained me yourself. If you didn’t think I could do the job, why did you send me?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Brady dismisses me.
The low growl that emanates from the man next to me sounds almost feral—the only warning before he drops my hand and shoves Callum out of the way to tower over Brady.
“Call my wife stupid again, and brother or not, I will rip your fucking spine out through your mouth and choke you with it.”
The room goes dead silent.
I close my eyes and groan. Not the way I wanted to tell my brother.
Brady’s face drains of color. His throat bobs as he swallows. He grabs the hand I’ve been gesturing with and stares at my rings.
His mouth opens, closes. He makes a strange choking noise like he’s trying to inflate his lungs.
“Your… what?” Brady’s fingers clamp around my hand, and for a second I wonder if I’m about to be in the middle of an actual tug of war.
“My wife,” Liev repeats, his voice little more than a growl.
Brady releases my hand like it burned him, and Liev pulls me closer, slipping a firm arm around my waist.
My brother’s gaze swings between us, his expression a mixture of disbelief and disappointment.
“You married him? Sera, what were you thinking? Were you drunk?”
I flinch, overly aware of how everyone is staring at me.
Brady shoves his hands back through his hair. “You’re twenty-four years old, for Christ’s sake. When are you going to grow up and stop being so reckless?”
My jaw locks, and I tip my chin up, refusing to let him see how much his words hurt.
“Brady—” Elizabeth tries to soothe him.
“No.” He scowls at her. “This is insane. You’ve known him what? A week? How do you not see what he’s done?”
Liev goes rigid next to me. When he tries to pull his hand back, I grip him tighter. The bridge of my nose stings, and I blink rapidly to keep the moisture at bay.
“What exactly do you think he’s done? Because as far as I can see, he’s been amazing. He’s been my friend. He’s done everything I needed him to do—and a lot I didn’t even know I wanted.” Liev squeezes my hand, but I can feel the anger vibrating through his body.
“That’s exactly my point,” Brady says, narrowing his eyes at Liev. If not for Elizabeth holding tight to his arm, I’m sure he’d have charged again. “She’s still not herself yet. She’s fragile. And you obviously have an agenda of some kind. Even if I haven’t figured it out yet?”
The veins in his temples throb. Other than when Elizabeth was taken, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother this angry. “What is it, Kovalyov? Figure out my sister is vulnerable? First you guilt her into getting you a job here, and then you got in her pants. Or was it all part of the same plan?”
One second Liev’s beside me, the next he’s got Brady by the collar, shoving him back against the table, so hard his back bows.
“I’ll kill you for talking about her like that.”
Speaking of looks I’ve never seen before…
Brady makes some sort of bucking move that partially breaks Liev’s hold.
“Stop it!” Elizabeth shouts. “You are both acting ridiculous.”
Brady’s eyes flash and, getting his hands free, shoves Liev back. “Get your fucking hands off me.”
With a heavy sigh, Callum wedges his arms between them, pulling Liev off with one hand and holding Brady back with the other. “Enough. Both of you.”
Liev steps back but doesn’t drop his glare. His body is taut with tension, fists clenched at his sides.
I grab his arm and squeeze. “It’s okay. Really. Please. Just stop.”
His eyes burn down into mine. “No, malyshka, it’s not okay.” His murderous gaze flicks up to meet my brother’s equally angry one. “No one is going to hurt you ever again.”
Brady straightens his shirt, face twisted in fury. “Hurt her? I’m trying to protect her—from you! From this bullshit life you’re dragging her into. She’s my sister—she deserves better than some criminal who—”
“Brady!” My hurt at his words morphs into a cold anger.
“You’re talking about me like I’m not standing right here.
Regardless of what you think, I’m not stupid.
You think I haven’t thought about what getting married means?
News flash, I’m not a kid anymore. I walked into this marriage with my eyes wide open. ”
I take a breath and even my tone. “I married Liev because I love him. Because he sees me—not some fragile little girl who needs saving. I’m never going to be the person I was before, Brady. And that’s not a bad thing. If you can’t come to terms with that, maybe you should be in therapy.”
Brady flinches. Regret flashes across his eyes for a brief moment before the anger surges back.
“Love? Sera, you’re too young to even know what that is.
I know it’s been hard for you since Aaron, but you can’t mistake someone being nice to you for their own reasons for love.
You barely know him. This isn’t a fairy tale. ”
“Brady, maybe we should—” Elizabeth coaxes.
Liev’s large palm covers my trembling hands, where I’ve clenched them in front of me. “I’m an adult and fully capable of making my own decisions. You can’t have it both ways. I can’t be too young to be in love, but so old I shouldn’t make what you think are ‘reckless’ decisions.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I made a mistake two years ago. I’ve admitted that and done everything I can to recover from it. But I’ve learned from it, too. I’m a stronger woman having gone through it, and Liev has helped me realize that.”
Brady runs a hand through his hair, exhaling hard. “Sera, I didn’t mean… Fuck. I just… You’re my sister. I’ve watched you go through hell. Aaron almost killed you. And now this? Marrying a guy like him? His entire life is violence. You deserve better.”
“That’s ironic coming from you.”
His head snaps back like I’ve slapped him. “What?”
“You’ve done plenty of violent things. Should Elizabeth not love you?”
“That’s different.” His eyebrows bunch. “You are still young. You haven’t thought this through. You couldn’t have.”
I can’t hear how ‘young’ I am one more time. My chest aches. I love Brady. He’s been my rock, my overprotective pain in the ass. But right now, he’s oblivious to how much he’s hurting me.
“Brady!” Elizabeth snaps sharply. “Don’t say something you can’t take back.”
His shoulders sag. “Sera… I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I’m scared for you. You’re my little sister. I can’t lose you.”
The words soften my anger a little. “You’re not losing me. But if you keep treating me like I’m still that scared girl, you might push me away.”
Elizabeth lets go of my brother’s arm and steps forward to pull me into a hug. “Congratulations. We’ll talk later.” She gives Brady a look over her shoulder. “Without the testosterone.”
I hug her back. “Sounds good.”
Brady scrubs his face. “I need a minute.” He pauses at the base of the stairs before looking back at me. “We’re not done talking about this.”
Callum grunts as my brother storms up the stairs. “And to think I used to feel sorry for myself for not having a family. Phone’s with Finn. He’ll update you.” Then Callum’s gone, too.
Elizabeth grimaces. “Brady will come around. You know he’s a total control freak, but he loves you.”