Author: Scarlett Dawn
Date: 2016-09-27 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Romance; Contemporary; Crime; Dark; Mystery; Contemporary Romance; Suspense; Humor; Action; Thriller
Description: The bestselling conclusion to the Lion Security series is here! Beth and Daniil's passionate love story reaches its ultimate struggle when Beth is kidnapped by Daniil's enemies. Dark and dangerous killers hold her captive, but the Russian mafia will stop at nothing for her return. With the whole world searching for the mafia boss' lover, her safety is paramount, and it's only a matter of time before she is found. But will it be too late? Can Beth return whole from her traumatic fight for survival? Or will she be irreversibly damaged?

Obsidian Music
Copyright 2016 Scarlett Dawn

First Edition

All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of these publications may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the Author. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Photography: SC Photo
Cover Model: Tommy Barresi
Editing by
RMJ Manuscript Service, LLC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Copyright

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Epilogue

About the Author

Preview of Cold Mark (Mark, Book 1)

Preview of Game Master

Preview of Chosen Thief

“Get out! Everyone, get out!” I screamed interrupting a call Artur was having with someone on his phone. His gun was drawn in his other hand. “It’s a fucking gas mask! They’re going to gas everyone!” I held up said mask. I had no clue who the hell was coming, but they weren’t coming in with guns. They were smarter than that.

The new guys, Vadim and Abram, stared at what I held for all of a beat before they lunged at the doors—just as a hissing echoed in the room above our heads.

“Put the mask on,” Artur demanded sharply, coming to stand in front of me. Vadim and Abram aimed at the door when it wouldn’t open—even though they had just come through it. He held the phone up to my ear. “It’s Papa.”

I stared into Artur’s calm but fierce eyes.

Over the line, Daniil said, “Beth, put the mask on. Put it on now. Stay alive for me, my sweet. Stay. Alive.”

I choked, and the world went a little blurry.

Artur stumbled but put his gun away, taking the mask out of the package. He placed it up to my face. I ripped it away long enough to say, “I love you, Daniil.”

He was so calm. “I love you, too. Now put on the mask.”

I did. Right before I started coughing.

Whatever the hissing sound was had to be gas filtering through the ventilation system.

Artur fell to his knees, putting the phone back up to his ear. He slurred, “I’ll leave the phone on.”

Katie and Mary both sagged against me, and Roman grabbed Mary as she began to fall.

I saw it all around me through the screen of the mask. I could hear Artur giving a description of what had happened. Ember was back on her phone, even as her head hit the tiles, talking drunkenly to Grigori. He was screaming loud enough to be heard over the line and the heckling of the gas. The bodyguards fell almost as one. Katie slid down my body too fast. I caught her, but just barely, lying her down gently.

All of this. It had happened in less than ten seconds.

My head was swimming. I puffed in air, the sound like Darth Vader, through the mask.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t stupid.

In times of crisis, you find out what you’re made of. I understood that now.

Sudden clarity hit like the ringing of bells.

I knew what I had to do as I stared down at everyone coughing and passing out.

Only slightly shaking, I ran across the room and started tugging the only cover I could find for them. The table with the long golden tablecloth on it for gifts barely even squeaked thanks to the rubber on the stands, but it was heavy, and I was grunting with each movement, wearing myself down quickly.

I couldn’t see around the mask all that well, and I almost tripped over Artur. No one was awake anymore, and I knew I didn’t have much time, so I quickly heaved the table over them, and then got down on my hands and knees and pushed Daniil’s kids and Ember under the table better. Whoever was after me would be after them, too. My cousins would even get a second glance.

I had barely finished stuffing Roman’s hand under the table when I heard a click at the door. The same doors that were so damn sturdy and old Vadim and Abram hadn’t been able to open again. And I jumped away from the table, seeing why when the doors opened all the way. They had barred the doors. The twenty masked men who entered the room had pulled the long donations table away from it to get inside. The table that sat just outside the cafeteria for those who forgot to donate during service.

I was panting, but I stood rigid. I wasn’t going to be taken. I had now heard so many stories of what happened to the people of this family when they were abducted. It was nothing I wished to go through. When I saw a small break in their masked group, I lunged.

I actually got pretty damn far before I was grabbed from behind. I fought. I fought so damn hard…but the man who held me wasn’t letting go. He took every elbow, punch, bite, kick, and headbutt I had to give without flinching.

Then I heard laughter.

It sounded like Darth Vader, so I knew it was a bad guy…er…woman. She had tits. I saw that when she stepped in front of me while I continued to struggle with my captor. I glared at whoever it was, staring at a face behind a mask, only catching a glimpse of brown or green eyes. I couldn’t decide which before she looked away still laughing.

Apparently, she and a man who walked up beside her were the ringleaders here.

“I thought you said Daniil’s kids were here,” said the masked man with a Russian accent.

“They were.” She glanced around the room, her voice also had a Russian accent, and she shook her masked head. “They must have left. We need to go. Now. Before they come back.”

I kept struggling, but I was getting weaker. I was tiring myself out. And I made sure not to look anywhere near my pathetic hiding place for Artur, Roman, and Ember. It was damn obvious in my opinion with the table in the middle of the room as it was, but luckily, the tablecloth had hidden them completely.

“Wait. Is that Ember Lerrus?” the man asked, striding to Mary.

“No! It’s my cousin!” I shouted. “Mary! It’s my cousin Mary, not Ember!” Mary’s fucking hair was strawberry blonde, not fire engine red! But, with horror, I could see how they would mistake her for Ember.

The guy bent down, yanking Mary’s face into the light, and I screamed at him to stop…and he did, dropping her head back on the ground. Standing, he shook his head, stating, “It’s not her.”

“Let’s go then,” the woman stated, but both she and the man pulled out their guns. “Take her to the van. We’ll be there shortly.”

WAnd with a new terror filling my veins, I saw the man and woman take aim on my six bodyguards. I scrambled against the hold of the brute behind me as he started carting me out of the room, trying to stop this…but I wasn’t strong enough. While I screamed and struggled, the man and woman kill each one of my six guards. A single shot to the head.

I held onto the door screaming, staring around the corner into the room as they then moved onto Ruslan, Vadim, and Abram…but the woman held up her hand. They both glanced to the right. I couldn’t hear a damn thing, and my mind was mush as I stared blindly at Trofim’s dead body, but they both started running out of the room, yelling to move.

I was yanked from the door, my stomach wanting to expel everything it contained as I was thrown over the guy’s shoulder. Everyone started running toward the back of the church. I kept screaming all through their mad rush through the church. Finally getting my hearing back, I sucked in as a loud banging erupted at the front of the church. It gave me hope, so I lifted and screamed even louder.

My hope was short lived as the lights went out, when I was bashed on the side my head.

Waking, my head was being tugged and buzzing sounded in my ear. I lay flat on my stomach on a thin mattress, and my jaw was killing me. I tasted blood in my mouth. There were two people behind me—a woman and a man speaking Russian. Another jerk of my head brought my eyes open fully as memories invaded.

I had been kidnapped. And I was still being held, I realized as I started struggling, only to figure out my hands were handcuffed behind my back, and my feet were also cuffed to something that clinked.

I started to scream again…and again.

I was hit on the side of the face, and the lights went out.

The next time I woke, it was dark, no lights except for moonlight that streamed in. I closed one eye since I had apparently lost a contact somewhere and squinted up to a large window. I was still on my stomach, handcuffed, my jaw hurt, and my left temple throbbed. I moved my tongue around inside my mouth and winced as I realized the inside of my cheek had been split open.

I wiggled, trying to see if I could get loose, but the handcuffs were so tight I was in danger of losing circulation.

“Aw. She’s awake,” a man said from my right with a heavy Russian accent.

I swung my head in his direction and felt an odd breeze on my head. It felt strange—while I squinted with one eye at the man sitting quietly a few feet away, I shook my head.

With the cool sensation, I realized…I was bald. I had no more hair.

“You took my hair?” I asked in a croak, swallowing when my throat scratched badly. “You kidnap me to shave my head?”

“No,” a woman stated further behind him with the same accent, but I couldn’t see her clearly in the darkness. As it was, they were still masked, but only without the gas masks. “Your hair is too recognizable. We had to get rid of it.”

I sucked in a breath, glancing around. I was on a makeshift cot, and the area appeared like some kind of basement. The walls were tall with windows rimming the ceiling right before the wooden planked ceiling. A quick look to my left only showed more of the same, but with stairs leading up and another set leading down. “Are you holding me for ransom?” I was praying they were. That would be my luckiest option.

The women chuckled, and the man said, “No. You are going to die, Ms. Forter.” He paused. “But not before you give birth to those babies inside your womb. Once they’re born, we will kill you. If you behave, we promise to make your death as painless as possible.”

My vision blurred, and my breath caught as I stared. “What do you mean?”

“Your babies,” the woman stated, still laughing. “Actually, we want Daniil’s babies.”

At that declaration, I threw up.

They started cursing, but it was only white noise as the day’s events fully registered. I had no doubt in my mind these two psychos were serious. Trofim’s head exploding kept repeating inside my mind’s eye. And then each bodyguard’s head. I choked and continued to puke, hardly noticing when the man yanked my bare head from the cot so I could throw up into a wastebasket.

This kept up for some time until I understood why my two delusional captors were cursing even more. I could hear gunshots. Faintly. From above. A whole shit ton of it.

I swallowed down the rest of my puke and started screaming. The woman slapped me hard enough that my head banged against another wall, cutting off my shouts. But I started back up. I needed to get the fuck out of here! They wanted what was mine! Never did I think I would feel such a possessive urge inside me, but these people wanted my babies. And they were fucking mineminemine.

The woman slapped me again as the man started to remove the cuffs from my feet. She yanked me to my feet and shoved me toward the stairs. I stumbled, but I was good with the direction. I raced toward the flight of stairs, only to be yanked back hard against a solid chest.

The man hissed, “Down. Not up, Ms. Forter.”

“Fuck you,” I stated harshly.

He grabbed my chin, and tugged my face toward his, jerking my neck back at a horrible angle. “I can make that happen if you’d like.” He smiled with a perfect set of pearly whites.

I choked and started screaming again.

The woman started barking at the man in Russian so that I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t hard to comprehend, though when the man slammed my body against the wall next to the stairs, face first, and stuffed a rag in my mouth. I tried to move, to make it to those rapid gunshots, but with my hands handcuffed behind my back, I wasn’t going anywhere. He tied another rag—bandana, maybe—between my teeth and around my head, keeping the rag inside my mouth, muffling my shouts.

He picked me up over his shoulder and started racing after the woman who had disappeared down the stairs, instead of up to my escape. I bounced on his shoulder, wiggling, so my ribs took the brunt of it instead of my stomach. And looked around the dark area. We had gone through some door, and it appeared as if we were still in the heart of the city, going through old subway tunnels of some sort.

No matter how hard I fought to get free or tried to surprise the man holding me, he hung tight, never once faltering on his grasp on me. After a half hour, I was ready to pass out from all the jostling and my head being upside down, the blood rushing the wrong way.

I was so dizzy. I barely noticed when it felt like we were going up in jerking motions. I blinked and realized that we were. He was climbing a ladder with me still over his shoulder. Someone gripped my hips and I groaned as I was lifted into the night, above ground.

The woman said something in Russian to a new man in a mask, and I glanced around dizzily. We were in a dark alley. I was thrown into a trunk of a car, hitting my head again, enough to have my vision blur completely as the trunk was slammed shut.

I was pretty sure I had lost my other contact as I regained consciousness. I rolled around in the trunk as it drove to hell. I searched the best I could, trying to find one of those buttons you always hear about in the movies that release the trunk door, but not everything in movies is true. Case in point, this fucking car didn’t have one of those buttons or handles.

I was jostled for an undetermined amount of time. The road was smooth for a while, but after some time, I could tell we were driving on a gravel road. I could hear the crunch of it under the tires and pings as tiny rocks hit the underside of the car. And they drove. And drove.

And my fury built. And built. Higher and hotter like an inferno.

They wanted what belonged to Daniil and me. They wanted my babies. My babies that were growing strong and healthy inside me. Against all the risks. They were healthy and mine.

When the car stopped, I pushed onto my back and waited. As soon as the trunk started to open, I took in a deep breath through my nose since my mouth was still bound, and kicked up as hard as I could. I heard a deep shout as the trunk caught whichever man in the face, and I kicked again, pushing and rolling out of the trunk.

My landing was what did me in. I could have had a chance to run, but I landed funny on my arm. I heard the pop even as I felt my left forearm snap, the bone just breaking like a twig under the fall. I screamed, the sound muffled, even as my forehead thumped on the gravel road.

A slew of curses—they had to be—in Russian were being hurled at me as the man I had hit held his face and the woman came around the side of the car. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I saw her boots stop right in front of my face.

I choked, trying not to pass out from the pain as she bent down and asked sharply, “Trying to run? Pathetic attempt.”

I was lifted off the ground when the other man came over, the woman talking with the hurt man in Russian. She said something in Russian to the man holding me, and his grip on me changed. Landing right on my hurt arm. It was too much. Before I could even look around to see where we were, the pain took me under and I passed out for the third time today.

Isolation. Completely and utterly cut off from the world. Never had I…

I stared into the darkness. Once upon a time, I had joked with Daniil, my love, about a third world prison for an insane man. And now I lay in a room far worse.

How long I had been here…I had no clue. There were no windows. I had checked in the darkness. The walls were made of solid stone. I had checked in the darkness. There was no lightbulb on the ceiling that was only five feet high. I had checked in the darkness.

The room was small. Maybe seven feet by eight feet. It had a tiny door that I envisioned Alice in Wonderland might have used when she was shrunk. The only light shined around the edges when I assumed it was daylight outside. It reminded me of a room I had once seen on a job. A ‘bomb room’ as the old, filthy rich man had proudly told me. Just in case WWIII ever occurred, he would be safe. I had thought him crazy. The only one of his kind…well, except for the President of the United States since he had a whole mountain for that.

But now, I knew that I had been wrong.

Someone else was just as crazy as that old fart.

And it was my prison.

I lay on my side and didn’t bother trying to move from the cold stone. There was no comfort here. I had been stripped bare, naked, with only a blanket for warmth. On that first night, the man who had threatened to fuck me threatened again to rape me as he tore my clothes off, saying it would keep me from running again.

I had felt such fear that night, almost grateful when the woman had come into this small room, stopping the man’s taunts and actions. He hadn’t gotten close to raping me, but if she hadn’t walked in, he probably would have. Terror. I had felt terror.

Now, I felt nothing.

I wasn’t sure I could remember what terror felt like. I knew I had experienced it, but the memory just wasn’t there. Blinking, watching the room undulate, my stomach growled as I played with a stone on the floor. My shackles—shackles were definitely what they were—clinked with the movement, sounding loud even over the constant stream of Russian music that filtered like Hell’s music through the door, echoing in my cave-like prison.

I knew they did that on purpose. After the first few days, when I had fought the man who lifted me out of the sewer hole and brought in my meals and changed the two buckets in the room—one with water, one for shitting and pissing in—they had started putting music outside the door to slowly drive me crazy. They weren’t too far off.

I squinted, singing along to the song I had heard a million times now, shivering and watching the walls move. I had become an animal of sorts in those first few days. Survival and pissed off fury, my only emotion. When I had emotions. That was why they had bolted the shackles to the walls and put me in them. The chains reached a few feet, but not far enough for me to do anyone harm that came in to change the buckets or set down my two meals a day.

I eventually told them two meals were not enough. Not nearly enough, considering the portions they put on the tiny plate, but they hadn’t listened. Or they didn’t care. The woman told me as she shaved my head again that it was enough to keep the babies strong—and not me. She had been right.

I was weak. So damn weak.

I rested a hand on my protruding stomach. No, I had no clue how long I had been here. Enough time had passed for me to be showing as a pregnant woman. I patted my stomach in a soothing gesture and continued singing and squeezing the rock in my hand and releasing it. Squeezing and releasing it.

I knew that Daniil was alive. Thoughts of him were so real in my mind that sometimes I thought he was standing right in front of me in the darkness. Or holding me as I fell into a wary sleep. Or as I hummed the song he had played to me the last night he and I had made love in the music room.

I thought a lot about him. He was the only thing that kept me sane. At least, as sane as I could be right now. I had never wondered what it would be like to become a prisoner in solitary confinement, but I somehow bet that even those people had more interaction with humans. Life as I knew it had changed. My world was the bomb shelter. That was all and my visions of Daniil in the darkness.

And I sang…

My stomach grew larger, and while my babies grew, I talked to Daniil. He sat across from me in the darkness, and he spoke to me about the trees and the sunshine and the wind. He told me about how the sunshine would glisten off the leaves of the trees around his home, and the wind would gently blow the limbs around. I asked him questions about what they looked like in Moscow, but he never answered those questions. He always spoke about the trees in New York.

Until one day, his tone changed.

He wouldn’t talk about anything beautiful anymore.

It…I wasn’t sure, but I felt funny about it.

I couldn’t pinpoint how I felt since I hadn’t felt anything in so long in my new isolated world, but he kept repeating one sentence, again and again, his tone getting harsher every time I tried to speak with him about something else.

“Stay alive,” he would repeatedly say. “Don’t let them have our babies.”

I knew nothing else, so I did.

One day, he disappeared. I was alone again.

I felt my first emotion in what felt like forever. Anger. I was furious he had left me. I wanted him back. I wanted him desperately. And so, I did the only thing I could do. I began working on my shackles. I was going to get Daniil back. And no one was going to take our children from us.

My fingers bled. My arm that I knew at one time had broken, worked oddly, but it none of it hurt. I felt no pain. I felt nothing as I pulled and dug at the stone walls where my shackles were held. I had plenty of time to work since no one ever came down here anymore, except for the one man who gave me my food and changed my buckets.

So, I sang and worked. Sang and worked, filled with my fury. It felt good.

I was hot. I didn’t think that was a good thing since I had been cold for so long, but I kept working, the stone around the bolts in the walls finally beginning to crumble after the constant wiggling and digging I put them through. My fingernails were gone. Lost in the stone surrounding the walls, and every time the man entered, I made sure to sit against the walls so he wouldn’t see the blood streaks. If I could see them in the darkness, then he would most definitely be able to see them when he let in the blinding light when the door opened.

Sweating, I yanked, trying to stay silent as I grunted and pulled, putting all of my weight into it, yanking hard to the right. I wiggled the chains, feeling the bite into my ankles and wrists, but it didn’t hurt. The pounding in my head didn’t even hurt. But it was odd the heat I felt.

Ignoring the odd sensation, I ducked below the short ceiling and moved, pulling the chains tight to the left this time, hearing a satisfying tumble of rocks, only to land hard on my left side when the shackle on my wrists released from the wall.

I paused, listening hard over my singing and the music outside. Hearing not a stir from outside the door, I began to work my ankles free now. I would still be cuffed, but not to the wall. I would be able to run. If I could just get my feet free from the wall.

Later, I waited. Just beside the door. Sweat poured down my face, my temples throbbed, and my pregnant belly got in the way some, but I waited, hunched and ready. It was dark out. It had to be since there was no light under the door. My food would be coming soon since my stomach growled, reminding me that it was almost that time.

I whispered quietly the last song Daniil had played me, quietly telling my missing Daniil I would be with him soon. I just had one obstacle to go through. No one else was here. I was positive of that. I had listened once I got my feet loose. I had only ever heard one pair of footsteps all day as I had lain by the door listening. That and maybe some TV.

So, I waited.

When I began to waver on my feet, I gripped the long bolts I had in my hands tighter.

Daniil had told me to stay alive. I was going to—unlike my jailer.

Not so long ago, I would have cared about what I was planning. I didn’t now. I didn’t give a shit about anything but getting out of here safely.

I heard it. Him. My jailer.

He was coming down what sounded like a set of stairs now that I listened more closely.

I shut up. Singing would give me away. I couldn’t have that.

I wiped the sweat from my face and ducked even lower. I was going to have to sweep up at him to get the angle I needed since the ceiling was so low. I could envision exactly what I needed to do, almost seeing the scene play out in front of me as clearly as I had seen Daniil. I adjusted and took a tiny step back. And then, froze.

