CHOSEN BY A SINNER (Completed)

Chapter 30

"He's my godfather."

Viktor lets out a burst of laughter. "That doesn't mean shit. The only reason why Luca's still breathing is because he loves
Mariya."

"Does she feel the same?" Liam asks.

I nod, a grin spreading over my face. "I'm a lucky bastard."

Viktor takes a seat on the couch and opens his laptop. "You can say that again." He brings up the footage of Mariya taking on the group of Albanians. "You need to see how badass my little sister is."

We all gather around as Viktor projects the footage onto the TV.

I can't watch it a second time and walk to the kitchen. Nikolas starts cheering my wife on as if he's watching a live fight.

"Christ." I hear Liam mutters. "I wouldn't have gotten up

if she did that to me."

"Right?" Viktor brags. "She's dynamite."

The corner of my mouth curves up, and pride fills my chest.

She's my dynamite.

When I get back to the hospital, it's to find Mariya's room empty of guests.

She's so deep in thought she doesn't even hear me until I say, "Hey, how long have you been alone?"

She shakes her head as if she's in a daze, then smiles at

"Only an hour. I think."

"You should've called me."

"I don't need a babysitter twenty-four-seven. I'm out of the woods, remember?"

I take a seat in the chair and press a kiss to her ring finger.

She's lost too much weight the past week. "Have you

eaten?"

"Yeah."

It looks like something's bothering her, so I ask, "What's

wrong?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing."

I move to sit on the side of the bed. "I thought we agreed no more secrets."

Mariya lifts her eyes to mine. "I'm just thinking about what happened."

"Want to tell me?" I take hold of her hand and brush my thumb over the wedding ring.

"It's surreal." She looks at our hands, and I watch as she slips away. "Like a bad dream. The car rolling. Crawling out of the wreckage and seeing the men." She shakes her head, her silky black hair falling over her shoulders. "Even though I knew I didn't stand a chance, I just kept fighting."

Mariya locks eyes with me again. "I don't know where the

strength came from. It just... it just rushed through my veins.

The harder it got, the harder I fought."

It's because you're so fucking strong, my dynamite.

"After they shot me in the leg. I was dragged to a table."

The trauma comes alive in her eyes, darkening them to

midnight black. "The sound of the drill is something I'll never

forget, but watching it rip through my hand, something snapped inside me. It felt as if I was moving in slow-motion." When she keeps quiet, I remind her, "With a shattered four broken ribs, and a hurt hand, you still fought your way out of that room." I wet my lips with my tongue, then say,

"If you hadn't missed that shot, the propane tank would've killed you."

"I know." Mariya sucks in a harsh breath. "But I'd rather

die a thousand deaths by my own hand than have one of those fuckers put a bullet in my head."

"Jesus Christ, baby," I rasp as I pull her into my arms. "Do you know my mother was known as the princess of terror?" she murmurs.

"Yes."

"My father is the most feared man, even after he retired."

That's true.

"I felt their blood in my veins."

When Mariya meets my eyes again, I see the power of her

bloodline in them - intense, ruthless, and fucking breathtaking. I inhale deeply, savoring the sight of my badass wife. "You've never been more beautiful than in this moment. Fuck, Mariya. I wish you could see what I see when I look at you."

"What do you see?"

"A queen." I press a kiss to her mouth. "My queen."