Cruel Surrender by Terri Anne Browning

Ciana

“There,”Mama said with a weak smile as she gently ran her fingers over my hair. “So much better, don’t you think?”

All I could do was nod as she held up the mirror for me to examine my new haircut. Her stylist had come over and fixed my hair, turning the mangled mess into a cute pixie cut. It was definitely better than it had been, but it was just hair. In the wake of everything else that was going on, how could I be worried about something as trivial as that?

Ryan was on the hunt for Sheena, but I was terrified of what would happen once he found her. I knew he would kill her if given the chance, but the evil bitch was cunning. She would know he was coming for her. No doubt, that was part of her plan. She’d be waiting.

Not only were he and Garret in Ireland with Papa, but Nova’s parents had arrived. Auntie Flick was so distraught, I’d heard her sobs all the way in my room, but that was nothing compared to how upset Uncle Jet was over the loss of his daughter. But no matter how torn up they were over Nova’s death, they’d both still come to check on me. To tell me how glad they were that I was okay.

And I hadn’t even been able to look them in the eye.

How could I, when all of this was my fault?

Their amazing little girl was gone because of me and the mistakes I’d made. Nova was dead because of me.

“Ciana?”

I lowered the mirror but couldn’t return even the small smile Mama was giving me. “I’m tired, Mama. May I take a nap?”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to ask. Of course. I’ll just clean everything up in here—” She broke off abruptly as a loud sound came from outside.

She ran to my window, but I just squeezed my eyes closed, knowing before she even gasped what was happening. Sheena had come back. She was going to kill us all.

I curled my arms around my waist, wondering if it would be the last time I ever got to hug my unborn babies.

“Who the fuck is that?” Mama growled as my bedroom door burst open.

Vito and Bennie were breathing hard as they started gathering things. “We have to get to the safe room, Ma,” Vito said. “Grab whatever you might need. I don’t know how long you’ll be there.”

“You’ll be in there too,” she said.

The twins didn’t answer as Bennie scooped me up. “Huh,” he muttered. “I thought you would weigh a lot more, C. What with you carrying three babies in your tummy.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” I muttered.

“Don’t get mad at me,” he whined. “I was just making an observation. I love you, sis.”

“Fuck,” I heard Vito hiss just as Bennie turned with me in his arms.

My gaze went straight to the man standing in the open door, and my heart stopped. I had a fleeting feeling of relief that Sheena hadn’t come to finish what she’d started in that cabin back in Canada, that Torin had come to save me. My heart filled with joy for the first time in months.

Maybe I’d been wrong.

Maybe he did love me…

But then I heard the gunfire. It was coming from every direction, inside and outside the house. The wildness in his hazel eyes reminded me that this was Bain, not Torin, the man I’d fallen for so easily.

My heart broke all over again.

“Give her to me,” he commanded, taking a step into the bedroom, his arms raised to take me from Bennie.

My brother’s arms tightened around me. “Fuck off.”

Mama and Vito got between him and us. Vito pulled a gun and pointed it at Bain’s chest. The twins had been working with Papa since they were fifteen, but I couldn’t help wondering how much experience they had with this kind of thing. Regardless, I figured this was a hell of a long way from anything they’d ever had to deal with before. “Touch her and die.”

“Don’t make me hurt you,” Bain said, his voice hard as he eyed the gun all too briefly. Something in his voice had even my mother taking a hesitant step back. “Mo chroí, I tried to give you time, but after the events of the past few days, I can no longer handle this distance bullshit.”

“Bain—” Mama gasped when I spoke his name, her eyes shooting to me as realization filled her brown depths. I hadn’t told her who the babies’ father was, but she knew that it had happened while I was on vacation. Now there would be no hiding their daddy’s identity.

I swallowed and quickly looked away before I could see her disappointment.

Behind him, five more men filled the doorway, blood all over them with their guns pointed at both Mama and Vito. Oh God. Bain wasn’t there to play games. He wanted me to go with him, and he didn’t care who he had to kill to get me. I closed my eyes, realizing that Sheena must have told him about the babies. Why else would he be there now of all times?

“O-okay,” I cried. “I-I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt anyone else.”

“No!” Mama shouted, taking the gun from my brother and lifting it so it was aimed right at Bain’s forehead. “You aren’t taking my daughter anywhere. Try to touch her, and you’ll be dead before you even lift your hand.”

Bain’s face tightened with displeasure. “I don’t want to harm those Ciana cares about, but if you keep her from me, I won’t have any other choice.”

“Please don’t,” I sobbed. “I-I said I’ll go with you.”

He moved, disarming my mother before she could even react, and then pointed the gun in Bennie’s face. Mama’s scream sent a shudder through me, and I began to shiver as I realized this was definitely not the man I’d met on the island. This was the Bain the world collectively feared. This was the hard man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who got in his way or went against him. I hadn’t seen this side of him until right in that moment, but it was enough to make me quiver in fear when he switched his gaze back to me.

“Give her to me,” Bain commanded in a cold voice. “Now.”

“Fuck off,” my brother growled again. “You’ll have to kill me before I hand her over to you.”