A key rattled in the door.

I tensed, seeing the light also come on under the door. I would be blinded, as I had been every time, so I squinted and looked off toward the side, not staring directly at the door.

It opened, and in he walked, carrying my new items like normal.

His damn mask was in place—again, like normal. But through my squinted vision, I could see a small sliver of skin.

That was where I struck.

He was surprised. He bellowed, his shout loud over the music.

I shoved hard with the first bolt.

Directly into his throat.

He swung at me, even as he choked, hitting my arm, and not in his favor, shoving my shoulder fierce enough that it made my blow even harder. The momentum revibrated down my arm, the force adding to my strength before I flew against the wall. He punched out again, hitting me square in the face as he made an odd gurgling noise. I felt my eyebrow split open as my head hit the wall.

The lights went out as I fell to the floor.

My eyelids fluttered open. I was lying in something sticky. And only remotely warm, although cool against my burning skin and insides. Lifting my head, I glanced around.

And saw freedom by means of my jailer.

Dead. Next to me on the ground.

The door was still open where he lay half in and out of the room, his dead corpse so helpfully keeping the door open for me. I yanked the bolt out his throat and stood carefully, trying not to slip in the blood I had been lying in.

I couldn’t see out of one eye, which meant it was swollen, but really, I couldn’t feel anything past the chills and heat then cold that flashed over me. And I moved, creeping out of the room. The light hurt my eyes, so I lifted my chained wrist and shielded my eyes with my hands and gingerly made my way up the wooden stairs, my feet tracking sticky, bloody footprints all the way up them, my shackles in no way quiet as I took each step.

There was no door at the top of the stairs, and I peeked out around. I had known earlier there was no one else here, but I had no clue how long I had been knocked out. I waited. Listening and leaning heavily against the bare wall.

Nothing. There was no sound.

I sucked in a breath and made myself move. I was in a kitchen of sorts. It was old, like 1950s era with mustard yellow appliances and cracking beige countertops. But I didn’t care about any of that. All I cared about was the door I saw behind a small wooden table with two chairs around it. The window on it showed the outside—trees, like Daniil had talked about—even if it were dark out there with only the moon to light the way.

I lunged and grabbed the gun that was sitting on the table. I wasn’t positive I even knew how to use it, but I was covered in blood, and if I was going into the woods at night, I needed some type of protection against the creatures that called the land theirs. An alarm sounded as soon as I opened the door, and I raced out of the house, my chains clinking the whole way.

Bitter, cold air hit my heated skin, and I welcomed it, staring down a gravel road. With no fucking car. I couldn’t be so lucky. I knew they had only brought one here, but I had hoped there would be one around. And with that damn alarm going off, anyone who was linked to it would know I was escaping since I didn’t know the code to turn it off.

So, I did the only thing I could do. I bent down, picked up the chain between my feet…and I raced into the woods. Naked. Hot. Bleeding. With only a single gun to protect me—even though I had no clue how to use it.

I ran.

And I ran.

My feet bled under the onslaught of the twigs, needles, and rocks I raced over.

And still, I ran.

In the distance, I could hear cars driving by to my left on a gravel road. I didn’t trust cars. I didn’t trust a soul. I ran until I needed to stop. But only for a few minutes, holding under my belly, feeling tiny kicks and pushes. My babies telling me they didn’t like this jostling.

The trees swayed with the heat my body was feeling. I felt another emotion…fear. As I sucked in a breath, glancing around at all the open space, I felt terror. There was so much of it. So much. Not like what I was used to. Nothing at all like that. So I ran more only stopping when needed to catch my breath so I could run farther and longer.

I raced through the forest, scaring all the wildlife away. I saw deer, but luckily, that was all I saw. There were no wolves or coyotes chasing me. Nor people. Although, more than likely, the people driving down the road were the bad guys. But I didn’t stop.

Not until the sun was starting to rise…just as I came along a blacktop road. Something that not just cars would drive by on. I stayed down in the tree line but kept walking, kept putting distance between my captors and me. A few cars had passed by.

And still, I kept walking. Waiting.

And then, I saw it. My salvation.

A semi-truck. The bad guys wouldn’t be driving that. I hesitated, trying to decide if I should bring the gun out with me. I had nowhere to hide it. And if this person didn’t stop because they saw me with a gun, I could have just fucked up my one shot at escape. So I tossed it and raced out of the woods, holding my chains and shouting as loud as possible, trying to get to the road before the semi passed by.

I made it. And I stood there, waving my chained hands and screaming as the semi drove past.

“No!” I shouted, turning, feeling the rush of air as it sped past. “No! Stop!”

By the grace of God, I saw its brake lights flash, and its breaks squealed a second later. I raced around the back of it, running to the driver’s side, leaving new bloody footprints in my wake. The driver jumped out of the cab. I stopped. And drew in air as he stared at me with wide eyes.

He wasn’t a predator. I knew what predators moved like now. No. This was a normal human being seeing a naked, pregnant woman with blood all over her. A busted face with only one good working eye and shackled.

“Please. Help me,” I cried, walking toward him.

“Good Lord above, ma’am,” he stated, taking his ball cap off and running his hands through his hair. He shoved his cap back on his head crookedly. “How badly are you hurt? Do I need to call for an ambulance?”

“Hospital. Just take me to the hospital.” One far, far away from here.

He nodded, surveying me again before leaning into his truck and pulling out a blanket. He began walking toward me, and I couldn’t help my flinch as his long legs ate up the area between us too quickly. He stopped, and said gently, “I’m not going to hurt you.” He started moving again, and I made myself stay still. “Here. Let’s get you covered up.”

He put the blanket around me gently but stopped when his hand brushed my shoulder. He cleared his throat, and said, “I’m going to feel your forehead. Don’t be scared.” He rested the blanket over my shoulder, placing his hand on my forehead and sucked in a breath. “You’re burning up.” He pulled the blanket closed, and stated, “I’m going to lift you into the cab. You won’t be able to get in with those chains on you.”

I stilled but slowly nodded. Yes, I needed a fucking hospital. A fever couldn’t be healthy for the babies. “Okay. Please, just get me to a hospital. But one far away from here. Don’t go to the closest one.”

His lips thinned, and suddenly, his eyebrows snapped together under his cap. His head snapped around in all directions before resting on my face. “Let’s get you out of here.” He picked me up too quickly, but I kept still and quiet as he put me in his cab.

Once we were moving, he kept glancing at me. I could feel it. And it unnerved me, and I fumbled for the window controls, trying to let some fresh air in. The woods had terrified me, but being couped back up frightened me even more. Once the window was down, I rested my hot head against the doorframe and let the wind cool my sweating flesh.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. You can rest,” the man stated.

And, yes, I knew he wouldn’t, even though he kept staring at me. I knew evil now. And he wasn’t evil. But he wasn’t to be completely trusted. So I kept silent and closed my eyes, making sure not to fall asleep even though I was dead tired.

The truck driver carried me into the third hospital we passed. I had no clue what town we were in, but he had done exactly as I had asked. Almost immediately, I was taken in for surgery…but only after I had made them do a sonogram. And I saw all my babies were fine.

Then, they told me they were putting me under a local anesthetic, and I had no memory of them taking off my chains or re-breaking my arm and fixing it correctly since it was crooked.

I woke to beeping sounds. There was a doctor standing by the bed, the same one who had talked to me before surgery, and he was watching my face. The same as the truck driver, who had apparently stayed. No one else was in the room, and the door was shut.

I stared at it, and my lungs seized. “Please open the door!” It came out a croak, and my throat was sore as hell, but I couldn’t stay in this room with it shut. I tried to move my hands and get out of bed, but my left arm was in a cast, and my hands and wrists had been wrapped in gauze. But I didn’t feel as hot as I had before.

The doctor leaned forward, pushing me back on the bed, stating, “First, I need to ask you a question before I open that door. Our conversation needs to be private.”

I sucked in oxygen, and stared at the closed door, feeling tears spring to my eyes. “Fine.”

Hurry the fuck up!

The doctor leaned away from the bed and nodded his dark head toward the truck driver. “This gentleman says that he found you on the side of the road.” He cleared his throat, and said quietly, “Your fingers are too cut up to do a finger print on, but this gentleman believes you’re Elizabeth Forter, the woman who disappeared two months ago. Are you that woman?”

I tried to keep from freaking out, but I felt my eyes flick to the driver. “How would he know who Elizabeth Forter is?” God, he wasn’t a bad guy. I knew I wasn’t wrong about that. At least, I didn’t think so.

The doctor said softly, “Elizabeth Forter’s picture has been flashed all over the news for the past two months while everyone has been searching for her.” He glanced at my head, his eyebrows rising. “Your hair is the same color. Although, it’s only an inch long so I can’t tell if it’s curled. And the one eye that’s not swollen shut is green like hers.” He stared into that one said eye. “Are you Elizabeth Forter?”

My lips pinched even further, and I glanced around for something to protect myself with, squinting with my good eye. “What would you do if I was?”

He sucked in a breath, watching me. “I would call the authorities and let them know you’ve been found.”

I shook my head. “Wrong answer. You would give me a fucking phone,” since I couldn’t see one around here anywhere, “and let me call Lion Security.” I didn’t trust the damn authorities right now. And sadly, I didn’t know Daniil’s phone number off the top of my head, and I was positive it wasn’t listed anywhere unlike Lion Securities. I had programmed it into my phone before he had broken it, and after that, I had used the bodyguards’ phones. My heart clenched for a moment, but I pushed it back, along with the memories of Trofim. Right now, I needed to focus.

Both men stilled, and their eyes widened even more, but the doctor wasn’t one to be shaken too badly. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, and asked, “Number?”

“I don’t know,” I stated, staring at the door again. “Call information. And when you get Lion Security on the line, ask for Grigori. Do not use my name over the line. At all.” It could be fucking traced for all I knew.

The doctor nodded slowly and called information.

I tried to breathe, staring at that door, but I couldn’t take it. “Can you please open that door now?”

Doc nodded while dialing the number to Lion Security.

The truck driver jumped to open the confining door.

It was as if I could breathe again, my lungs unclenching and my vision becoming clearer even though I could barely see without my contacts. But it was good enough. I knew I wasn’t trapped. There was an outlet, so to speak.

“Can I speak with Grigori, please? This is Dr. Walker,” my doctor, whom I had forgotten the name of asked over the line. “Yes. This is urgent enough to get him out of a meeting.”

“Grigori is Daniil’s son,” I stated factually, staring outside the door, but I could still see the look the doctor gave me that clearly stated ‘no shit.’ Guess he knew the family dynamics somehow. Must read the papers.

Dr. Walker cleared his throat, and stated, “Good afternoon, Grigori. This is Dr. Walker. I have a patient in my hospital that doesn’t wish me to say her name, but I believe you may have some interest in. She’s got red hair,” I ignored that general assessment, “and green eyes, and I believe she’s who you’ve been searching for. She was found this morning—” He stopped talking abruptly, and I could hear Grigori shouting over the line.

“Yes. She’s alive and well. She just got out of surgery—” He was cut off again.

“No. Nothing life threatening—” Again, he was cut off.

“Lacrosk Hospital.” He took his phone away from his ear, and shut it, slowly placing it in his pocket. His eyes met my good working one. Doc stated softly, “I believe someone’s on their way here.”

I—almost—smiled at that.

The whole fucking family would be here, no doubt.

I cleared my throat, and asked the doctor as nonchalantly as possible, “If someone is put in isolation, completely alone, for two months…,” I stared out the door, “…could that cause hallucinations while they’re down there?” God, Daniil had seemed so real.

“Yes,” the doctor stated instantly and started on a rant about the effects of isolation on a person. And, honestly, it did make me feel better. I knew I wasn’t a loon.

Well, that was until a nurse came in and tried to shut the door. I screamed at her, having enough of this closed-door business, and got out of bed, pulling the blanket with me. The doctor argued, and my feet were also wrapped up, but I pulled the blanket over my head in hopes that no one else would recognize me and made my way out to the hallway with the doctor and truck driver following, the doctor nicely pushing the IVs for me.

I sat there and waited.

Daniil would be here soon.

But I lost track of time, staring at the wall across from me.

I flinched when the doctor, who had sat down next to me—I hadn’t even noticed—and interrupted… God, I was singing that damn Russian song. I shut my mouth quickly, and his gaze stared hard into my eye. Softly, he began telling me what I could expect from being in isolation.

Nightmares. Loss of time. General phobias of being in large crowds.

I swallowed hard and nodded. I seriously hadn’t even noticed that I had zoned out.

The wall had…I don’t know…just triggered it somehow.

I tried not to look at it again, pulling the blanket over me more.

And then, there were flashes of light and pounding of feet.

People were shouting my name.

“Call security!” Dr. Walker barked harshly at the nurse, who was coming out of another room. He jumped to his feet, rushing to meet the reporters who were running down the hallway. “Get them down here. Now!”

The nurse rushed back into the room she’d come from.

I burrowed down into the blanket more, pulling my knees up under it and hugging them the best I could with a four-month pregnant belly full of triplets. But I glared out of the blanket at the truck driver, who stood over me protectively.

“Who did you tell?”

He gulped, and literally pushed a reporter back who got too close, sending the man back on his butt.

“My wife. No one else.”

I glared at the floor. “I appreciate what you did, but your wife has a big mouth.”

He hesitated, shoving another reporter back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think she would tell anyone.”

I kept my head down, pulling the blanket over my face further when more flashes went off. “If there was reward money…” In any high profile kidnapping case, there was always reward money. And pulling this stunt, right now, was not a smart fucking decision.

The truck driver bent down as security raced onto the scene, pushing the ever-growing reporters back. He leaned over, staring up under the blanket. His eyes were honest when he stated, “There is reward money. A lot of damn money. However, that’s not why I’m doing this. My first wife was kidnapped, raped, and then left dead in a field. I would never do this for the money. Never the fucking money. But I am sorry she called the press.” I shut my mouth then, seeing the raw pain in his eyes even though I wasn’t feeling much else other than irritation. The doctor had said it might take some time to ‘feel’ again. And if I couldn’t feel with that type of story, I needed to keep my mouth shut.

I did manage to nod, knowing that I would make Daniil give him whatever he had promised.

He nodded once curtly, then stood back up, still standing over me protectively, along with the doctor, who took up guard on my other side—after he put a hand inside the blanket and checked my pulse. We waited. I had no clue how far away we were from Daniil, but it was taking forever.

So long, in fact, the doctor caught me zoning and singing to myself again.

It was going to take some time…

“You know, maybe you should call the authorities. If the press knows I’m here…” Then the bad guys knew I was here. The cops wouldn’t need to get close, but they could stay back and keep watch over me if it was going to take too long.

“That may be the wisest choice.” Dr. Walker slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, staring at the reporters who were barely being kept at bay at the end of the hallway. “If anyone came looking for you right now that shouldn’t be…” He trailed off with the phone paused halfway to his ear, muttering, “My God.” His expression went from calm to scared shitless in a heartbeat, which had to be hard to accomplish since he was so stone-faced.

Instant. “What?”

The truck driver backed away a few steps, whispering, “He’s here.”

My breath caught as I heard…Daniil…shouting, “Get the fuck out of my way!”

My head snapped toward the reporters. Two of them flew up into the air, one’s head and the other’s back hitting the drop ceiling before they fell back to the ground.

“My God,” Dr. Walker whispered again, also stepping back from me.

I squinted with my working eye and gazed out from under the blanket.

Grigori and Roman were first, slipping through the sides, hugging the wall as Daniil charged through everyone, going straight through them. The security guards had their hands on their guns, but Dr. Walker was with it enough to shout, “Let them through!”

It didn’t matter since Daniil, dressed in a black shirt and dark jeans, sans his normal suit, plowed through them anyway. His hair was tied back, and his expression was so damn fierce that even though I couldn’t see completely down the hallway, I could still make out his sharp features—they were set so hard. Artur and Eva followed behind him as Grigori jerked Ember’s hand, pulling her out of the fray.

Zane, Stash, Brent, and Cole pushed the huge crowd of reporters back as Daniil—and family—stalked toward me. And stalk they did.

I felt that emotion again. Terror.

I knew what bad guys moved like now. And absolutely none of them were good guys.

Daniil, Roman, Grigori, Artur, Eva, and Ember all moved like what they were—killers.

They could kill within a heartbeat with no compunction.

I had known this before, but now, it was different. I knew they were on my side. They were here to protect me.

I loved Daniil. And Daniil loved me. That one emotion, right along with possessiveness, had never gone away. But right now, I didn’t want to see that stalk. The stalk of killers.

I hunkered down further, ducking under the blanket, and rested my head on my knees.

Dr. Walker may have been scared shitless, but he was still my doctor and must have been watching me because I felt him move closer, stating quietly as they got closer, “It will help if you don’t scare her.”

The stalking group stopped. They weren’t making any noise, which was weird enough, but I knew they halted when the vibrations stopped on the floor. Dr. Walker continued speaking softly, “Maybe, one at a time.” He cleared his throat. “Daniil, I believe would be the best choice.”

There was a laboured pause before Daniil stated just as softly, “Are you sure it’s her?”

“I’m almost a hundred percent positive,” Dr. Walker answered factually, sounding more like himself—less frightened. “You can confirm this, though.”

Another pause. “All right.”

The same vibrations started on the floor.

I willed myself not to stare at the tile too long since that was what triggered the last singing episode. I felt Dr. Walker move back, and then someone else moved in front of me. Dr. Walker said, “You need to calm down. You’re going to scare her, looking like that.”

That little comment kept me from going into myself. Daniil had a way of freaking out most people with just a look. I steeled myself to not be one of those people. Fuck, I had wanted him here. I still wanted him here. Just not all scary and pissed off killer looking.

I heard him take a deep breath in and felt him squat, his legs brushing the outsides of mine. Softly, he asked from above my covered head, “Beth, is that you?”

I took my own deep breath in, since he sounded less violent, and slowly lifted my head. I peeked out from under the blanket with my good eye, but I could only see his lips that were pinched. “Yes.”

He sucked in harshly when he heard me, and he reached out with one of his hands. I tried not to flinch, but it came too fast. His hand paused right above my head, and he murmured softly, “I’m not going to hurt you, my sweet. I just want to see you.”

I nodded, feeling that glow of love inside my heart, hearing him. Seeing him. Smelling him—coffee. He still smelled like coffee.

He slowly finished reaching forward and gently pulled the blanket from my head, dropping it down on my shoulders. His harsh intake of air was immediate, along with a few gasps from his kids. I immediately ducked my head, remembering my hair was practically gone, and my face was a mess. I pulled a hand out, automatically patting my hair. It was such a reflexive action that I forgot my hands were wrapped, only feeling gauze over my buzzed hair.

“Beth,” Daniil’s voice cracked. I was suddenly enveloped in his arms.

I…I didn’t know what to do at first. It was weird. But it came naturally enough a few moments later when I brought my arms up and wrapped them around his neck, cast and wrapped hands and all. That was normal.

And it felt…nice.

Daniil was almost crushing me, though.

Dr. Walker murmured, “Gently. Don’t hurt her.”

Daniil’s arms loosened, but he still held me tight.

He pulled his head back, staring into my eyes.

I blinked into his brown, yeah, so damn loving eyes. I whispered, “I stayed alive.”

Daniil’s eyes filled with tears, although mine were dry. He nodded, a few salty tears slipping past his defenses as he blinked furiously.

I kissed them, whispering against his damp skin, “I stayed alive. Don’t cry. I’m alive.”

Daniil nodded, and his face went to my neck. I felt more tears wet my skin, and his breathing was labored. And…like a dam…mine broke through. The feeling so intense and earth shattering, I screamed and held him tight as overwhelming relief and love and tenderness took hold of me. I tucked my own face against his neck and sobbed.

And sobbed. Like I had never done before.

Fucking hysterical is what you might call it, but Daniil only held me, running his hands up and down my back, pulling me closer as he shed his own tears. That was until my belly got in the way. He stilled, his hand instantly going from my back to inside the blanket.

