Page 117 of Brutal Knight

Fuck. I forgot about this part.

TWENTY-EIGHT

"Don't do anything stupid.We don't want to hurt Tatiana," I growled out, shifting to put myself between her and the gun in Rook's hand.

"Me?" Rook snarled. "I'm not the one who's hurt Tatiana." He shoved the cold end of the gun to my head. "Get up. Off the mattress. I want you on your knees."

"Rook, don't." Tatiana tightened her arms around my neck protectively. "You promised."

"Imade a promise?Wemade them. Together."

"I know, but I...I..." she faltered, then, "Don't do it." I felt her throat bob. "You can't."

"You know I have to."

"You don't."

"I want to. Now let him go and come stand by me. We'll do it together."

"No."

"Then leave the room. We'll talk about this later."

"Rook. I'm warning you. I won't allow it."

The room descended into a stark silence, then, when he spoke, pain etched his voice. "Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not."

"Then..." Once again, there was a silence, and when Rook spoke, his voice had softened. "Tatiana, you know I won't hurt you. But you need to do as I say. Let him go and come stand by me."

"If you hurt her, Iwillkill you," I snapped.

"You won't have a chance to even move," Rook growled. I could feel the renewed rage rolling off of him, the coldness that had crept into the room –– my death was imminent, if Rook had his way.

And with it, Tatiana's safety was at risk.

"It's okay," I announced. "I'll do what you want. Just let her go first."

"No." She squeezed me so tight, my face was pressed to the side of her face. I could barely breathe.

"Tati," my voice was soft, "it's okay. This is between Rook and me."

"That's not true. I have a say in this, and I'm saying no."

"Baby," I pulled out of her tight hold to look into her eyes, loving the defiance in them. And yet, I needed to keep her safe. "It's okay." I stroked a thumb across her cheek, then kissed her softly. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"He won't hurt me."

"You don't know that," I shook my head, brushing my lips over hers. "You don't know him, not like I do. He hasn't told you all the things he's done to me."

"He has." She shook her head. "And I don't care. This is about all of us, not just you two."

"Baby, I can't lose you. Not like this," I leaned down, kissing her again, inhaling her scent. Wanting to imprint this moment in my mind in case I never saw her again. "I need you safe, so please go. Let Rook and I work this out."

"Tatiana," Rook growled, "you know I'm not walking out this door until I get what I want. If you can't handle it, then you need to get out."

"Fuck you two," Tatiana fired back. "I'm staying."

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