“I don’t want to, but if you insist.”

“No, no, no!” But my screams were drowned out as he shot Bennie in the leg. “Bennie!”

Everything suddenly felt as if it was moving at warp speed. Bain caught me as my brother went down, blood already pouring from the wound. Vito jumped in to help, trying to grab for me, but Bain didn’t hesitate to shoot him in the shoulder. Mama dropped down, her face pale, tears pouring down her face as she rushed to tie a tourniquet around her youngest son’s thigh.

Bain’s men moved in like a shield as he left the bedroom, but as he carried me through the house, I realized there was no one left to try to stop him. Dead bodies, my family’s men, as well as those of my uncle Adrian, littered the ground.

I glanced around, taking it all in through my tears, knowing it was going to be the last time I ever saw the only home I’d ever known. But this wasn’t the house I’d grown up in. Blood and destruction were everywhere. From upstairs, I heard someone shout my name, and I realized it was Uncle Jet.

“Shh, it will all be over soon, mo chroí,” Bain soothed, and I realized I was sobbing. “You’re safe now.”

“I was safe here!” I slapped my hands against his shoulders. “You killed my brothers. You—”

“I didn’t kill them,” he said exasperatedly as he walked outside. Someone opened the door to a tank-like vehicle, and he climbed in with me still tucked against his chest, being careful so I didn’t bump my head. “Believe me, if I’d wanted them dead, I would have shot them in the head.”

I slapped my hands against his chest. “You don’t know that. They could be dead right now! I-I think you got an artery in Bennie’s leg. There was so much blood.”

“Your mother was quick to react. I’m confident he’s fine.” The tank began to move, and he tightened his arms around me as the driver sped away from the compound. Long minutes passed, each one of them putting more and more distance between me and the life I’d always known.

Bain shifted me on his lap and cupped my face in both of his hands. I clenched my eyes closed, fighting to control my tears. “How are you feeling?” he asked gently, the coldness having faded from his voice.

A strangled laugh left me, and my lashes lifted. “You just shot two of my brothers. How the fuck do you think I’m feeling right now, asshole?”

He brushed away a few of the tears still rolling down my cheeks with his thumb, his hazel eyes intense. “Are you hurting anywhere? The burns?” He lifted one of his hands to my hair, stroking his fingers through the short locks. “You have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable or in pain.”

I tried to pull back from his touch, but he wouldn’t allow it, tightening his hold and tucking me closer. As big as the tank-like vehicle was, there was very little room to move around inside it. I had to keep my head ducked slightly so I didn’t bump it against anything. “H-how do you know about the burns?”

“I know everything that concerns you.” His fingers trailed down my neck, over my pajama top, and lifted the hem. I thought about stopping him from exposing my belly, but just as quickly, I realized there was no use.

The moment his gaze fell on my baby bump, his eyes softened. “Are our girls okay?”

I jerked in reaction to his softly asked question. He not only knew I was pregnant, but that the babies were all girls? I couldn’t remember telling Sheena that particular detail, but maybe I had without realizing it.

When I didn’t answer, he rubbed the palm of his hand over the bump. Two of the three babies kicked against his palm. They were still tiny, their kicks barely a flutter, yet the look of wonder that filled Bain’s eyes told me he’d felt it too. “Amazing.”

“Boss.” A man in the front passenger seat turned to look back at us. I quickly tried to scrub my tears away, not wanting anyone to see how vulnerable I was. It was bad enough that Bain was touching me. I couldn’t do anything about that, but I refused to let anyone else see how helpless I was now. “Expected ETA at the airport is twelve minutes. The pilot is already waiting for takeoff. As soon as we board, we can get in the air.”

“And the house?” Bain asked without taking his eyes off where his hand was caressing. I’d lain in bed at night, secretly wishing for him to be beside me, anticipating our daughters’ arrival just as much as I did. He rubbed his thumb back and forth just under my navel…right beside one of the biggest of the blisters. When I flinched, his hand stopped, and his gaze snapped back to my face. “Does this hurt?” I shrugged, and his face tightened. He dropped his hand from my belly to rest on my thigh, his hold both gentle and possessive. “I’m sorry, mo chroí. I was so enchanted by the feel of our babies I forgot about your injuries.”

“Everything is in order at the house, boss,” the man in the passenger seat said, cutting in. Bain nodded in acknowledgment, and the man turned back around without another word.

“Brody got the cream you need for the burns,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the side of my head. “As soon as we get on the plane, I’ll put it on your blisters.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just sat statue-still on his lap as the driver weaved through traffic like the highway was some kind of professional racetrack and he was about to win the grand prize. This was beyond bizarre.

Earlier, Bain had been the bringer of death, leaving a river of blood in his wake to get to me. Now, he was the sweet, gentle guy I’d met on the island. The one I’d fallen so helplessly, hopelessly in love with back in February. It was as if he really was two different men. One moment, Bain, the killer who everyone feared. The next, Torin, the kindhearted man who tried to save the world.

Which one—if either of them—was the real man?

I mentally shook my head, dispelling the notion that he was anything but the monster Sheena had created.