His hand landed on my belly, slowly running over it.

His head jerked back. His eyes were just as bloodshot as my lone eye was, but his were huge on his face. He whispered in shock, “The babies? You’re still pregnant? You didn’t lose them?”

I shook my head, still bawling. “No. All three are fine.” I gripped his shirt, growling through my tears. “And they’re fucking ours. No one’s taking them.” I shook my head, tears dripping off my chin. “No one is fucking taking them. I will kill them first. I. Will. Fucking. Kill. Them.” And, by God, I would fucking kill anyone who tried to take my damn babies again, just like I had my jailer.

He shook his head, his eyebrows snapping together, his look matching mine, as he stated slowly, “No. No one’s taking our children.” He glanced up at the doctor, who was edging closer, watching me. “Why does she think someone’s taking our babies?”

Dr. Walker cleared his throat and squatted down, as Daniil was, next to me. He asked me softly, “Can we go back in the room now?”

I blinked, still feeling fury roll through me…but…he’d said the room.

I shook my head. No, no, I didn’t want to go back in the room.

The hallway was good. Plenty of outlets.

Daniil’s eyebrows pinched even further, and his gaze met the doctor’s. “Explain.”

I blinked at Daniil’s pissed off face, and even though I had just declared I would kill anyone who tried to take my babies, his expression still freaked me out. I dropped my arms from around him, and scooted back, everything a big fucking jumble of emotions. I whispered, “Maybe you could scoot back.”

Daniil didn’t like that. His arms slipped back around me, and suddenly, I was being lifted into the air. And held like a baby. He tucked my head under his chin and turned his back to any reporters able to get a picture through Brent, Cole, Zane, Stash…, and Daniil’s family, who stood like a wall, barricading the way. Daniil murmured softly to Dr. Walker, “Tell me what you know.”

I didn’t move. Or try to get down as Dr. Walker explained everything that he knew, even bringing the truck driver, who had been mute the whole while, over to explain how and where he had found me. Daniil started shaking, hearing it all, but his arms were steady and warm around me.

I rested my head against his chest listening to his heartbeat.

It sounded kind of like…

“Ms. Forter,” Dr. Walker barked, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

I was singing again. I jerked, my mouth snapping shut.

Daniil had gone still with me in his arms.

Dr. Walker said softly, “You back with us?”

I cleared my throat, nodding. “Yes. Sorry.”

Dr. Walker nodded, smiling gently, glancing between Daniil’s face and mine. “That should happen less frequently with time. Counseling would be a preferred option.”

Daniil cleared his throat, asking quietly, “Where did you hear that song?”

I stared at the wall and quickly looked down since that was what seemed to bring the song about. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. Not quite yet.

“Can she leave?” Daniil asked gruffly, turning his attention to the doctor.

“The wounds on her wrists and ankles were infected, and she’s severely dehydrated. I would prefer she stay here to have the fluids and her medicine administered intravenously.”

“No,” I countered instantly. “I want to leave. Give me everything I need to take home with me. I just want to go home.”

“If she doesn’t need to stay, she’s leaving,” Daniil ordered harshly.

I flinched.

He immediately softened his tone. “Just get all of her prescriptions ready. And I want those shackles she came in here wearing.” He glanced at the truck driver. “You. Stay. I want to talk with you more.”

Leaving the hospital, Daniil wrapped me back up in the blanket, putting the blanket back over my head, and then lifting up from the floor where he had sat in the hallway holding me in his lap until I was discharged. His family stood around us protectively in a circle as Daniil started moving, again holding me in his arms like a baby. I was okay with that, tucking my face against his neck so I wasn’t seen. And I smelled him, taking him in.

“I missed you so damn much,” I whispered against his neck.

Daniil faltered on his feet, and he trembled where he stood. He placed his head on top of mine and held me tight.

Grigori stated softly, “We need to keep moving, Papa.”

Daniil sucked in a breath, his chest raising and pressing against my side, and nodded against my head. He kissed the blanket where my forehead was, and started moving again. I knew what we were doing. I didn’t like it. But I understood it.

Daniil had talked with the truck driver, who had agreed to show them exactly where he had found me. I knew from there, Daniil would want me to show him where I had been held. I understood it. But it scared me, that emotion of terror stealing my breath. All of these damn emotions hitting me at the wrong time. It had been easier in my Hell when I had felt nothing.

But we needed to do this.

I hadn’t said anything because I didn’t want to talk about it, so they had no clue what they were walking into. If I thought for even a second it would be dangerous, I would say no, but it wasn’t. I was positive anyone who would have gone there would be long gone by now, seeing that I had escaped. But they did need to take fingerprints and such, so I didn’t argue even though going back there made me shake in terror.

Daniil knew this as he held me, walking out of the hospital. He murmured quietly to me, gently shushing me as he kept me close. I could hear the reporters as we went outside, all of them finally being shoved out the doors. That was where we had to go when we left. There were so many shouting and screaming Daniil’s and my name, I cringed, burrowing into him further.

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” Ember growled harshly.

A deep grunt followed.

“Get the hell back,” Roman shouted.

Apparently, there were so many reporters that they were making it through the bodyguards.

“Are you that damn stupid?” Brent hissed, somewhere in front of us.

Grigori grunted directly beside us, and then a man shouted in pain. Grigori muttered, “This is fucking—” He stopped, and another man shouted.

All the while, Daniil kept murmuring softly to me, keeping his head next to mine.

At least ten minutes passed, and my terror escalated with every shout until Daniil dipped and slid into the limo. Sitting me again on his lap, I stayed tucked against him, hearing his kids getting into the car. The door slammed shut.

Artur muttered, “Follow the truck driver.”

“Yes, sir,” a man stated, and I realized slowly that it was the driver.

I sucked in a breath of air, suffocating under the blanket, and started struggling to get it off my face. I couldn’t manage it, though, because my hands were wrapped.

Daniil yanked it back for me.

I choked, my eyes glancing all around the inside of the vehicle, past everyone’s faces watching me carefully, to the windows behind them. They were all fucking closed.

My breathing came in short pants. I shook my head, trying to move off Daniil’s lap to the door. “Window. Open the window.”

Daniil gripped me, pulling me back on him, talking quietly and soothingly, “We can’t. Not yet. Wait until we’re away from the reporters.”

I stilled, finally noticing what he was talking about. There were reporters damn near smashed up against the sides of the limo. I peered to every window, feeling my lungs constrict.

Ember moved quickly.

I flinched, pushing back into Daniil as she landed on her knees right in front of us.

She got right in my face, ignoring Daniil’s menacing growl, saying softly, “Elizabeth, count with me. Okay? Let’s look at the ceiling and count each and every square in it. Okay?”

My lungs hurt, and my head buzzed. I glanced at the ceiling, evaluating the puckered tiny squares that only expensive limos have. I wheezed in a breath, and nodded, wondering if this would help.

“Okay, let’s start with the one over there in the left corner.” She pointed up and back to my left, so I turned my head in that direction.

We counted together, her pointing to each square, methodically counting.

Amazingly…oddly…it helped.

But then, I couldn’t see as far as she was pointing, and I told her as much.

Daniil’s grip tightened on me, and he muttered, “I should have brought your glasses.”

I swallowed, looking out the window, only seeing passing scenery. I asked, “Can we open the window now?” Please!

He hesitated, muttering something about the point of an armored limo isn’t armored unless the windows are up, but he did it anyway. I glanced down at Ember where she watched me with a freaky look.

I whispered, “Thank you.”

I turned my attention to the open window, sucking in a huge mouthful of fresh air as she patted my knee and moved to sit next to Grigori. He wrapped his arms around her, stuffing his face in her hair as she did to his neck a few moments later.

Guess they were still getting along fine.

Pulling over on the side of the road came too quickly. A lot more quickly than it had felt when I first come out of the woods this morning and driven to the hospital. Daniil exited the limo, still keeping me in his arms. I wiggled, wanting down.

“I don’t want to let you go yet,” Daniil murmured and stopped moving. He stared down at me. “Why do you want down?”

I cleared my throat, seeing so much love there and feeling it just as deeply for him, wanting to hold onto him a bit longer. I explained, “There’s a gun down there that I stole and dropped in the woods.”

Daniil stiffened and glanced at Zane and Cole, who had stopped behind us in what I was guessing was Grigori’s limo. They had gotten out, and heard what I said. Daniil jerked his head at the woods, but asked me, “Where did you drop it?”

I pulled my right hand out of the blanket, and tried to point, but again, I couldn’t since my hand was wrapped up like a fucking mitten. “Over there. The huge tree. I hid behind it.”

Cole and Zane nodded, moving down the slight decline to where I had gestured, after staring at my face and hair for a heartbeat since they hadn’t seen me yet. Sluggishly, I realized Zane and Stash were both here, finally registering they must have made it back from their ‘job’ safely.

Good.

If I was feeling emotion, I knew I would have been happy they were alive and well.

“Papa,” Grigori stated, hopping out of the limo and holding up a cell phone. “Her parents are on the line.”

“Not yet,” I whispered. I didn’t want to talk with them. I loved them…but not yet.

Daniil glanced down at me, his gaze assessing and he shook his head at Grigori. “She’ll call them back in a few minutes.”

Grigori nodded and walked away, speaking into the phone quietly and trotting to where Cole and Zane were searching.

“This was it,” the truck driver motioned down at the ground, walking toward us. “She was standing right here when I noticed her.”

Daniil and I both glanced down.

The driver had an uncanny memory. My bloody footprints were still right there.

Daniil stilled and slowly rotated, his gaze stuck on the footprints that darted out into the road. He said softly, “You’ll have the reward money in less than five days. Give my driver your information.”

The driver’s eyebrows puckered. “I’m not sure if it’s right accepting all that cash just for taking her to the hospital and knowing who she is.”

Daniil’s eyes hadn’t left the blacktop. “I would have given all my worldly possessions to have her back. Twenty-five million is nothing to me. Take the cash. I don’t care what you do with it, but just take it.”

Surprise.

Oh, hell yes. That emotion shot through me.

I jerked and blinked, and stared at Daniil.

He’d offered twenty-five million dollars for me?

My gaze darted to the truck driver. “Take the damn money.” He would have to be an idiot not to take it. I knew that Daniil was loaded, and he wasn’t lying about it not hurting his wallet. Ember had said he was almost a billionaire. He had put enough cash out there, though to have the entire world searching. Smart. Very fucking smart.

“Okay,” Truck Driver said, nodding to me, smiling softly. “I’m sure happy you’re all right, ma’am.”

I returned his smile. Nodded. That was what I was supposed to do.

“Found it,” Brent hollered.

Daniil turned to us as Truck Driver walked to give his information to the limo driver.

“I need a bag to put it in.” Brent peered down at the weapon. “There’s blood all over the handle.”

Daniil nodded, already knowing that I’d had blood all over myself when Truck Driver had found me. “Just take care of it.” He glanced down at me, his brown eyes soft. “You ran through the woods, right? That’s how your feet were cut up.” Slowly, I nodded, and he glanced around, asking softly, “What else, Beth. Tell me how to get there.”

I sucked in and moved in his arms a little, staring over my shoulder and squinting. But I had walked so far. “A gravel road. I ran all night. There was a gravel road to my left that cars traveled on. Find that, and you’ll find the house.”

Daniil was already walking, keeping me tight against him. “Thank you, my sweet. I know you’re scared, but we need to find it.”

I stayed silent and burrowed into his neck again as he got back into the limo. He kept the door open for me, and when Grigori got inside and shut it, he rolled down the window and moved us closer to it. He ordered to the driver, “The next gravel road, take a left. She ran all night so it will be a few miles.” He glanced down at me, asking quietly, “Did you run past any other houses?”

I shook my head and stared out the window, trying to keep my shaking to a minimum.

Daniil kissed my forehead and rested his chin on top of my head, staring out the window with me as we pulled away from the side of the road. We crossed back into our lane and drove until we turned on the first gravel road. I shivered hard, feeling the crunch under the tires.

Daniil probed, “Do you remember what the house looks like?”

I nodded. I had gotten a good look at it as I had stared at the empty driveway.

“Did you leave anyone living inside? Will there be anyone there?”

I could actually feel everyone inside the car still.

They were silent, not knowing the full story since they had stood back and given Daniil and me our privacy. Daniil knew about the blood all over me. He knew what my injuries were—which were not enough to sustain as much blood as I had arrived at the hospital sporting. The doctor had quietly pointed that out to him as if he didn’t already know this.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

As I watched the trees fly by where I had raced through, I didn’t feel anything but rage against the people who had held me. With an even and calm voice, I stated, “There was only one man there when I escaped. He’s dead. But there was also another man and a woman there at the beginning. They stopped coming around a while ago.” I paused, telling him what I knew to be true. “They were the leaders. When I left, an alarm went off when I opened the door. I would imagine they have either come and left or heard the news already that I’m free. I doubt they would be there.”

Daniil nodded against my head, and stayed silent, watching the trees with me. No condemnation. No soft words. No cheers, either. He was just there. With me. Holding me through this. Helping me through this.

We had driven for at least fifteen minutes before I heard Artur say, “Slow down.” And then, he asked, “Elizabeth, is that the house?”

I tilted my head, and saw a house—The House—come into my view.

My teeth started chattering I shook so badly.

“Pull down the driveway,” Daniil ordered quietly. He knew my answer in my body language.

“I don’t want to go inside,” I whispered as we pulled down the short driveway.

He rubbed my back, kissing my forehead. “You don’t have to.” The limo stopped, and Daniil lifted my body, setting me on Roman’s lap. “Just stay here. You’ll be safe.”

Roman’s arms immediately embraced me, and he balked, feeling my stomach. “You’re still pregnant.” His hold gentled, his hand widening on my stomach hidden under the blankets.

The whole car stilled. Again.

They didn’t know. They hadn’t seen me standing on my own yet.

Only Daniil knew, I realized.

I nodded. “Yes. And they’re all still healthy.”

Daniil leaned down kissing my forehead again, and murmured, “I’ll be right back.” He swung around and jumped out of the limo, leaving the door open for me.

I stared at him as everyone in the limo blinked at Roman’s widespread hand.

Lord help me, but Eva started sniffling. Ember joined in.

“They’re fine,” I stated calmly, settling one of my bandaged hands over Roman’s, making him flinch again. I ignored it, watching Daniil stalk up to the house, going directly toward the door I had raced through last night. It was still open, telling me that no one had come here. He wasn’t taking any chances, though. He placed both hands behind his back and pulled two guns out from under his shirt.

The other limo pulled up behind us just as Daniil went inside.

Brent raced out of it, stopping to glance inside our limo, shouting, “He should have fucking waited for me! The damn place might be rigged!”

“No,” I stated, shaking my head. “They’re too scared of him to come anywhere near here again.” I remembered the sound of fear in their voices when we had heard the gunfire at the first place. “You guys almost found me the day I was taken. You went somewhere in the city, right?”

Everyone went quiet and nodded.

“We were in the basement. I heard the gunfire. They escaped with me through the old subway tunnels. They were scared, then. They wouldn’t come back here.”

Brent puffed out a breath, removing himself from the limo, and started pacing the length of it, eyeing the house.

I peered outside the open door, toward the woods.

We all heard Daniil’s shout from inside the house.

I didn’t move. I knew why he was shouting.

But his kids didn’t. They all dashed out of the limo, except for Roman.

Brent sprinted toward the house, along with Daniil’s children.

Roman, who stayed rigid with me in his arms, glanced down at me. “You’re safe. I’m staying with you.” His head cocked. “But you’re not scared hearing him. Why?”

I continued gazing out the door. “He found where they were keeping me. That’s why he shouted.”

We both turned our heads as we saw Brent stumble back just as he made it into the house, Daniil barreling out. Daniil leaned over, placing his hands on his knees and started sucking in great gulps of air. He was shooing his kids away, wiping at his eyes.

He eventually jerked upright and paced back and forth, his hands going to his head, guns still grasped in them. Grigori tried to talk to him, but he shouted again, making all of his kids scuttle back.

I was scared. I didn’t want to be here. And I was getting tired.

But…I couldn’t… I don’t know. I couldn’t stand to see him in so much pain.

I pushed off Roman, his arms losing to hold my hips and steady me when I almost stumbled. “I need to talk to him.”

“I know,” Roman said softly. He helped me out of the limo.

I stood and held the blanket around me, wobbling on the gravel, the cuts on my feet pulling through the bandages, but it didn’t hurt so much. Nothing like the way Daniil was hurting. Daniil turned on his next pace, and his eyes landed on my good one. A few furious tears had fallen down his cheeks, and he stopped in his tracks, staring at me. He pointed with one of his guns at the house, obviously not able to contain it, shouting, “How long?” He paused. “How fucking long did they keep you down there?”

His kids all froze, their expressions telling me they had never seen him this way before.

I didn’t want to say. He was already upset enough. “Daniil, let’s go. Have Zane and everyone in that limo take down any information and details you need. I want to go home.”

His cheeks flushed bright red as he bent forward and screamed, “How long?”

I wobbled, putting a bracing bandaged hand on Roman. “That was my Hell the entire time I’ve been gone.”

Daniil didn’t move. I don’t think he even breathed.

“Daniil, come on. Let’s go home,” I pled, my eyes wandering to the house. I couldn’t help I had started shaking so badly that Roman had to support me again. “Please, Daniil. Home.”

Daniil didn’t look any calmer, but he swallowed heavily. “Burn it,” Daniil growled, his gaze snapping to Brent. “Take every fucking print you can, then burn the fucking place, and the body downstairs, to the goddamn-fucking-ground. Understand?”

Brent nodded slowly, glancing behind Roman and me, jerking his head. “Let’s get this done.”

Zane and Stash moved from behind us toward the house where I hadn’t even realized they were. I was lifted off my shaking feet, and Daniil’s mouth was on mine. I hadn’t even heard him move, but I was suddenly wrapped in his arms, and his sweet lips were on mine.

The kiss was gentle, which I didn’t blame him since I hadn’t brushed my teeth in, well, forever, but I whimpered against his lips, wrapping my arms around his neck. I held on tight. He was it for me.

His sweet breath fanned over my face when he pulled his face away. But when I opened my eyes, peering up at him, I knew he was trying to contain it. He was…well, there weren’t any words for it. Pissed wasn’t a good word. Nor was furious. Or even murderous. He was past all that. He was ready to set the world on fire. I would gladly let him as long as I lit the match.

No one would ever try to take my babies from me again.

If they did, I no longer had any such compunction about killing the bastards.

It would be their funeral.

His grin was pure fury and love rolled into one, as he stated slowly, “I’ll let you.”

I nodded. I hadn’t even needed to say anything. He knew.

I told them everything as we drove. Daniil had seen the worst, so it all just started tumbling out while I stared out the open window. Artur told me they had followed the cars I was taken from the church in, via any camera loop he could hack into after Grigori stormed into the church too late. Roman, Ember, and Artur all said their thanks for my quick thinking with the table.

I didn’t really care. My emotions were back on amok dial, and I wasn’t feeling much of anything as I continued telling them what had happened. Daniil growled softly hearing that they had only barely missed me that first day. Apparently, they had taken out the entire team who had gassed the church, keeping one hostage, but he hadn’t known who the leaders were. I didn’t ask how they interrogated him, or how his life had ended. Again, I really didn’t care.

When I was done telling them about the car ride in the trunk, being stripped bare and kept down in a ‘bomb shelter’ for months, and how I had escaped, Daniil leaned over to reach into his pocket. He pulled out…the bloody bolt I had used. He murmured quietly, twirling it in his fingers, “This was genius.”

I stared at it. “Where did you find it?” I remembered having it in my hands, and then it was gone—not where I had put it.

“On the kitchen table.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “I guess I switched it out for the gun that was there.”

Daniil nodded, putting the bolt away in his pocket—probably for a souvenir—after eyeing it for a solid minute. “The gun was a better pick for where you were headed.”

I nodded. I knew this.

Ember stated, “You aren’t bothered about killing that man.” It was a statement of fact.

