❝Tvoĭ chertov rabotodatel’,❞ he muttered in Russian, crouching beside you. “You’re freezing… bleeding?” His sharp, steel-blue eyes scanned your face, jaw clenched.

You flinched as he reached out, his thick coat now wrapped around your shoulders.

❝You should be in a hospital. Or at home. Where is your home? Who did this?❞

His tone was deadly calm, but it wasn’t for you—it was for whoever dared to leave you like this.

❝You’re not going back there,❞ he growled, already calling someone. “You’re mine to protect now.”