I shrugged even though Daniil’s gaze snapped to her. I stated bluntly, “And when we find that man and woman, I won’t have any issue killing them.” I paused, telling them what I hadn’t yet. “They want Daniil’s babies. The reason why they took me was to keep me until the babies were born. They were going to kill me afterward, and then take our children.”

Everyone in the car went silent.

I muttered, “So, no. I’m not bothered by that. No one is touching my fucking kids.”

Daniil was trembling under me, and he hissed into the silence, “I know who they are.”

Everyone’s gaze snapped to him, including mine.

I scoured his face, and asked instantly, “How?”

He was still quivering, and he held me tighter. “The song you sang. It was all she used to listen to. I saw the CD player outside where you were held, and checked the disk. It was, indeed, that song. I only asked them to look for fingerprints to verify there was no one else involved, even though I doubt anyone was ignorant enough to leave any behind.” His eyes darted all over my face, and slowly, he smiled. “We’re going to have a party, I think. One to celebrate your homecoming.” His smile grew. “And we’re going to invite them. They won’t be able to refuse.”

I watched him carefully. “Was she an old lover?” Wouldn’t that be special?

He shook his head. “Oh, no. But she was someone very near to me.”

Gradually, I nodded. “All right. Let’s have a party.” I yawned and didn’t care what anyone thought, letting my head rest against his shoulder as I stared out a window and watched the New York scenery slowly change as we got closer to home.

Twenty minutes away from my own bed and shower, I heard a very faint buzzing sound. I closed my eyes to the beautiful landscape of wild and uninhabited back roads, listening closer. My hearing’s excellent, but it was very faint. I couldn’t quite make it out.

All Daniil’s children were talking softly, a mundane topic about a drunk and disorderly night long ago, and I lifted my head and held up my covered hands. “Everyone quiet.”

They shut up. And I could hear it better. I nodded, knowing I was right. “Helicopter.”

Instantly, each person looked out a separate window.

“Nothing,” Grigori murmured.

“Nothing,” Artur stated.

A pause. “Something.” Ember jerked her head toward her window. “Fucking gunship.”

I felt my pulse race as Artur and Grigori both lunged at the window I was now glued to, squinting just over the tree line where a damn gunship flew dangerously low, stalking us at a safe distance. A masculine string of violent curses filled the air. Daniil was already hitting the button to lower the partition to the driver, growling, “Get us there as fast as possible.” He rolled up the window I had been staring through.

Grigori was on the phone. “Zane, it’s Grigori. Listen, we’ve got a gunship coming at us that must have been hidden in the damn woods somewhere. We’re less than twenty minutes out from the house. You need to get to us as soon as possible.” He hung up.

I thumped the window, stating as calmly as I could, “It’s not getting any closer. Why the hell not?” I paused, and it occurred to me just why it wasn’t advancing when it was already too late. Rounding a corner, we all saw why through the front window a hundred and fifty yards ahead. There was a damn blockade of at least fifteen trucks and SUVs in our path, men everywhere with assault rifles aimed at us.

And that’s when the gunship started rapidly advancing.

“Jesus Christ,” Roman choked, staring wide-eyed out the window.

Grigori flipped a panel down from the ceiling just as gunfire exploded at us.

Ember jerked as a hail of bullets hit the limo.

Grigori murmured under his breath, “Code. Code. What the fuck is the code?” His fingers hovered in front of a clear glass piece with numbers on it.

I was staring, shocked, out the front window as bullets hit the limo, nothing piercing its armor, thank fuck.

“Move,” Daniil ordered harshly and moved Grigori to the side.

Daniil typed in the code. The clear screen lit green.

Grigori shook his head, still staring at the screen. “Papa, you are one sick bastard.”

“I know,” Daniil growled. He pressed in another set of numbers.

The screen turned red.

“What do you want me to do?” the driver called back, sounding too damn calm for the situation.

“Speed the fuck up and keep going,” Grigori shouted.

Something under my ass clicked. Ember and I stilled, staring down at the seat under us.

“Get up,” Grigori ordered over the racketing gunshots. We moved, and he lunged at the seat, pulling the connected bottom cushions forward, and then up.

Daniil ordered the driver, “You’re clear to fire on them.”

The driver hit buttons on his own panels, our car jerking hard. Three SUVs exploded from the blockade, and a machine gun lifted from a hidden compartment in the limo’s hood, rapidly firing in an arching motion in front of us. I fell into Daniil’s arms as my body started to tremble, and Grigori bent over and started pulling out an arsenal from the hidden compartment under the seat, tossing weapons at everyone as we crouched on the floor. He pulled two large duffels from its depths before slamming the seat back into place.

I glanced down at the weapons I had been given, one lone knife to hold between my bandaged hands, and actually felt a little jealous seeing that Ember had been given a—very illegal—machine gun. Grigori threw himself back into his seat while Ember and Roman started digging through the duffels. Daniil held my body close against him, crawling us back to our seat in preparation for us ramming through the SUVs that were on fire, not fifty yards away.

And then we both saw it through the back window.

I blinked.

Daniil shouted, “Incoming!”

Everyone’s gazes darted where we were staring before they all exploded into action.

A fucking missile blasted from the gunship that flew right over the road behind us.

The driver yanked the wheel hard to the right.

Daniil slammed us down onto the floor.

Grigori grabbed Ember and Eva, throwing their bodies down right next to us.

Roman and Artur threw themselves on top of Grigori.

The car rocked hard from the driver’s actions, just as the missile made contact from somewhere behind us on the right. My ears rang from the loudest explosion I had ever heard, and the limo shot through the air, tilting up on its front left side. I went airborne, Daniil’s body wrapped around me as we tumbled through the limo, smacking into everyone else, the hood, the seats, the driver at one point, as the limo tumbled over and over again. The limo held together, but the pressure of the blast tossed us like a toy car.

There was no point trying to figure out everything that hurt on my body as the limo stopped rolling. My whole fucking body hurt. I groaned, tugging my hand out from under Daniil as he shook his dark head against my shoulder. I managed to grab a handful of his hair, yanking his head back so I could look him in the eye, asking, “You all right?”

His cheek was bleeding, but otherwise, his face appeared fine. “I’m fine. You?” His hands started roving over me, yanking his head out of my grasp. “Is anything broken? Are you bleeding?” He stared at my stomach.

“No.” I slapped his hands away, sitting up…on the roof of the limo. The couches were above us. The limo had landed upside down. Artur’s body was lying cock-eyed over my legs, and I poked him hard. “Artur! Wake up!” No one was kidnapping me again. No one.

He stirred, shaking his head, and I heard the driver cursing from where he hung upside down. Apparently, he had been wearing his seatbelt. Artur pushed up on his hands and knees just as the driver fell from his perch, holding a knife in his hands after cutting himself free—my knife. I was now weaponless.

I glanced toward the back of the limo, even as more gunfire erupted around us. Grigori was hovering over Ember, checking her pulse and breathing, then her wounds. She was out.

I crawled to a window and peered out, seeing men starting a slow trek through the woods where our limo had eventually landed between two old oak trees. “They’re coming.” My adrenaline started pumping again, and my aches and pains lovingly went away. I started yanking the bandages off my hands. I needed to be able to use a damn gun.

Daniil hit a button above me near the armrest of the couch. The window slowly rolled down. My one good eye widened as he pulled the pin on a grenade and chucked it as hard as he could, then rolled the window back up just as it fell between four men.

Boom!

Dirt and leaves and their bodies flew back, bits and pieces of their persons flying out from their bodies in different directions, hopefully killing the bastards instantly. I stared out the window as everyone conscious paused, grabbing their weapons to see what he had done. I muttered, “Four down.”

“Shitloads more to go,” Roman grumbled, lifting his weapons.

Grigori was ordering the driver to keep watch over Ember and keep checking her vitals as he started digging through a duffle. The driver pulled out two handguns he had on him, crawling, and placing himself protectively in front of Ember.

Daniil didn’t look at me, but he asked, “Are you coming with us, Beth?” He had moved from the bag, bending over typing onto the screen that had remained intact with our bodies slamming into it time and again when the limo went rolling as gunfire erupted on the hood, a sure sign that the gunship was still in action.

“Yes.” Fuck, yes, I was going. I’d had about enough of this shit.

“Just stay alive, my sweet.” I nodded once, and then he barked, “Everyone, move to the side.” He pressed a few more buttons.

We all crawled to the windows as the middle of the roof below us started sliding open, a hidden area within it now visible. I stared down at two handheld rocket launchers and another arsenal of machine guns I knew I wouldn’t be able to lift. Grigori started unlatching the straps around one of the rocket launchers as Roman did the same to another one. My brows lifted as Eva easily picked up one of the machine guns and moved to a window, rolling it down enough to get the barrel down as hordes of men started backing into the woods. Daniil had stalled them with the grenade, but they were moving again.

I covered my ears right before Eva opened fire on them. I watched through my window as five more were mowed down before the others ducked behind trees or retreated from the gunfire. It was so damn loud I couldn’t hear after that, even though I could tell Daniil and Grigori were yelling at one another, opening a door on the other side of the limo that wasn’t facing the group slowly trying to make their way to us.

With my hands now not bandaged, Daniil threw me a smaller machine gun and another handgun that I tucked under my expanded waistline. I put a hand up on the floor of the limo since I couldn’t hear, and when I felt the vibrations stop from the gunship firing, I rolled from the vehicle following Grigori and Daniil, as Roman provided a distraction for us to exit.

I landed behind a tree and stayed low, peering around it, watching in stunned shock as Daniil hopped on top (bottom) of the limo, in plain view of everyone, lifted the rocket launcher to his shoulder, got down on one knee—and he fired.

The rocket launched at an angle up through the air. I almost screamed from the explosion in the air that was loud enough to penetrate my ringing ears as it hit its mark. Grigori tossed Daniil the other one before leaning over the limo and lifting his machine gun and opening fire, providing protection for Daniil, who fired this one just as expertly and quickly. Another explosion from above and a whistling sounded as the gunship started to go down.

Daniil jumped off the car, pulling two grenades from his stash and tossing them at a group getting too close. He turned and yelled at me over the explosion that rocked the ground beneath me. I couldn’t hear him, but he twirled his fingers and jabbed a finger toward where the helicopter had gone down as he crouched behind the limo. He pulled two small handguns out of his waistline.

I nodded. He wanted me to make sure the assholes were dead in the copter. It was a safe job since they were more than likely dead. He was protecting me in his own way. I stayed low since I couldn’t hear if anyone was near, slowly making my way through the brush, rolling, and crouching behind trees where I could. It felt like it took forever, but I made my way toward where the copter had gone down, smelling burning metal the closer I got, my ears only barely recovering.

I stopped when the smell became overwhelming and tried to listen, but the only sound I could lightly make out was gunfire and grenade explosions in the distance where the firefight was happening. I breathed deeply, ready to start again when a man stumbled out from behind the tree I was hiding behind. He was bleeding from the head, and he looked dazed as he walked, his mouth moving as he said something over his shoulder that I could only barely hear but not make out.

My body froze, my heart stopping and then pounded against my chest as he stumbled over a limb, not watching where he was going, talking to the other man behind him that walked with a limp and a bloody arm that came around the tree. I lifted my weapon immediately, the second man seeing the movement and falling to the ground lifting his own gun.

And I froze. Completely froze.

My light machine gun hung limply down by my side, my one decent arm not lifting it to fire. I was tempted to lift my arm in the cast in front of my eyes.

I was such a coward. To talk about killing was one thing.

To do it was a whole other ballgame.

Roman was suddenly next to me. He peered down the sight of his gun and fired.

He shot the guy aiming at us first before changing course and killing the stunned and dazed man next right before he was able to get his gun from his holster.

I scooted behind a tree, my breathing ragged. I hadn’t seen anyone else, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone. My thoughts raced as I checked the terrain. No other movement. I kicked a rock far ahead of us. Nothing.

I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief, though. I kept my head in the moment, scoping out every angle as Roman and I jogged to the helicopter. It was still burning from the tail and stunk to high heaven, lying on its side, the ground tore up all around it. My ears finally picked up the crunching of grass and the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees. I ignored the heat of the flames coming at the gunship from behind.

Roman slowly climbed up its belly, staying in place there. Gradually, he peered up and over, into the open door after hearing no sounds. He shook his head, and stated, “There are only three seats inside, and one of them has a dead body in it still. I got the other two.”

I cleared my throat. “Thank you, Roman.”

He dropped to the ground. And winked. “You can say you got them.”

I instantly shook my head. “Nope.”

His gaze scanned my face, and then he nodded. “Your choice.”

We slowly made our way back to where the gunfire was dying down. I seriously hoped that was a good sign. Less gunfire could mean a greater amount of the opposition dead, or vice versa, a greater number of our numbers dead since we were completely outnumbered.

I stalled when I saw seven men creeping up behind where I had left the limo. It wasn’t in viewing distance yet, but we were very close. I tapped Roman’s shoulder and pointed silently.

He grinned. It was the smile of a killer.

Roman gently pushed me behind a tree for protection. He lay down on the grass, crawling on his belly into the closest brush. Daniil’s son made his way silently and pulled all of his guns out that he had on him, laying them on either side on his body. He first pointed the machine gun at them, following their movements. He waited until they were in a clear opening with no trees too close, and started from the right and opened fire, going left, aiming at crotch level just in case they decided to drop.

The three at the end did try that, and it didn’t work out so well for them. Four out of the seven were dead instantly—I knew that, but the first three were screaming where they lay on the ground. They started firing blindly at him. Roman picked up his handgun and aimed accurately, and fired three more shots right to the head, ending their agony and lives.

I felt no remorse for their loss of life, but I still didn’t think I could do that.

I had no clue how long we had been gone, but gripped my gun—the gun I hadn’t used.

We trekked back to the limo just as quietly and slowly as we had before. When we got there, diving behind the limo, there were only periodic shots being fired. I couldn’t see because gray smoke filled the air. No one was alive outside the limo, and I was grateful that none of the men were my group.

I called from right outside of one of the limos doors, staying out of gunshot path, thumping it with a quick fist, “It’s Elizabeth! Anybody in there?” The driver and Ember should have been inside still. The window rolled down just as the barrel of a gun poked out. I leaned back instantly, but the driver was smart enough not to fire. I asked in a hurry, “You two still all right?”

He responded just as quickly, “We’re fine. Ms. Lerrus is still unconscious.”

I nodded. “Roll the window back up.” He did, and I pivoted, pulling my shirt up over my nose and mouth, peering around the back end of the limo to where I heard the periodic shots. The smoke made my eyes burn, and I coughed, but it was slowly starting to rise away in the increasing breeze, giving me a view of the carnage littering the ground.

Two SUVs had driven down into the woods and were on fire, creating the smoke. There were bodies cluttering the ground. There had to be at least eighty to a hundred dead men, lying around all dying differently. I swallowed hard, my eyes darting from each dead man, but I didn’t see any of our group.

And then I did.

From where the shots were coming from.

There was no other movement except for the four of them.

Daniil. Grigori. Eva. Artur.

They stalked side-by-side through the smoke, bleeding themselves from various places.

The four were shooting anyone in the head that so much as twitched.

I swallowed hard again.

I heard someone groveling and crying then as they made their way through the carnage, blathering in Russian. He grabbed Daniil’s leg, obviously pleading for his life, but I didn’t think he had that long to live with only one arm left and a huge hole through his stomach. Daniil shook off his touch and bent down, his hair covering his face as he said something to him, right before he ended his life with a simple shot to the forehead.

I pulled back and turned toward the woods behind me, staring at the trees there. That was better than seeing them cold and lethal, brutal in their actions. Roman stood like a statue of protection next to me. I didn’t exactly disagree with what they were doing, finishing up as they were, but it was different when someone was returning fire on you than just lying there dying. Some would call it mercy killings, but I didn’t think that was why they were doing it. I think this was the scary as fuck side of them.

I heard the crunching of their steps—no longer trying to be silent—and I called out so they wouldn’t shoot us, “It’s Elizabeth and Roman.”

They rounded the side of the limo.

Daniil immediately lifted me from the ground, holding me like a babe in his arms against him, asking quickly in Russian something I couldn’t understand. I blinked up at his face that was covered in sweat and blood and soot, allowing my head to fall against his chest, and just held him. He gripped me tighter, repeating what he said in English, “Were you hit? Are you all right?”

“No, I wasn’t hit. Roman took nine of them out back there.”

He started rubbing my back as Grigori moved around us, knocking on the window of the limo, and crawling inside when the door opened.

I lifted my head, staring into his dangerous eyes. “How badly are you injured?”

He kissed me outright. His lips landed on mine as he crushed me to him, grabbing the back of my head, and thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I had never felt anything better. I grabbed his neck, my wounded fingers digging into the damp skin there, and pressed into him, kissing him back with all I had to give. He growled, and I felt it against my breasts that were crushed against him as he held me tight. It was perfect.

Until Artur nudged us, asking dryly, “Think this can wait until we’re back at the house?” He was holding his bicep where he was bleeding, looking at us a little exasperated. “I didn’t know dead bodies were a turn on for you, Papa.” He glanced around. “We need to get back and have a crew come out here and clean this shit up before anyone drives by. We’re lucky this area is deserted like it is.”

Daniil sighed, and kissed my forehead, slowly releasing me. “He’s right. We need to go.”

I nodded, scanning his body as Grigori got out of the car, holding a limp Ember. “Are your injuries bad?”

He shook his head. “The worst is a minor flesh wound.” He lifted his shirt, showing me what appeared to be where a knife had skimmed his lean hip. He asked Grigori, “Is Ember okay?”

Grigori nodded. “She was awake when I went in. She’s only passed out again when I moved her. I think her right hip is bruised badly. Nothing new.”

Artur stated, already walking away, “Let’s go, then.”

The driver crawled out of the car, his gaze scanning the area as we made our way through the wreckage, shaking his head and muttering something as he got on a cell phone. From what I understood from the conversation, he phoned someone to tell them a ‘crew’ needed to be sent to this location. He didn’t seem fazed by what we were wading through, only factual. Guess he had seen this before.

I slipped…in someone’s guts…and Daniil caught my arm, steadying me, watching my face as I lifted the shirt back over my nose, holding it there and swallowing repeatedly. I pushed forward, trying hard not to step on anyone’s anything again. Daniil kept me close, guiding me through it all, like a sound foundation to the disgusting quicksand all around.

I kept my feet moving quickly, and we hit the road, turning toward where the SUVs and trucks burned or lay on flat tires from the limo’s spray of bullets. Nothing was drivable. It was as if we all took a large breath in, right before we started a slow trot toward the house. Though Daniil chucked my gun to the side and lifted me into his arms almost instantly. The faster we got there, the faster we could wash the death from us.

Three minutes into our run, a limo pulled up. It was the rest of Lion Security. They were a little late but much appreciated. I would take the ride willingly.

Zane muttered, “You had all the fun without us.”

I was sure we weren’t very pretty. Blood, soot, dirt, sweat. The only ones who were halfway clean were Ember and the driver. The rest of us looked like we had just come from war.

Grigori grumbled, “You’re late.”

“Well, we had a house to finish blowing up.” Zane nodded toward Ember. “She injured?” He started walking toward us, and I was pretty sure we all stepped back, each of us a little trigger-happy at the moment. Zane stopped in his tracks, his gaze quick and intelligent before darting back to where we had come from. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He was still staring down the road. “How many?”

Daniil sighed and started moving toward the limo. “All in all, one gunship, and approximately a hundred men and fifteen vehicles.” Funny how he put them in that order.

Zane blinked at us.

Stash asked into the silence, “Anyone get any video of that?” He seemed hopeful.

Roman started chuckling as we moved toward the SUV.

Grigori muttered, “Sick bastard.”

We all entered the limo in a calm fashion.

Stash shrugged. “It would have been good for our introductory videos.”

I sat on Daniil’s lap, and Artur sat on the floor in front of us, resting his head against the side of the car, closing his eyes. He looked a little pale under his tan skin.

I nudged him with my foot. “You all right?”

“The bullet didn’t exit,” he muttered.

Zane immediately knelt in front of him on the floor. “Let me see it.”

Artur kept his eyes closed but lifted the sleeve of his t-shirt. What I had thought was a flesh wound wasn’t. Grigori cursed seeing his brother’s bicep, and Eva called him a very unkind name. I scowled at her. You weren’t supposed to call people that when they were shot and bleeding in front of you.

“He should have told us,” she muttered harshly returning my scowl.

Zane probed the wound, and Artur grimaced, right before passing out. Daniil ordered to Zane, “Take us to the fucking hospital or he’s going to lose his arm.”

Guess they weren’t too late after all.

It looked like I wasn’t getting to see my bed anytime soon.

We sat in the waiting room while Artur was operated on. I leaned against Daniil—after he had made me get checked out by a doctor there. I had no new injuries, the babies were fine, and my hands were now re-bandaged. It felt good being safe in his arms, to have him ordering people around again.

We were all covered in blood and gore while we sat there. New York’s finest rookies stood around the room watching us wearily. Stash, who knew a few of them, had tried to convince them we weren’t a threat to the hospital, but apparently, they didn’t believe so, especially when Daniil called in more bodyguards.

Ember had been taken to a room—Grigori following—to make sure she was all right, and Grigori had sent word with one of his three new bodyguards—his others dead—that she was fine. They were with us now after they had called to make sure Nikki and Beth were fine.

I sighed and snuggled in closer to Daniil.

Artur would be out of surgery soon, which meant I would be able to see my home after that. I doubted Artur was a man to sit around in a hospital. He would want to go home, just as I had.

“He’ll be fine, my sweet.” Daniil kissed my forehead.

“I know. He’s your son.”

I was freshly showered and had eaten a decent meal. Finally, I was home. We moved to the study after dinner, and Ember brought in armfuls of crystal so everyone could have a drink. Our day and night had been shit so far. But at least, I was safe and home, and Artur had made it through surgery without any complications. I sat on a couch next to the only other person injured, both Artur and I now wearing casts on one arm. I sipped from a glass of red wine—the doctor had said a glass wouldn’t hurt the babies—feeling the burn slide down my throat. I licked my lips. It was damn good.

Ember sat on the desk next to the open bottles of vodka. She wasn’t drinking.

Grigori took a glass from her, bending and whispering something against her ear. She tilted her head, and I couldn’t see what kind of look she gave him, but she didn’t say anything, and he still backed away, saying something else that she didn’t respond to either. He started muttering under his breath, turning sharply from her. When he passed me, I heard a few inventive curse words being stated as he went to sit by his father, who was sipping his own drink. Daniil’s eyes crinkled over the glass in my direction, in obvious amusement, he hid before his son sat down.

Roman took a seat next to me as he threw an arm over the back of the couch, snatching my drink from my bandaged hands. He took a good swig before giving it back. I glared at him, and he stated, “I can’t really drink right now. I have to watch over Ember.”

I gestured to the bodyguards who were taking sips covertly from shot glasses. “Really? And what are they doing?”

Roman grinned, taking my glass from me again for a smaller sip this time. “Celebrating. We’ve all been searching so damn long for you. It’s good to have you home again.” He glanced at Ember. “But she is thoroughly pissed off that she passed out in the wreck. She feels a little…embarrassed. And an embarrassed Ember is nothing to take lightly. Especially when Grigori gets protective like this. I’m just glad Brent and Cole are watching the girls tonight. Ember would have been a real mess if her kids were around, and she tried to pretend everything was fine.”

I nodded, grabbing my glass back from him and draining the contents before he could steal the rest. I could only have one glass, dammit. I nudged his arm with my cast, and whispered, “I’m going to see if I can make her feel a little better.”

I strolled as elegantly as I could over to Ember, my pregnant belly deciding that was just silly. Ember was still silent, sitting cross-legged on top of the desk—she seriously had a fetish with chairs. I sat my empty glass on the table next to the vodka bottles.

I tilted my head, and asked her softly, “You know, I didn’t kill anyone either when we were attacked. And I don’t even have a real injury to blame that on.”

She lifted my empty glass and rolled it in her hands. “You and I are very different.” Her eyes met mine, cold and ruthless. “That’s not a bad thing. It just is. What you’re saying won’t change that I feel like I failed somehow today.”

I hesitated, and then commented softly, “You didn’t fail today.”

She snorted. “How’s that?”

My smile was sincere. “When the reporters were all around, you kept me from freaking out in the limo. You truly did help me. That’s not failing. You succeeded when I needed you, and I’m grateful for that.”

Ember didn’t respond, but her eyes softened as she shooed me away.

I sighed and went.

I sat next to Daniil, listening to Grigori complain on Daniil’s other side. My lips twitched. Grigori and Ember were made for each other. But my head cocked when I could have sworn his words slurred.

I tilted my head to ask Daniil if his son was already drunk, but it was fucking heavy. I let my head drop back on the couch, staring over at him as he did the same. “I may have drank too much.”

Daniil’s eyebrows snapped together, and he stated slowly, “I didn’t. And I feel…” His eyes widened, and his head snapped up, shaking it hard before shouting, “Stop drinking! It’s poisoned!” He blinked, swaying, his head falling back next to mine as he muttered, “Fuck. They’re attacking on the same goddamn day. I didn’t expect that.”

My heartbeat raced as true panic and fear entered my system. I managed to move my head toward the center of the room, at least being able to see everyone out of the corner of my eye, as my body seemed to shut down, making me unable to move. My mouth would barely move, but I was able to breathe as I heard glasses falling to the floor.

The only person in the room that hadn’t had anything to drink was…Ember. I was just able to see her from where I sat, but I could tell she was sprawled over the desk haphazardly, half hanging off where she had collapsed. Fuck. She must have drunk after I left her. Jesus. I had never been poisoned before, and I sure as hell didn’t like it. So defenseless.

The room went silent after all the glasses fell, the tinkling of shattering glass ringing away. The drug seemed to hit everyone at the same time, so it must have been pretty potent, all of us vulnerable, sprawled on the couches. I wondered frantically if the drug was going to kill us all slowly since it wasn’t doing anything immediately but paralyze me.

A few minutes of silence passed, everyone’s breathing harsh in the air, as I waited to start foaming at the mouth or something. But nothing happened. It was weird as fuck.

Then, something did.

Movement.

Of the beautiful sort as a woman walked into the room.

Shit! The fucking bitch had drugged us. She stalked across the room with a lethal grace I hadn’t seen before on a woman.

She was a fucking trained killer.

Grabbing her cell phone, she stared around the room with trained eyes, evaluating us. She dialed, and put the phone to her ear, speaking in fluent English, “It’s done. What does she look like?” She listened, glancing around the room. Her gaze snapped to Ember. And stayed there. “The redhead?” My heart rate jacked up so hard then because I understood then. My hair was so short the red didn’t stand out as it normally did. Ember’s did. “It’ll be done. Code 81846.” She hung up, placing the phone back into her pocket and started walking to Ember.

Grigori’s voice was harsh, and slurred so badly I could hardly understand him as he tried to speak, his accent coming out to play. “Don’t…leave…her…please.”

The woman stopped, her eyes on Grigori. “I can’t believe you decided to celebrate tonight. This family’s ego is astounding!” She glanced at Ember, smiling. “They’re going to have some fun with her before they butcher the lot of you. Let you watch.”

“No!” Grigori managed to shout, his tone pleading. “Don’t…do…this.”

“Unbelievable!” She leaned down, glaring at him. “You don’t even ask who I am. Who’s coming to kill you? You just beg for her worthless life?” She heaved in a breath. “They say find their weakness. Looks like my contractor did.”

She started stalking toward Ember again, grabbing a handful of her hair that hung over the side of the desk.

Grigori’s voice was hoarse as she started tugging Ember off the table by the hair. “Please…leave…her.”

“Fuck you,” she stated harshly. “I don’t go back on my contracts.”

And it happened.

I blinked, startled.

The woman gave another hard tug on Ember, her body half hanging off the table…when Ember…came to life in a flurry of movement. Ember twisted, falling into a handstand, wrapping her legs around the woman’s waist. She shoved up and twisted in mid-air, taking the woman down hard. I sure as fuck hadn’t seen that coming. Hell, I barely saw it when it did happen, she moved so fucking fast.

But my current assessment of the assassin was correct, and even though she was surprised, she managed to roll and twist out of the hold both women jumping to their feet, staring at one another.

The assassin laughed. “Aren’t you a wily one?”

Ember brushed her hair out her face. “Wrong redhead, you stupid bitch.” She crossed her arms, tapping a converse. “So are we going to finish this? Or are you going to stand there catching flies with your mouth gaping open like that?”

It sounded like Grigori sighed, and he stated as quickly as he could, “Kill…the…bitch. More…coming.”

Ember sprung at the woman.

And the fight was on.

Those in the room who Ember had duped with her drugged act were no longer misled. I hadn’t even seen her fight like this. The assassin was bigger and stronger than Ember, but within a minute, Ember—who, oddly, fought as if she were trying not to kill her—had the woman pinned on the ground face down with a gun to her head.

Ember asked calmly, “How many are coming?”

The assassin didn’t respond, still struggling under Ember.

“Last time I’m asking. How many are on their way?” Ember’s eyes were hard as she gazed down at the prone beautiful woman.

“Fuck you,” she hissed.

Ember’s smile was chilling. “And that was the wrong answer.”

She shot her. Point blank. To the head.

Blood splattered all over her face, and she didn’t even flinch. Fluidly, she jumped off the dead woman, glancing around, asking quickly, “If anyone can move, speak up now.”

No one moved or spoke to the war painted redhead.

“Fuck,” Ember cursed, holstering her gun inside the leg of her pants, already running over to Grigori, pulling a cell phone out of her pocket.

She pressed a button, her gaze glued on Grigori, and listened for only a heartbeat, saying, “It’s Ember. Unknown totals of hostiles inbound to our house. Need assistance ASAP.” She hung up without listening or saying anything else, stuffing the cell back in her pocket.

She grabbed Grigori’s hands and pulled, but he had to weigh at least two hundred forty, and all of that solid muscle. He didn’t go far. She started murmuring, desperately, her facial expression turning frantic as she stared down at him, “No. No. No. No. Come on, dammit. Come on.” She put a foot up between his legs on the couch and heaved, her face turning red under the drying blood splatter.

“Shh,” Grigori stated hoarsely. “Get…out. Run.”

“Not happening,” she grunted, her chin trembling as she stared at him. Her face turned red again, grunting low, yanking him. “You’re not going to die. Not dying. Not dying. Not dying.” She kept this mantra up as she put both feet up on the couch, so she was leaning back in the air, and yanked with all her might. And Grigori’s body lifted, and tumbled off the couch, falling right on top of a red-faced Ember.

She groaned under him, her body barely visible under his mass. She managed to crawl out from under him after a lot of grunting and cursing, getting on her knees and—I blinked—quickly rolling him behind the couch, away from any doors or windows. The whole while Grigori growled at her to run, the only word he appeared to be able to say now. She kept telling him to shut the hell up. She popped up behind the couch, putting two guns in the back of her the waistline of her pants, racing over to Zane next, and grabbed his hands, but the sound of cars rolling up in front of the house stopped her.

“Goddammit. Three, at least,” she muttered, her head tilted, listening. She dropped his hands and started lifting his shirt, her hands running around his waist, and pulling a gun free, before she sprinted across the room, straight at my couch. Her hair hung in her face, and her tiny hands started searching Daniil for weapons, pulling a small arsenal out from under his clothing, stashing them anywhere she could on her person.

I managed to puff out a breath, saying, “Ankle.” Oh. My. God! I couldn’t believe how badly it hurt to say just that, not understanding how Grigori had managed. But I had a gun there. Daniil had made me, and I wanted her to take it. She was the only thing keeping us alive at the moment.

“No time,” Ember stated hurriedly, running across the room, hitting the lights, darkness enveloping us. She slammed the huge doors closed behind her.

I heard Ember race up the stairs only moments before the sounds of the front doors crashed open. And what came next, I was really hoping I would never hear again inside my home. It sounded like Ember let a huge group of men enter—I lost track of how many voices I heard, but it was close to thirty—before she opened fire, probably from somewhere up on the balcony that looked over the foyer where they all seemed to congregate.

Some men screamed, but the most I heard was the piercing sound of rapid gunfire volleying back and forth. The doors to our room slammed open, and men threw themselves inside, rolling to a stop. It was as if they were spotlighted from the lights in the foyer, the rest of the room dark. The couches everyone was sitting paralyzed on were back in the deep study, hidden by shadows. They didn’t even look our way as they positioned themselves around the door, all…I counted…five of them, taking their turn returning fire on Ember, aiming high.

I could still make out screams, just as one of the men stepped too far out behind the door, and his throat exploded in a shower of blood, his head falling back on his shoulder blades as he dropped to the ground. I swallowed down the puke that wanted to rise.

The four remaining men all stared at their dead assailant, cursing Daniil’s name, and turned to open fire. Two more went down, even as other gunfire erupted from below.

And I heard it. Ember screamed. Everyone fucking heard it. Even over the gunfire.

Suddenly, there was a hail of bullets from above as the men went silent. I heard thumps and shouts from men, and the return fire made my ears ring. It was so fucking loud.

Just as I was praying Ember was still alive and not bleeding out, a figure raced past us from behind, silent and fluid, hair flying behind the silhouette, knives in hand. It was Ember—and how the hell she got into the room, I had no clue. It had to have been another hidden staircase somewhere in the depths of the room.

She snuck up behind one of the two men, and in one quick motion, placed one hand over his mouth before slitting his throat, the blood spraying in an arch of the spotlight right before she let him drop. The blood hit the other man, and she slammed her knife in his throat, twisting under her arm and wrenching the knife out in a beautiful, lethal move, ripping his throat out before he could scream.

Before he even fell, she was sprinting back through the room, past us, and fifteen seconds later, even before the gunfire ceased in the foyer, it sounded like she was returning fire again from above. It all happened so fast, she appeared an apparition, but the two dead men with blood pooling out of the library told a different story, making her all the more real.

Three new men threw themselves into the room, not even getting up before they turned on their bellies and started firing, rolling to take cover on either side of the door. Only two made it. The bodies were piling up quickly in here, making me wonder how many were lying dead in the foyer or the stairs, where I distantly heard them crashing against the wall after trying to get upstairs to her, only to be mowed down.

Heavy gunfire from above again, with long return fire quickly repeated. And again, she came out of nowhere, rushing past us like a creature of the night.

She killed those two just as easily as the others, but this time, she stopped in her dash back upstairs, right in front of me, dropping and grabbing my ankles, feeling quickly, and lifting my pant leg where my gun was hidden. She took it with one hand, and moved on to Artur, her free hand immediately going to his right pant leg where he kept his gun. She popped up, and raced off into the darkness, the gunfire slowly trickling off…until she opened fire again.

And, like a bad fucking dream, six men dove inside the room, much more efficient, pushing the dead men aside so they could get cleaner shots outside the door.

Only one went down immediately, leaving five. I didn’t hear any more gunfire outside of their volleys with Ember upstairs. She managed to blow one guy's hand off as he randomly stuck his hand out the door to shoot blindly up, and he screamed, dropping, and unfortunately for him, into the light. Ember took him out quickly enough, leaving four. And again, suddenly, lots of fire from above, and the men waited for a break before returning fire all at once.

I figured she would be down any minute since that seemed her game plan.

And she was.

She had slit two throats before the other two noticed her.

They turned, and she fell with her most recent victim, her arm wrapped around his throat, using him as a shield as they raised their weapons and fired. My heart caught as they fired on her, but they only hit the dead man, Ember dropping her knife and grabbing the gun from her ‘shield’ that he had dropped, quickly firing twice, one bullet for each of their heads.

They fell, and she dropped the shield, pushing him away and grabbing guns on the floor, turning her back to the wall next to the door. Even though she was still in shadow, I could see the guns in both of her hands as she stopped, her chest heaving. Her cover was blown. If anyone were downstairs, they would know that someone had fired inside this room, because both men had fallen backward, outside the door.

The silence extended for so long, my ears stopped ringing, and I watched Ember slide down the wall and pick up a dead man’s arm, waving it out into the light, just barely. A single shot fired, and the man’s hand blew off. Ember grunted deep and loud, sounding pretty fucking manly, and slamming a foot against the wall, making a hard thumping sound before twirling away from the spot.

I didn’t understand for a moment as she darted across the room, hiding behind the desk opposite us. But I finally got it. She was luring the—evidently—lone man left into the room.

He came to his own execution.

He dove inside, his body automatically turning to where she had made the racket, and Ember fired, her shot as true as before, half his head gone.

Again, silence.

Patiently, she waited.

Time passed, and I began to seriously doubt there was anyone left. Nothing was moving outside those doors. It sounded like the tomb it now was. My eyes darted to where Ember was hiding. She was one scary motherfucker. I had known that before, but this was a different side of her. The physical, lethal one, she rarely ever showed anyone but Grigori.

Abruptly, the sound of two cars pulled up.

Jesus. Could it seriously get any fucking worse?

The sound of slamming doors could be heard outside since the front doors had to still be open, then there was nothing for a few minutes as we waited in silence.

“Ember?” Zane shouted into the quiet from what sounded like outside. “Stash called. Don’t shoot.”

Ember slowly stood from the deep shadows she had been hiding in, gun aimed at the door. Still, I could only make out her silhouette as she stated loudly, “Be careful. I’m not positive I got all of them. One at a time in through the front door. Turn to the right.”

Unexpectedly, a man popped around the doorframe, and Ember shot him immediately in the head, but he had also fired simultaneously. Ember’s body slammed back against shelves, a shout erupted from her. Her arms dropped, and she slid down the shelving back into the shadows.

“Fuck!” Zane shouted from outside.

I didn’t hear anything for a second, my gaze darting back and forth between the door and the shadows, wishing Ember would pop the fuck back up. But she didn’t. Not even when Zane raced into the dark room, his hands fumbling for the light switch, but he kept stumbling over the dead bodies. I visibly saw him shiver before stopping in his tracks and breathe deeply, going slower until he found the button on the wall without falling.

Light slammed into my eyes, and I blinked at him, that movement even hurting, seeing his startled face as he saw all of us just sitting there peacefully and silently, as he stood in a mass of dead bodies. Instinct had him raising his weapon. He muttered, “What the fuck?” He yanked his gun up as other members of Lion Security entered the room. He shouted, “Ember?” His gaze was confused as hell, his eyes scanning everywhere.

None of us could tell him that Ember had fallen behind the desk. I couldn’t see her from here, and I doubted anyone else could either. Zane ordered Cole, who stopped next to him, “Start searching for her.” Then he ran over to Daniil. “What the fuck’s going on?”

Daniil stared up at him, managing to say, “Ember…desk.”

Zane stilled, staring down at him. He had to be confused as fuck.

Daniil gasped, “Desk!”

“Okay. Okay.” Zane holstered his weapon and turned toward Cole who had ordered everyone back out of the room to search the house. “Check the desk.”

He blinked at him before nodding, staring wide-eyed at the people sitting calmly on the couches, more than a little dazed before he moved over to the desk, stopping in his tracks. “Jesus fucking Christ. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.” He was shaking his head, staring behind the desk, stepping back from it, tripping over the assassin’s corpse on the floor.

My heart plummeted.

No. She couldn’t be dead.

No. No fucking way. Not Ember.

I felt tears well in my eyes, and I made myself blink them away, so I could fucking see.

Zane’s face went white, but he sprinted across the room, coming to a dead stop next to Cole, staring down. He choked, covering his mouth. “Oh, God.”

The silence extended on our group, enough that I heard Grigori muttering from behind the couch, “No...No…No...No…” It had to hurt like hell, but he kept saying it over and over, his voice absolutely pain filled, evidently getting the gist of the conversation from just listening.

I kept blinking, keeping the tears at bay.

And suddenly, a soft feminine moan filled the room along with Grigori’s mantra.

Zane and Cole stilled, their jaws dropping, staring down.

Grigori instantly stopped, shouting—as much as he could, “Ember?” I was surprised he didn’t pass out from that.

A groan. “Fuck, that hurt.” Ember’s sweet, soft voice filled the room.

“Help…her…” Grigori wheezed a shout.

Zane and Cole started, looking like they jolted awake as they stumbled forward, racing toward her. They dipped behind the desk, and suddenly, Ember was cursing, “Get the fuck away from me. Goddamn it, that hurts!”

There was a grunt, and first Zane’s body flew back, reappearing past the desk, and then Cole’s right next to him, both of them, rolling to their feet, glaring down at her. Cole muttered, “That was fucking cheap.”

“Fuck you. Stay away,” Ember growled, a bloody hand slamming down on the desk. A dark black head of hair lifted from behind the desk as grunts ensued. “Cole, go make sure the house is clear. Zane, go check that woman’s cleavage for a vial. I saw one there. I bet it’s the antidote. Those names are hard to pronounce and easily mistaken for another, so call Stash and spell it out for him, and ask him what will counteract it. Everyone over there’s been drugged.” They didn’t move, still staring down at her with wide eyes, and she shouted, “Fucking do it!”

“Are you going to live?” Cole asked calmly.

“I’m not going to die right now, dammit.”

He nodded and left the room, taking her at her word.

Zane stared a moment more before jutting into action, kneeling next to the dead woman, but my gaze was stuck on Ember’s head. I couldn’t figure out why her hair was black. Her bloody fingers gripped the table, digging in as she pulled herself up more…and I almost puked. I had to swallow hard to keep it down.

The black made sense now.

She stood up, and wobbled, grabbing the desk with one hand, the same hand, while the other dangled next to her side. I guessed she was shot in the arm or shoulder, but I couldn’t tell where. There was no way of telling as she was.

She looked like she had been dunked in a vat of blood. From head to toe, she was covered, and I was pretty sure there were bits of flesh clinging to her once neon green shirt, now with holes and a red-brown color from the men she had knifed. Her eyes shown like stars out of a bloody night sky as she blinked, the stars twinkling as she wavered on her feet again.

Zane was on the phone, putting it on speaker. Stash’s voice was frantic as he explained what they had walked into and everyone being drugged.

“I’m on my way home. I’ll be there in an hour.” He stopped. “Ember was coherent. She wasn’t drugged.” Stash paused over the line, before shouting, “Well? Is she all right?” He wasn’t giving him much time to speak.

Zane paused, staring up at Ember. “She’s alive.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

He cleared his throat. “She wants me to explain about the drug…” He overrode Stash’s digging questions, explaining the drug.

Ember began moving, walking like a drunken woman, her blinking eyes almost hypnotizing on her monstrous face. She stopped, leaning against the wall as Zane turned the phone off, hanging up on Stash mid-rant about Ember, and jumping to his feet.

He watched Ember warily. “I’ll be back in a second.”

The phone started ringing, and Zane ignored it, racing out of the room. I couldn’t track where he went because there were too many other employees moving around the house.

Ember blinked at the phone that kept ringing.

Then it stopped. Only to start ringing again.

She sighed, and lifted off the wall, a little grunt of pain making its way past her clenched teeth before she steadied herself, and walked over to where the phone was. She bent over to pick it up, but collapsed on her knees, her head on the ground as she groaned, blindly grabbing for the phone.

It rang again, and she stopped groping wildly, and uncannily grabbed it, pressed the button. “Yes, Mommy Stash. I’m fine.”

Jesus. She was so not fine.

She listened, mumbling, “Just need a shower. That’s all. See ya soon.” She hung up.

When it rang again, she groaned, and dropped it on the ground, pushing herself up with her good arm, and sat on her knees. Ember teetered back and forth. She put her hand behind her back, and suddenly, there was a knife stabbed through the phone, embedded into the wooden floor. The phone stopped ringing.

Ember grinned.

Scary. As. Fuck.

“Ember…come…here…” Grigori murmured into the quiet, sans the ringing—now dead—phone.

Ember blinked and teetered more. Her head turned to where he lay behind the couch, and she lifted her obviously good arm and blinked at it, then down at her shirt, pulling it off her skin where it had suctioned.

She stared at the soaking material, stating, “Now’s probably not the best time, Grigori.”

“Ember!” Grigori ordered in a hoarse shout.

“Grigori,” she muttered in a deep voice, imitating him. She swayed, stating in a strong voice, “I’m good. No biggie. I’ll take care of myself once Zane gets you guys going.” She slumped, and barely caught herself. “I don’t know how well everyone’s searching the house. There were a lot of those motherfuckers. Can’t leave you unattended.”

She blinked, her head tilting up, looking behind us. “Speak of the devil.”

Rapidly, she reached behind her back and aimed a gun over our heads. Firing, and shouting at the same time, as her body flew back from a second shot fired from behind us. I saw it in slow motion as she fell, blood flying out behind her, looking like she got hit in the same bum arm, before she toppled on it, shrieking.

Unable to do anything, I watched as a redheaded brute stumbled past us. He cursed her, holding his right arm as blood rolled down it. He stood over her, switching the gun to his left hand. She moaned under him, rolling.

A shot fired.

The back of his head—God, she loved heads—exploded out, splattering all over Artur and one of the bodyguards. The dead man teetered and fell directly on top of her, and she screamed as his weight landed.

A rush of employees ran into the room, Ember’s gun somehow making it out from under the huge man’s body, pointing directly at them. She dropped it on the ground, evidently seeing who it was. She cried out, in obvious pain, “Get him the fuck off me!”

They rushed over and dragged him off.

Ember rolled, kneeling again with her head back on the ground, ordering whoever, “Hand me the fucking gun.” She sounded ready to pass out. An employee I didn’t know grabbed it and placed in her outstretched palm. “Go check that staircase back there.”

And they did as Zane raced back in the room with an armful of small white cases.

Ember’s head tilted to the side, her cheek planted on the floor. “Grigori’s behind that couch.” She motioned with her gun where he was. “Dose him first. Give him half a dose more than what Stash said. He’s big enough. He can take it.”

Zane hesitated, and then nodded quickly, racing behind said couch.

I just stared at Ember. My eyes glued to her as she fell on her side, eyes trained on the door, gun aimed. Her eyes kept closing then would snap back open, her gun beginning to tremble in her hand. She was my new damn hero.

Zane moved on after Grigori, going to Daniil next, taking a needle out of one of the small white boxes, tapping it, and squirting some. “Stash said it’ll take a half hour to work.” Yeah, as if we all hadn’t been listening avidly to that. I was sure all of us wanted to be able to fucking move again after being glued to a couch during that slaughter.

After injecting Daniil, he moved to me, obviously going through the chain of command within this household. He stuck me pretty damn expertly before altering on his knees to a bodyguard lying on the ground at my feet…when we all heard the deep gasp that came from behind the couch.

“Fuck!” Grigori shouted.

Ember flinched, but her gaze stayed on the doorway.

Zane paused with the needle against the bodyguard’s arm as Grigori stumbled out from behind the couch, pounding on his chest and shaking his head hard. Guess that extra little bit most definitely sped up the process. He stood there for a few seconds breathing in great gulps of air, flexing his hands, his head thrown back. He looked like a man on speed, which he probably was right now.

His head snapped down, and his wide eyes darted all over the room, unnervingly landing on the blood-soaked woman in the middle of the floor, watching the door. He started shouting in Russian, so quickly that I couldn’t keep up—I’m good, but not that good—as he raced over to her, dropping to his knees. He was pointing right in her face and shouting in what seemed like fury.

Ember mumbled, “English, Grigori.” Slowly, she rolled onto her back, blinking up at him.

He sighed heavily and said—in English—in the calmest shout I had ever heard, “I’m. Going. To. Kick. Your. Fucking. Ass.”

“Oh,” she blinked. “That was a lot of Russian words for only seven English ones. See why I’m having issues with the language?”

He growled loud and long into the quiet of the room, sounding like a pissed off lion instead of the Pit bull he had sounded like earlier in the evening.

She dropped the gun and patted his cheek with her blood-crusted hand. “Maybe we should try yoga. Helps to calm people down, I hear.” And her hand dropped to her chest, her eyes closed.

Grigori stilled. “Ember?”

She didn’t move.

Grigori cursed, his hands immediately going to her head, searching her, but it was going to be hard as fuck to tell exactly where as injured as she was.

Daniil said more clearly than he had before, “Her shoulder for sure.” He wasn’t moving yet, but at least he could speak. “Hit at least twice that I saw.”

“Fucking goddamn it!” Grigori shouted, grabbing a knife from his pants and lifting her shirt, cutting it off her in less than five seconds. I tested wiggling my fingers and toes, happy that I could—just barely—while he removed the tatters of her shirt.

My attention was on Ember’s wounds. Her black bra hung precariously on her breasts since she had a clear shot to her shoulder, the strap evidently getting in the way, so it hung over her stomach. She had a flesh wound on the same shoulder, probably the last shot I had seen. But the most disturbing wound was the one on her right side, down toward her hip.

That must have been the very first time she screamed from upstairs. And yet, she had still kept going, protecting us all. She fucking had to live just so I could tell her how much of a badass she really was.

Grigori’s hands hovered over her, his body starting to visibly shake before he shouted, “Call 911! And Dr. Benedict at Donovan Hospital! Now, goddamn it!”

As two people got on their phones, he rolled her onto her left side, his hands gripping her tight as he stared at her back, whispering, “They both exited. She’ll be fine.” His hands clenched before steadying, and he lowered her onto her back again. He ripped his shirt over his head, his muscles flexing and quivering he was so tense and doped up. He cut his shirt with his knife, tying a strip tight around her shoulder and did the same for her stomach.

He moved down, yanking her shoes and socks off, and started stripping her pants from her legs even as they clung to her. He left her underwear on but stuck his hand under them feeling around before nodding. He checked her legs out, alternating between checking her pulse and breathing when it wasn’t so obvious as his hands roamed over her. She didn’t seem to have any other wounds.

“How long until the ambulance gets here?” Grigori barked, jumping from the ground, and grabbing a blanket from a basket nearby.

“Probably less than ten minutes,” Cole stated softly, staring hard.

Grigori nodded, wrapping her up in the blanket. He gently picked her up, but she still jarred awake. She choked, “Hurts.”

“You’re in so much fucking trouble,” he spewed.

She coughed, and clenched her jaw. “Had to make up for my failure today.”

“Shut up and stay awake,” he ordered harshly in broken English, stalking from the room. He stepped on dead men in his path, seeming not to even notice, disappearing out the door. “You will live, or I’ll follow you to Heaven and drag you straight to Hell.”

The carnage was unbelievable. I rode shotgun in a new armored limo with Daniil, Artur, and Eva less than an hour after the invasion. We were headed to Donovan Hospital where Ember was, all of us just sitting there in mute silence, a long line of vehicles following behind us as everyone that had been in the house traveled to the lone woman who had wreaked so much death in an effort to save us all.

We had searched the house as quickly as we could, everyone putting in a helping hand, and no one found a single living individual that wasn’t supposed to be there. The foyer, stairs, and the balcony had been so littered with bodies we’d had to use the hidden staircase to travel upstairs to check the rooms. I had lost count after forty men. She must have made sure every bullet and knife blade hit its mark. I had never seen that kind of carnage before.

And we had just left it there to make our way to the hospital. There wasn’t anything to be done with the bodies right now anyway. We were all hyped up on whatever drug Stash had ordered Zane to inject us with, and all of the employees who had entered the house just stayed out of our way as we stormed around as quickly but efficiently as we could.

Artur cleared his throat, holding Eva, who was staring blindly out the front window. “I think we need to have a little talk with Ember about the new skills she has acquired.”

Daniil grunted. “She was death’s whisper on the breeze.”

“Poetic,” Eva mumbled, her eyes glassy.

Artur started rubbing her arm with his good hand. “Are we sure she’s at Donovan Hospital?”

“That’s what the receptionist said. She’s in surgery. Benedict’s the surgeon,” I answered factually. Grigori must have carried her all the way to the gate because none of us had heard the sirens.

My head felt like it was a balloon, floating above as shock still flooded my system.

“All those bodies,” Eva mumbled. “I can’t even imagine what would have happened if Grigori had been fighting with her.”

Artur shushed her. “I’ve said it before, just be happy they’re on our side.”

Everyone in the car nodded silently because that was the understatement of the century.

Pulling into the parking garage of the hospital, I vaguely wondered what the staff would think of us. We hadn’t been to this hospital before. No one had changed, so we all wore blood on us somewhere since we had checked the pulses of the dead men, even when it was obvious they were goners. I fumbled inside a side compartment, hoping…yes, there were some moist toilettes there. Most of the cars at our house had them since Nikki and Beth always seemed to have sticky hands.

We hopped out of the car, and I took a few and passed the package along to Daniil first since his face had blood splattered all over it and more disturbing things in his hair from when Ember had blown away the last guy.

He blinked at me, and I muttered, “Your face. The nurses will think you need help if they see you like that.” Our clothes couldn’t be helped. I had a streak of blood on each pant leg Ember had touched, but we could at least clean our skin. Thankfully, my boots were black so nothing I had stepped in would show too bad.

He nodded mutely, pulling a few out and handing it off to Eva as the other vehicles pulled up next to us. And so the moist toilettes were passed to each individual that got out of the cars, all of us cleaning ourselves the best we could without a mirror as we walked toward the stairs, not even going to the elevator since our group was too big. We dumped the now rust colored moist toilettes in the trashcan by the steel door and made our way up the stairs.

I glanced back and turned back around, walking next to Daniil. This was one hell of a group. Everyone looked scary as hell, rightly so, with almost all of them trained killers and half the group with mobster to their name. I was betting the receptionist was going to hit the ‘oh shit’ button.

I was right.

About ten cops showed up immediately after we entered the hospital, following us as we made our way through the hallways to the waiting room where the freaked out nurse had pointed a finger toward. It surprised me the cops were already here. I figured it would take at least five minutes for them to arrive. I tried to look as harmless as possible, but it didn’t help much. Only a heavy dose of miracle would help our group.

And then, I saw why we already had ten cops on us as we rounded a corner to a large open sterile area with seats spread all over, only two of them occupied—one with an old man and the other with a teenage boy. They both looked freaked. As did the other five cops—new ones—who were already standing against the walls of the waiting area.

They all stared at the lone man who paced back and forth from one wall to the other, his muscles bulging on his bare torso, his arms crossed, his black cargos riding low on his waist, and his black army boots pounding against the floor. His face was turned down toward the ground, his red-streaked black hair dangling around his face, hiding his features. It didn’t help much that he had blood all over his hands, forearms, chest, and stomach, stalking the floor like a caged lion.

Grigori.

Our group stopped in our tracks, everyone bumping into each other. I got an elbow in my back, but ignored it, wondering where I could sit that would be farthest away from him. I wasn’t the only one with that idea because, suddenly, a portion of our group darted away before I could and took all the chairs that seemed like a safe distance.

Daniil leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple. “I need to speak with my son. Stay with Roman and Zane while I do.”

I sighed and stayed close to Roman and Zane, as he said. The three of us waited for Grigori to pass in his stalk before we darted behind him to chairs against the wall in the middle of the room, facing outward, giving us a fine view of everyone. The ten cops added their numbers to the other five, standing around the square room, taking us all in, looking dazed and frightened.

Their faces became even more comical when Daniil stopped right in front of his son, halting Grigori’s stalk, standing toe-to-toe with him. The cops’ gazes darted back and forth, obviously seeing the uncanny resemblance. They actually placed their hands on their guns.

Jesus. That was so not what we needed right now.

Grigori wouldn’t look up at his father, even as Daniil started talking to him. I couldn’t hear his words, but I could hear the deep, soothing tone he was using. I really wanted to hear what he was saying, especially because, after a few minutes, Grigori’s shoulders lowered a fraction. That would be useful information to have if he ever got this way again when his father wasn’t around. His father kept talking to him, even as his eyes darted around the room, lifting an arm and snapping his fingers at one of his bodyguards, motioning for him to come over. The bodyguard seriously looked like that was the last place he wanted to be, but he stood and walked over, Daniil only breaking his hushed words with his son to order the guy to give him his shirt.

The shirt came off quicker than I have seen anyone undress before. Luckily, he had a white undershirt on underneath, even if it was a little sweat soaked. After the bodyguard had left them, Daniil started speaking to his son again, grabbing his hand, and making him take the shirt. I was kind of surprised he didn’t actually put it on him since he had fingered it like he was going to, rolling it up and even stretching the neck, but he didn’t.

Sharply, Grigori’s chest expanded, and he nodded, putting the shirt on. His father placed his arm around his shoulders and guided him our way. I tensed. I didn’t want him over here right now. I glanced around and saw there were only a few remaining seats in the place and only two next to each other directly beside Roman.

Fuck.

Roman didn’t look bothered with him coming over, but his face was so damn carefully blank I knew it was an act. He stood from his chair and moved down, allowing for Daniil to sit directly next to me and taking the position of comfort on Grigori’s other side.

Daniil held my hand softly, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand while he continued speaking reassuring words to his oldest son. The cops had taken their hands off their guns, seeing that Grigori’s clone was actually calming him and not making the situation worse. My heart rate was going crazy from the drugs, and I started tapping my toe and fidgeting as silence descended on our group.

I asked Zane, “You’re sure the drugs aren’t harmful to the babies?”

He nodded efficiently. “Yes. They took care to make sure those weren’t.”

Daniil paused in his talk to glance in my direction. “I’ve confirmed with the doctor too. Our babies are fine.”

I blinked. “When did you have time to do that?”

He smirked a little. “I have my ways.”

Yes. Yes, he did.

For the next hour, people in our group kept popping out of their seats to wander around, the juice in their systems not letting them relax, only to sit back down and start fidgeting like I was. The cops’ eyes were still wary, watching our group that looked like a macabre act on crack. They didn’t stop anyone’s trekking, though. They just stood there as if they could actually keep this group contained. I stifled a giggle at that thought and jumped out my seat for a little energy release of my own.

Two hours later, Dr. Benedict entered the room, staring down at a chart. She wore scrubs and didn’t look at all tired even though the color of her clothes drained her naturally pale skin even more. The room stilled, and she flipped a sheet and kept reading, asking into the quiet, “Is there a…Grigori Kozar here?”

Grigori was already on his feet, halfway across the room before she even finished speaking. She looked up from her board, her gaze going wide at the filled room, but her eyes were instantly trapped on the man about to run her down.

Her trained gaze ran over him, and she asked hurriedly, “Are you injured?” She actually scowled, turning to glance at the cops in the room as if they had done something wrong before turning back at Grigori. “You should have checked in if you’re injured.”

Grigori shook his head, his hair flying out around his head. “No, I’m not hurt. I’m Grigori Kozar.”

Her gaze widened a little, and I could have sworn a smile tipped her lips before she stated, “Come with me, please.” She turned and opened a door on the wall next to the wide entrance of the room.

They stepped inside, and I asked, “She’s got Grigori listed as a contact?”

Zane answered softly, “Yes. And me. But I think his was just the name the EMT’s had to give when bringing her in. I’m sure he rode with her in the ambulance.”

I snorted. Yeah. He probably shot the driver so he could be the one pushing the gas pedal to get her here as fast as possible.

Zane stated, “Dr. Benedict can be hard to read, but I think Ember’s fine. She owns half this place so I would imagine the doctor would be a little more upset if Ember died on her table.”

My head snapped to him. “What? She owns the hospital?”

Zane shrugged. “The name’s Donovan Hospital. The Mayor owns the other half.”

My mouth snapped shut, and I glanced at Daniil. He didn’t look at all surprised, and I knew he had heard Zane. I would love to see the goddamn report he had on her. I knew Cole and Brent had left everything to her when they passed, but I guess it hadn’t occurred to me what ‘everything’ was exactly. Well, at least since she owned the place, she could get away without filing a report for coming in with gunshot wounds. I was betting the file was already ash.

Minutes later, the door opened, and the doctor exited. “As soon as she’s awake, you can see her.”

Grigori followed her out, nodding, his face carefully blank. He watched her, and pivoted, slipping into the shadows when the doctor started herding the cops together, chewing them out, Grigori apparently tattling, and confirming Benedict’s assumptions that the cops had not, in fact, asked Grigori if he were injured. And while this chew down occurred, Grigori went to an elevator just outside the entrance of the waiting room. I stared at him in silence, speculating what the hell he was doing as he pressed the “Up” button. No one said a word as he disappeared into the elevator after it arrived, the doors closing. I blinked, watching the numbers climb until it stopped at the twelfth floor.

Just as Benedict finished her harping.

Zane snickered into the silence, his gravelly chuckle filling the tense quiet.

I glanced at him, along with everyone else, and he waved his hand. “Sorry. Just remembered a joke.”

Right.

And we waited. Again. The only break in the jumpy quiet was when Zane’s cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket, placing it at his ear without looking at the readout, and before he could say anything, I heard Stash yelling over the line. I started to snicker, close enough to hear most of his rant. Zane tried to speak, but Stash kept screaming. Apparently, he had gone to the house and found all the bodies but no one else there. He wasn’t pleased, to say the least. But his reasoning wasn’t because of the carnage or even being worried about his friends missing whereabouts. He was upset because no one had cleaned up the ‘damn mess’ before going out. And not telling him where the new fun was to be had.

There was a pause in Stash’s tirade—probably taking a breath—and Zane stated quickly, “We’re at Donovan Hospital where Ember was taken.” He hung up on Stash without another word.

I started snorting harder, falling back against my chair at the absurdity of my evening so far. The sun surely had to come up soon because this hellish day had to end sometime.

A half hour after Benedict had spoken with Grigori, a nurse came into the room—now empty of browbeaten cops—saying loudly when he saw it was full, his eyes only slightly widened, “Grigori Kozar?”

Zane cleared his throat. “He stepped out.”

The nurse looked perplexed for a moment, and then asked, “Who else is here for Ember Lerrus?”

The room raised their hands.

The nurse’s mouth dropped, and he stated quickly, “She’s awake now. I can allow four of you at a time in her room. Decide amongst yourselves who’s going first.” He studied us, rubbernecking, waiting in the silence that extended.

Zane stood, and I darted up as fast as I could with my pregnant belly, wanting to thank her as soon as I could—and see with my own eyes that she was all right. Daniil and Roman also stood. Well, that was easy. No arguments needed.

The nurse motioned for us to follow him, and we did, waiting in front of the elevator. When we entered, he hit the button for the twelfth floor, and there was a pause as the doors shut before we started chuckling and shaking our heads. Grigori was already up there somewhere. No clue how he knew unless he had peeked at the chart Dr. Benedict had held, but he was already there with Ember, no doubt.

The nurse looked nonplussed as we tried to contain ourselves, but it was late, and we were all starting to come down from our high and shocked systems. A little laughter wasn’t a bad thing right now. Zane even joined in as the door dinged open to a busy nurse’s station, but no Grigori in site. How the hell he got past this eagle-eyed station was beyond me because we all got the hairy eyeball. Their hostility only placated when they saw the nurse with us.

The nurse explained Ember’s injuries, which were extensive, but had been taken care of by Dr. Benedict. He motioned down the hallway, stating, “She’s in room 1217.”

We thanked him, and he went back to the nurses’ station, leaning down and started to…what appeared to be…gossip with his co-workers. Probably telling them about the ‘mob’ downstairs. I almost giggled at my own little joke.

I definitely needed some sleep. And therapy.

I watched the numbers pass by until we got to the open door at the end of the hallway with the numbered plate of 1217. But we stopped when we heard Grigori quietly ordering from inside the room, “Open your damn mouth!”

“No,” Ember’s replied, her voice scratchy and hoarse, but very much defiant.

“You sound like shit! And I know your throat hurts. The ice will help,” he argued, sounding just as determined as her.

“No. I don’t want to eat anything.”

Grigori growled low. “Kitten, I’m so fucking pissed right now that unless you want me to force this down your goddamn throat, you had better open it yourself.”

A pause. “Hate you,” she grumbled, but it sounded like she opened her mouth because Grigori murmured his soft approval a moment later.

I hesitated to go inside. Hell, we all hesitated.

But it was quiet for a few moments, and I started to move in, all of us deciding it was the best time, our bodies starting to inch forward until Ember’s voice sounded again and sounding muffled. We halted as one with her saying, “I think,” a pause, “I blew my cover,” another pause, “with your family.”

“Uh-huh,” Grigori murmured quietly, sounding distracted, his own voice stifled. A moment's lull. “You acted like,” another lull, “the trained assassin you are.”

Daniil started to grin.

“Mmm-hmm,” she mumbled. “I’m glad you didn’t have to blow your cover too. The agency would have been pissed to know we both screwed up.”

Grigori chuckled softly. “You have met Papa, haven’t you? I’m sure he already knows.”

There was another long break, and she muttered a little breathlessly, “He looks too much like you.”

Daniil’s shoulders started shaking…but they really started bouncing when a tiny feminine moan came out of the otherwise silent room.

Were they serious?

She just got out of surgery!

Zane rolled his eyes, sighing silently before lifting a hand and loudly knocking on the open door. “Visitors!” He paused a good five seconds before entering the room, and I followed with Daniil and Roman behind me.

The room was huge and spacious, a couch and chairs and a flat screen television with a row of windows against the back wall where Ember lay on a hospital bed with a blanket tucked tight around her bitty frame, looking even smaller on the huge bed. Her face was pale but clean of blood. Her hair was wet, looking a few shades darker than normal, a few freckles she had on her nose and under her eyes on her cheeks standing out starkly. She looked all of, oh, maybe fifteen lying there. And she was one of the three most deadly people I knew. One of the others was standing in front of the windows—now clean of blood, hands in his pockets, leaning back, appearing relaxed and cool, just like Ember.

Christ, I couldn’t say it enough. They were fucking good at hiding who they really were.

Grigori had learned from someone. That man being the love of my life.

And the deadliest man I knew.

“How are you?” Zane asked quietly, coming to stand beside the bed, taking her hand that didn’t hold a cup of ice chips with a spoon stuck in it.

Ember shrugged, and winced, her face paling unbelievably more. “Alive.”

“Are you pressing that damn button for the drugs?” Grigori asked, sounding irritated even though his posture and face didn’t change. “It’s there for a reason.”

She turned her head, somehow managing to pass the cup off to Zane, leaving him blinking down at it in his hand as she grabbed a little cylinder plastic piece with an attached cord that hung off the bed. She scowled at Grigori, muttering, “You’re such a hypocrite. You wouldn’t take them, but I have. A lot. I think I’ve used up all the good stuff.” She pressed the button at the end of the cylinder repeatedly, glaring at it now, and I noticed her eyes were dilated from whatever pain meds they were giving her, even though she was still obviously hurting.

Grigori’s eyebrows snapped together, and he leaned forward, pressing a button on the side of her bed, asking Zane, “How many are allowed in here?”

“Four.”

Grigori nodded. “Tell them she needs more meds.” He slid into the dark bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

I ignored that and went around the side of the bed, saying softly to her, “Seriously badass. You know that, right?” I moved a section of her wet hair over the hickey that was showing vividly against her pale skin, covering it, which she didn’t seem to notice. She grumbled, her face flushing a little, giving her some color, looking embarrassed. I leaned down in front of her, right in her face, so she couldn’t look anywhere else. “Thank you, Ember.”

Her dilated blue eyes stared back at me and darted all over my face, reading me. Slowly, she nodded. “You’re welcome.”

I smiled, satisfied she actually took the compliment. Drugs were good on her.

The same nurse entered the room, and Zane spoke with him quietly. The nurse moved around Ember, pressing some buttons on a little box next to the bed. Ember mumbled, “That’s nice….” She repeatedly blinked, her gaze unfocused.

My lips twitched. Drugs were really good on her.

The nurse stated, “I’ve upped the dosage. You should be feeling no pain in just a second. Call me if you need anything else, Ms. Lerrus.”

He sounded like a total suck up.

Ember nodded, her lips twitching as he left the room. She said quietly, “I think he’s worried I’ll have him fired. He’s already been in here three times.” She chuckled, her eyelids suddenly drooping. “Ah. That’s the good stuff.” Her grin widened, looking drugged and amused, and somehow, even younger. “Grigori even hid—”

She was cut off as ice chips were suddenly stuffed into her mouth. I hadn’t heard Grigori come out of the bathroom, but now he stood next to the bed in front of Zane with a spoon stuffed in Ember’s mouth. She grinned around the spoon and giggled, peering up at him.

Good God. She slowly, very damn slowly, took the ice off the spoon, her red cupids bow lips sliding over the plastic as she stared up at Grigori with a whole hell of a lot more than friendship in her heated gaze, not looking so young.

Yep, she was good and drugged.

Daniil now stood at the end of the bed with a hand over his mouth, resting his elbow on a crossed arm over his chest, his eyes crinkling as he stared back and forth between his son and her.

Grigori cleared his throat like he was hoarse, and I had a damn good view of him since I stood on the other side of the bed even though his hair hung down around his face hiding his scorching gaze from the men. But when he spoke, there wasn’t any disguising her effect on him, his voice at least two octaves lower than normal. “Here,” he stuffed the spoon back in the cup, placing it in her good hand, “eat your ice, and shut up.”

She grinned, looking like the cat that ate the canary, her head falling back on the pillows as she stared up at him, her eyes slowly widening. “You’re really tall, ya know?” She poked a finger in her bad arm’s bicep. “And your muscles are gigantic.” Her eyes traveled down his body, stopping at his crotch, her eyes going big as saucers, and her pretty mouth opened again.

Grigori slapped a hand over it, running his free hand through his hair, muttering, “You’re stoned off your ass. Maybe visitors aren’t a great idea right now.”

Behind his hand, she mumbled, “Nah. They’re fine.” She waved the cup of ice drunkenly. “I feel great.”

I tried not to laugh as Grigori sighed, taking his hand back, muttering something under his breath. He grabbed the ice bucket, and mumbled, “I’m going to grab you more ice.” He stormed out of the room, leaving everyone quiet in his wake.

Daniil eventually cleared his throat lightly, his mouth opening. But he snapped it shut when a newcomer entered the room in an overabundance of color and flurry of rapid movement. The person stopped just as fast with worried eyes trained on the small person in the bed. Daniil’s eyes widened to a comical extreme.

Oh, my God.

Ember grabbed her breasts suddenly, and shoved the right one up, bellowing at the same time, “Stash, your tits are crooked!”

Stash sat on the bed next to Ember’s hip, leaning over her, talking to her quietly. He had been frantic when he first entered the room, not knowing the extent of Ember’s injuries, but he seemed to have calmed down in the last two minutes, seeing that she was alive and well.

That would have been normal if he wasn’t wearing a sparkling blue evening gown, matching heels, and a long black wig, and more—better applied—make-up than I had on right now. Oh, and falsies that gave him a decent woman’s figure that he had quickly adjusted in his dash across the room after Ember hollered at him.

Honestly, I had no clue how she knew it was him because he was pretty as hell, even if overly tall for a woman. And, somehow, even drugged, she had been able to see through his disguise immediately. I could have sat there talking with him for an hour and not realized it was Stash. He was that damn changed.

Daniil, Zane, Roman, and I rested back against the windows, staring down at him in shock. I couldn’t see his face now because his—goddamn, holy shit—long hair was hanging around his face, blanketing both him and Ember. I licked my lips and tried to speak for the third time since he had entered. Again, nothing came out.

So, I went for another form of communication. I nudged Daniil with an elbow and just pointed. I figured that was pretty self-explanatory.

A choked sound came from him, but that was about it.

Guess this was news to him, too.

Fate was really having a heyday with us tonight.

Case in point, as if our night wasn’t already fucked up enough, Ember chuckled, very much stoned, and asked if she could feel Stash’s falsies. Stash seemed to find this amusing, and he agreed with a soft laugh, indulging her drugged mind. Right when she palmed his fake breasts, Grigori walked into the room with the tub of ice.

Seriously.

It was way past one of those nights.

Grigori stopped. Stared. And…his face…

Zane started choking pretty damn bad.

Roman muttered something in Russian.

I was pretty sure Daniil was having a standing seizure, by the way his whole body shook.

Ember slurred behind Stash’s fake hair, “Damn, these are nice.” She readjusted her hands, getting a better feel. “Can I slip these babies out of your gown? I want to see them.”

I had to lock my knees to keep from falling flat on my ass, grabbing Daniil’s forearm for added balance, my lungs squeezing tight as I pushed the laugh back.

Grigori’s face was slowly turning a furious pink, reminding me of a heating cartoon teakettle, getting hotter and redder until the spout blows with a screeching whistle. His plump lips had thinned; his eyebrows were lowered over his dark eyes, staring at Ember’s hands since those were all that were visible of her under Stash, his attention complete and absolute on what she was doing. Slowly, and softly, he asked into the semi-quiet, “Ember, honey? Would you care to introduce me to your friend?” I was betting he hadn’t brought out his gun because Stash wasn’t physically touching Ember; it was the other way around. Plus, there was all that pesky oxygen equipment around that might blow.

Ember took a hand from Stash’s fake chest, batted his wig to the side, and hollering, “Grigori! Grigori! Come feel these! They’re amazing!”

I banged back against the windows, Daniil and Zane both gripping one of my elbows to keep me on my feet as I started choking, staring at Grigori’s pissed off face that altered to Stash, who had frozen in place at the low, threatening tone in Grigori’s voice.

Instantly, Grigori asked, “Who the fuck are you?” But I guess he really didn’t care who Stash was because only after a spurt of a pause, he stated coolly, “She’s drugged right now. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be touching you.” Confident, knowing words. His gaze darted to us like an arrow, his expression turning even more violent, and before anyone could get a word in, he pointed at Ember and Stash, asking Zane, “You’re just letting this happen?”

Ember said, “Grigori, quit yelling at everybody and come feel his tits.”

I snorted so hard it burned like a motherfucker.

Zane shook his head, pointing at them, and sputtered, “Stash—”

One word. That was all he got out before he threw an arm over Roman’s shoulders, laughing it up.

Grigori was already making his way to the bed, but he stumbled a step at Zane’s answer, staring at the black haired ‘woman’ over Ember. His furious expression turned incredulous as he advanced, his eyes widening as his gaze traveled over Stash, who was whispering something quietly to Ember from his position over her still. Grigori put the tub down on the table and took three long strides, grabbing a handful of Stash’s black hair, and yanked back.

“Ow! Goddammit!” Stash shouted as he was thrown onto his back next to Ember’s feet. He scowled up at Grigori. “The wig doesn’t come off that easy, asshole!”

Grigori’s jaw dropped, even as he tried to untangle his fingers from the wig.

Stash grunted and cursed the whole while.

The four of us standing by the window lost it, laughing our asses off, especially when Ember whined, “Dammit, Grigori! I wanted to see them!”

Grigori ignored her, finally getting his fingers free, staring down at Stash, and trying to keep a straight face. “Moonlighting, Stash?”

“Fuck you,” Stash grumbled, sitting up and righting his dress and wig. “I was on reconnaissance for a job when Ember called. I didn’t have time to change.” He scowled at Grigori. “Speaking of which, there’s a fuck load of dead Russians all over your house. Care to explain?”

Ember raised her hand. “I killed ‘em all. ‘Nuff said.” She tilted her head, eyebrows snapping together.

“You can’t be in pain right now,” Grigori stated, his fingers twitching like he wanted to touch her, his face back to a blank mask. “You’re too doped.”

She shook her head, her eyes going around to each of us, a different finger thumping with each person she passed before she hit the button for the nurse. “No. I’m not feeling a thing. I’m good.”

Grigori sighed, staring at the button she had pressed before heading toward the bathroom, dragging Stash with him, who had evidently bypassed the nurses’ station just as easily as Grigori.

Ember held up her hand. “I own the damn place.” A hand flutter that encompassed the room. “Just stay out here. I’ll fire anyone that tells you to leave.”

Grigori raised his eyebrows, letting go of Stash to lean against the wall. “Taking advantage of your position?”

Ember opened her mouth, but shut it slowly, then shrugged. “Maybe. But I want something that will require all of you in here.”

“What do you need? Name it and it’s yours. You saved us all tonight,” Daniil asked calmly. Pure fact that whatever she asked for in the world she could have.

Ember grinned. And it was a little drunken evil. “You’ll see.”

The nurse came in, and with one look from Ember, he kept his mouth shut, asking her what she needed. She motioned for him to come over, grabbing the front of his scrubs, making him bend down so she could whisper in his ear. Whatever she said to him, his eyes closed, but when he stood back up, he was all business, smiling.

She said, “Don’t forget. Seven of them. It shouldn’t take that long to find.”

Abruptly, the mayor and his wife were in the room, wearing pajamas. Extremely expensive, nice ones, but still pajamas all the same. I cocked my head. At least, they were pants and a button down shirt for both of them. Also, in black, so it wasn’t so noticeable.

The mayor rushed to Ember. “Dr. Benedict called. What happened?”

Ember smiled a little, putting a fist up in the air, her head listing to the side. “I killed a zillion mofos tonight that invaded my home.” She shook her fist at the mayor, his expression stunned. Her eyebrows came back together. “Well, it wasn’t a zillion. Closer to like forty-five.” She shook her fist again. “Come on!”

The mayor closed his mouth gently. And fist bumped her.

His wife started talking with Ember as the mayor came over in front of Zane, nodding to Grigori first, and staring oddly at Stash—guess he didn’t recognize him—asking in a whisper, “She’s obviously drugged. What really happened tonight?”

Zane stared him in the eye, and only said, “Yes. She’s on pain meds.”

The mayor stared back as the silence extended, Zane not giving any more details, offering the mayor the chance of deniability if ever questioned. The mayor blinked. Blinked again. And slowly, his eyes widened. Right before they shut down, frosting over, and he muttered, “Good Christ.” Running a hand through his hair, he turned and went back over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and hold her hand, his gaze covertly on Daniil, who was watching him just the same even as he moved over to the side of the room to speak privately on his phone.

Mrs. Donovan pulled a large Ziploc bag from her purse that held what looked like chocolate chip cookies, which Ember scowled at. I wasn’t sure what the issue was because they appeared to be perfectly baked.

Daniil came to stand next to me again.

I leaned against him, into his warmth. He shifted behind me, holding me around my enlarged stomach. It was perfect—even if I did just want to go home now and rest.

The nurse walked back into the room, looking positively flustered, handing Ember sheets of paper, stating sternly—and a little rudely for being such a kiss ass, “They really can’t be in here that long, Ms. Lerrus.”

Grigori wove his way through the crowd, standing next to her bed. He stared the nurse down, saying something quietly that I couldn’t hear when Ember looked a little flummoxed in the face of the nurse's hostility. She wasn’t the type to disregard rules and use the fact that she was filthy rich to her advantage, so she wasn’t very good at doing what she wanted no matter the cost.

The nurse’s face paled at whatever Grigori said, and he turned to Ember. “Sorry, Ms. Lerrus. They can stay however long you need them to.” He paused, his eyes darting to Grigori before returning to her. He cleared his throat. “As long as you’re doing well.” He sniffed at Grigori before turning tale and dodging through people to exit as fast as possible.

Daniil’s shoulders started shaking behind mine, laughing at the nurse’s attempt at sticking up for himself. He asked Grigori, “What did you say to him?”

Grigori lips twitched, and he started to speak, but Ember cleared her throat, saying loudly—even over those talking to her, trying to thank her for her heroics, “Excuse me! Can I have everybody’s attention?” She waved her arms wildly, still very much doped up.

Grigori chuckled, watching her, most definitely amused.

The room quieted, but Ember kept shouting, “I know you all think I’m a badass.” She shrugged, her face pinking. “I guess, I kind of am.” Grigori’s face dropped to the floor as his shoulders shook behind her field of vision. She stuck a tiny finger in the air. “But I don’t want you to say thank you for slaughtering those idiots. What I want from all of you is this.” She waved the papers in the air. “Here, pass these around. There’s not enough for everyone, so you guys will have to share, but this is the favor that I’m calling in everyone seems so willing to give me.” She grinned, handing the papers to the closest person to her—me.

I passed the rest on.

I watched Grigori’s face as he looked down at his sheet, his confusion obvious like everyone else’s that stared down at a paper they took. Until very slowly he and the others started grinning.

I didn’t glance down at my sheet yet. “What is it?”

She turned her head, her eyes extremely dilated. “A song.” She fluttered her hands. “To celebrate tonight’s event, instead of everyone worrying about what might come later.” She smiled evilly, stating loudly, so everyone heard. “Everybody’s going to sing it. Together.” There were groans around the room, and she turned her head to the masses. “This is my favor. It’ll be fun! And besides, I’ll sing the part by myself that’s in the parenthesis.” She cringed. “But no one laugh ‘cause I suck.”

“A song?” Grigori asked her, outright laughing now, bending over, so their faces were close. “You want my family to sing a song to you?”

“Yep.” She glanced around the room. “And the mayor and his wife.” She pumped a fist in the air. “Woot! Woot!”

I started chuckling, watching Grigori pull her ‘drug dispenser’ away from her covertly after she pressed the button again. His eyes turned toward Zane, his gaze filled with wide-eyed hilarity. He leaned over, whispering, “Do you have a phone on you? I want this recorded.”

Zane dug for his.

“What song did she pick?” Hell, I would sing anything to her if that was what she wanted after saving my ass.

Grigori blinked at his father, and his lips trembled.

Daniil kept his gaze down, over my shoulder, to the paper I held. “I don’t know this song. Hold the paper right. I need this to sing it properly.” He shook his head, his gaze landing on Ember. “I offer her anything she wants, and she picks this as her favor.” He chuckled. “Amazing.”

Grigori snapped his fingers where the papers were being hoarded. “Give me one. Now.” His tone held complete authority, his lineage peeking out after only being around his dad and granddad for a short time. He didn’t expect to be denied. And he wasn’t.

They were practically thrown at us as they were handed over so quickly.

Zane grunted. “You’ve got them fooled.”

Grigori chuckled evilly; his head turned away from his family. “They know the real deal. And I’m it.”

Zane laughed. “You’re such an arrogant ass.”

Grigori shrugged good-naturedly. “No more than you.” He handed over the extra sheet to his dad.

Daniil took it gladly but still kept his muscled arms around me.

I interrupted their male crap, asking again, “So what song is it?”

Daniil chuckled. “Quit procrastinating, my sweet, and look at your sheet. It’s not bad.”

Grigori glanced down.

Blinked.

Stared.

Blinked again.

And threw his head back, and laughed so damn loud, everyone in the room stopped to stare at him. God, he looked…

Happy. Content. Beautiful.

In the stunned silence that filled the room, I stopped staring and glanced down at my sheet. Oh, my. This will be interesting.

Ember was still gazing at her lover. “I did good?”

He nodded, still laughing. “Yeah. You did good.”

She held up a tiny fist, and he fist-bumped her.

I stopped watching the play-by-play and lifted the paper.

Daniil bent down, his breath rushing across my cheek.

We both muttered at the same time, “Love Shack?”

Ember had chosen ‘Love Shack’ by B-52’s for us to sing together. I knew the beat to the song, but I couldn’t remember the words, so I quickly skimmed them, re-read them, just as Daniil must have been doing because, suddenly, it was as if we got the joke together. Ember was giving the middle finger to those dead men back at the house. Even after death, she was sticking it to them, making a joke of their attempt. And rightly so, because she had taken down all of them by her lonesome. She was pissed they had tried, even though she showed it in the oddest ways.

I turned my head toward Daniil, saying softly, “Seriously twisted mind.”

Daniil nodded, and jerked his head in Grigori’s direction, murmuring against my ear, “That’s why they are perfect for one another.” He paused, his eyes on them as a chuckling Grigori bent down, showing Ember that he was going to record it. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.” Daniil rubbed his whiskers over the exposed flesh on my neck.

I couldn’t say anything, his touch electrifying, setting me on sizzle from that small touch. Though, it didn’t much matter because Ember placed the sheet Grigori was sharing with her in her lap, clapping her hands loudly. “Okay, people! Here’s how the tune goes if you’re unfamiliar. And remember, please don’t laugh, because I swear, I’m not just being polite when I say I suck. I really do.”

She inhaled a huge breath and started humming the tune, which sounded like shit, but gave everyone a decent idea of how it was supposed to go. She stopped and picked the paper up, holding it for her and Grigori since Grigori was too busy making sure he got in a good position to have the majority of the room in the camera, but foremost, making sure his father was dead center in the frame. He nodded, his lips twitching, whispering, “Finish it, my little bitch.”

She turned her head, her smile a little lopsided, and her eyes drooping. “Abso-fucking-lutely.” Then she turned to us, saying, “Three, two, one.”

We all started singing ‘Love Shack.’ Zane sang it at the top of his lungs. The mayor of New York City and his wife sang it with gusto. The Russian Mafia sang it with shouting passion. Grigori kept the camera trained on the group, but his mouth was at Ember’s ear, singing softly, probably, so his voice wasn’t the only one heard on the recording. And the little redhead who had instigated it all sat on the bed, pumping her fists in the air, shouting her portion of the song all by herself.

We sang it three damn times, and by the end, everyone had their fists in the air, all of us very much thrilled to be alive. Shouts and claps and hollers in English and Russian rounded off the entertainment. I whistled loudly, whooping along with everyone else. Daniil’s bellow about pierced my eardrum as he shouted a very ungentlemanly curse against the men who had come into his home, resulting in another round of hooting and hollering, until Dr. Benedict busted up our fun time, Ember’s nurse standing behind her with a definite pleased expression on his face.

My jaw almost dropped when Dr. Benedict stated, “I don’t give a shit if you two own this place.” She pointed at the mayor and Ember. “If one more patient wakes up complaining, you won’t be allowed back into this damn hospital.” She said it calmly as could be. As if she wasn’t standing inside a room full of trained killers. She was either too tired to give a shit—which I didn’t think she was—or she had some fucking brass balls to break up this revelry.

Ember laughed, dropping back onto the bed after she had pushed up on her arms to sing. “Dr. Benedict, I know exactly what you just said, but I got the gist that you’re pissed. And I would like to say I’m sorry.” She shrugged. “But, I’m not. I promise it won’t happen again, though.”

Dr. Benedict nodded. “Good.” She clapped her hands. “Now I’m going to leave, and only four people can stay in this room with Ms. Lerrus! Understood?”

The majority of the room nodded. And she left, the tattletale nurse on her coattails.

I wondered if anyone would actually listen to the doctor.

The next few weeks were a trial. Between talking with my parents—who couldn’t seem to leave me alone, my emotions finally going back to only slightly pregnant crazy, eating full meals again, and learning to readjust to living around so much open space and people…well, I was overwhelmed at times. I still was. But after getting my prescriptions filled and Daniil insisting we all take a visit to Dr. Wisser on our way home, things settled down into a routine, per Dr. Wisser and Dr. Walker’s instructions, to get me used to life outside of isolation.

The first week, Daniil slept with me out in the hallway. He really had no choice since I would sneak out there in the middle of the night, only to wake with him next to me. Luckily, for him, and my back, it only lasted for a week. After that, I was able to sleep in bed with him again—as long as the door was open and a light was left on in the bathroom. In the mornings, everyone would sit down for breakfast. No one was overly loud at breakfast since they had all been in the patient’s room while Dr. Wisser pulled up any information he had on individuals who had suffered long-term isolation. Loud noises were a no-no at the beginning of recovery, so everyone kept their voices subdued, which was a major achievement for these individuals.

Since Kirill and Chloe and my parents had not been there for this announcement, they had all been filled in with what was acceptable behavior. Even Nikki and Beth were on their best behavior anytime they were around me, which filled my heart with so much love for them it actually hurt a little seeing two people so young and precious trying hard to make me feel better.

I would have asked everyone to stop and just be normal…but…I couldn’t. It did help. And I needed to get better. These people were my family, for better or worse, since I wasn’t ever leaving Daniil, so I knew to take the love and affection they were showing in their own ways to help be back to recovery.

After breakfast, Mom and I would go about our normal activities of decorating the babies’ room once we had done some shopping online for maternity clothes. At first, I ran around in Daniil’s huge shirts and sweatpants that I pulled down below my belly, but within two days’ time, I had bright and colorful maternity clothes to wear, which only seemed to entice Daniil even more, but Dr. Wisser had cut us off. Sex wise. So we were both going cold turkey in that department for the duration of my pregnancy.

Daniil wasn’t around much during the day—worse than he had been before my kidnapping—because he had so much work to catch up on. I found out he had been a part of the search for me for the past two months, flying everywhere he had a lead, normally with one or two of his kids going with him. His businesses had been left in the dust while he searched for me. It was only luck—and a layover—that had him in New York at all when Dr. Walker had called Grigori.

In the afternoons, Ember and I worked from her little books and tapes, trying to teach one another Russian. And…hmm…that was interesting. She was one of those people that saw things differently at times—a lot of out of the box stuff—so when it came to strict rules of the language, it took her some time to grasp the concept. But, after the first week of me just saying, “That’s just how it is, so there’s no other way to do it but the right way,” she finally caught on I wasn’t hiding an easier way of doing it, or I wasn’t just being mean, and she started learning with me.

Slowly. But, still learning.

Ember, honestly and surprisingly, was a huge outlet for me. She and Grigori almost weren’t here when Dr. Walker made that phone call because she and Grigori had been touring some of the ‘women’s shelters’ around the US for a couple of weeks—I was sure that was code for whatever agency they worked for on the side. They had only just gotten back the day before. It appeared that someone had been looking down on me when I escaped that day.

After our lessons together, Ember and I would walk outside in the backyard, pointing at things and saying them in Russian. Ruslan would walk with us, telling us if we said them correctly or not. I had been assigned—ahem—ten new bodyguards, who all milled around, but I didn’t want to see or meet them. Not after what had happened with my last ones. Not yet, anyway.

Ember and Ruslan seemed to understand this and kept to our discussions of what a tree or plant was called in Russian. Ember also seemed to understand—her uncanny ability to read people—that it freaked me out to be outside for too long…but the sneaky woman always made our walks just a little bit longer each day. She also did it to build up her own endurance again, though. She was healing very well—and too quickly in Grigori’s stubborn opinion.

Daniil would always be waiting for me when I came inside, an hour before dinnertime, and he would take me into the music room—per my request—and play me music from any instrument he felt like playing. That was the calmest part of my day. Sitting there. Watching him. Seeing his fingers work their magic. Loving how his eyes lit up while he played. And feeling a relaxed sort of comfort when Roman would come home earlier and find us in there, and play along with his dad, both of them giving each other happy, contented looks—a musician in his relaxed element, dad and son furthering their bond.

Yeah, it was my favorite part of the day.

Dinner was much the same as breakfast. Everyone was subdued, but cheerful. Although Daniil did test the waters almost two weeks into my recovery inviting my cousins and the occupants of the house across the way over for a much larger dinner. It wasn’t…bad. It just took a little getting used to. Although it was entertaining to watch Brent and Cole, who had deigned to re-enter this house for the first time when not in an emergency situation. Time had…changed them some. It was as if they had adjusted to the life they had without Ember. Just as she seemed to have adjusted without them. Even if I did catch a few covert looks Brent and Ember gave one another, but they weren’t exactly sexual. I mean the looks they gave each other simmered with “I want to talk with you again, but I don’t know how.” Like…well, like they were old friends wanting to reconnect, a bond there that would never be broken.

I rested back in the formal living room after dinner and watched as Grigori maneuvered Ember closer to Brent. Quietly, I asked Daniil, “What is he doing?”

“Loving her,” Daniil said quietly.

“Isn’t he jealous?” I asked dumbfounded, my emotions completely back on track, which I was eternally grateful for.

“Yes. But he trusts her. And he knows she needs this friendship.”

I smiled up at him, after seeing Grigori back away once he got Brent and Ember talking. “You raised some good kiddos.”

He was still watching Brent and Ember, but he nodded.

“Worried?”

“I trust Ember. It’s Brent I don’t trust so much.” He nodded toward them, and I looked back to see Brent touch her hand, possibly a second too long while he spoke to her. “He’s a good man, but he’s also very smart…and patient.”

I glanced at Grigori where he was speaking with my dad about something, but his eyes were watching Brent and Ember’s every move even if he had brought them together. “I don’t think Grigori misses much, either.”

Daniil shook his head. “No. I taught him better than that, and I believe he’s going to surprise everyone tonight with the way he’s acting.” I hadn’t noticed anything different, so I glanced at Grigori again. I still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but Daniil had turned his attention to Roman, and I followed his gaze. “Now, Roman… Well, he’s going to be a handful. Probably worse than Grigori.”

I ran my fingers under his chin, and turned his face my way, staring at him with two working eyes since the black eye and puffy face had finally vanished. “Quit worrying tonight. I want you happy, not upset.” I kissed his jaw lightly when I saw his eyes soften from fatherly worry to tender love for a partner in life. “Thank you. Thank you for being patient and helping me. I feel ten times better already.”

Placing a gentle hand on my head, his eyes scoured mine as he ran his fingers through my hair that had grown enough to become itty-bitty tight curls. “I want you feeling a hundred times better, not just ten. I want you back. And I’ll be as patient and as helping as I can be.”

I stopped his hand with my gloved one…my nails were only growing back, and they were hideous, so I wore the gloves so I didn’t gross anyone out. “Daniil, I may never be that same person I was before.” He knew this…didn’t he?

His soft smile turned a little evil, and he bent down, whispering in my ear, “Do you mean how you now have a possessive streak to rattle anyone’s cage, and you have no issues killing anyone who threatens your babies?”

I nodded. Yes. That was exactly what I meant. I wasn’t a ‘kill all’ type of person, but my eye-for-an-eye…well, I didn’t even bat an eye now when I thought of my kidnappers trying to harm the babies inside me again.

I felt him grin against the shell of my ear. “That works for me.”

I snorted, pushing at his shoulder lightly with my cast. “I’m happy I can accommodate you.” I said it with enough sarcasm to make it sound real, but truly, I was happy he liked this harder side of me.

He started trailing small kisses behind my ear. “I knew you would get there, anyway. I just thought it would be after our sons were born.”

I snorted again, but it came out in a half sigh/half moan. “We are not finding out what the sexes are.”

Daniil groaned low in his throat, and he whispered against my heating skin, “Please, don’t say any word that involves ‘sex’ in it.” He sighed heavily against my neck. “I’m already dying here.”

Lifting my hand, I gripped the necklace that he wore. He made it out of the bolt I had killed my jailer with. He melted the bolt down and shaped it into a heart and threaded it around his neck in twisted black leather.

Morbid, yes. But Daniil all the way.

I lifted my brows. “You’re not the only one dying here, so quit doing that.”

He groaned again even lower in his throat and started to pull me in tighter against him so he didn’t see my mom walk up to the loveseat where we sat. Nor did he see the hand she raised to swat him on the backside of his head, banging his face into my neck. He grunted, and his head snapped up, seeing my mom’s twinkling eyes staring down at him.

Softly, she stated, “A little decorum, please. I know what that doctor said. And that,” she pointed between my neck and his mouth, “isn’t going to help.” Her lips thinned, but she stated quickly, “And it’s not fair for a man to achieve release when the woman’s left high and dry for months on end.” She pointed at Daniil. “So keep that in mind when you’re trying to finagle something out of her.” She nodded once curtly, then turned on an embarrassed heal and walked quickly over to my dad.

“My mom did not just say that,” I muttered, my mouth still hanging open.

Daniil rubbed the back of his head where she had hit him, and he glanced at me…appearing a little sheepish.

I stared. My mom had been right. Daniil was going to try…

I laughed outright. It was loud. And it was joyful.

And it was the first time I had really laughed in months. Pretty much the entire room stopped whatever they were doing and looked my way. Nikki came over while I was trying to get control of myself, and put her arms around my throat, leaning on my round belly, whispering in my ear, “I’m happy you’re feeling better.”

I smiled against her black hair and hugged her back. “Thank you, Nikki. That’s very sweet of you to say.”

The babies kicked at that moment, pushing against Nikki. She squawked and jumped back, pointing at my stomach, squealing, “Her stomach! It moved!”

Beth bumped her shoulder and rolled green eyes. “The babies moved, Nikki.” She placed a hand over my stomach, hesitating, and then asking, “Can I feel?”

Still smiling, I nodded, but also grabbed Daniil’s hand since he hadn’t been around when the babies were active. Placing both their hands on my stomach, I pressed a little on Daniil’s…and thumpity-thump….thump, thump, thump! They really got active in there.

Beth’s eyes grew almost as large as Daniil’s, and they both gasped.

Daniil grinned broadly after a few moments and told the room at large, “Boys. They’re all boys.”

I couldn’t help my chuckle, and Nikki barged into the fold, placing her hand between Beth and Daniil’s. There was a pause, and then, one of the babes punched or kicked her hand, and she squealed again, jumping back, staring at Ember with huge eyes, pointing at my stomach, almost shouting, “They’re coming out!”

Grigori laughed, and picked up the frightened Nikki, bouncing her a little. “They aren’t coming out yet. They’re just moving around like you used to do in your mommy’s belly.”

She blinked. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yes. I remember when your mom got real big,” Ember snorted, “and you two would practically do somersaults in her stomach.”

I glanced at Brent and Cole, but they were only watching the interaction silently like they were gauging Grigori’s interaction with their daughter.

Grigori bent down and whispered something in Nikki’s ear, and her eyes turned huge, and she whispered, “Really?” Grigori nodded, and she said, “Yes, I think I’d like that.”

“What?” Beth asked, taking her wide gaze off my stomach, but not her hand. “What would you like?”

Grigori bent down, still holding Nikki in his arms, and whispered in her ear. I didn’t catch what he said, but I saw her eyes go as big as Nikki’s had. She squealed, nodding really big, her blond curls dancing around her face. Grigori cleared his throat, and stood, placing Nikki back on the floor, and beckoned for Ember to come over.

Daniil’s hand tensed on my stomach, but a quick glance at him showed me that his face was peaceful. He even winked at me. Guess I was going to find out what all this was about the good old-fashioned way.

Ember walked through the silent room and stood in front of him with her eyebrows puckered, her head tilted all the way back so she could stare him in the face. She was just as confused as the majority of the room, and Grigori cleared his throat again, and cupped her cheeks, asking gently, “Do you still want to have more children?”

Her breath caught, and like her daughters’, her eyes went huge. She licked her lips and nodded in quick jerky motions. Grigori smiled down at her, and I had to lean into Daniil to see past Grigori’s hair hanging around his face. He said softly, “I’ve been doing some research. It may not be as easy as it was before. Are you sure about this?”

She nodded again.

He cleared his throat again, and then stated in the softest, sweetest tones I had ever heard him use before, “You said before that I’m all you ever want to know, that I was all you ever wanted in a man.” He paused, kissing the tip of her nose. “Well, honey, you’re all I have ever seen as the perfect woman. You’re strong. You’re fierce. You’re shy. You’re sweet. You’re caring. You’re protective. You’re all I ever want to know. You’re all I could ever want in a woman.” He leaned his forehead against hers, his hair barely covering his pink cheeks. “I love you, Ember, and I want to have children with you.”

Oh…oh, my. He had taken the plunge and also made this declaration in front of everyone. No wonder he had no real issues with her talking alone with Brent.

Ember’s voice cracked when she said, “I love you, too.” She was visibly trembling, and she placed her small hands on his heated cheeks. She lifted on her tiptoes and kissed his lips softly. “You’ll be a great daddy.”

Grigori sucked in a big breath, but I still saw the huge smile—a truly contented smile—he rested against her lips.

It was silent for all over a heartbeat as Grigori proceeded to—ahem—start the baby making process right in front of us with a kiss that nearly dropped Ember, but Carl cleared his throat, grabbing everyone’s attention from Ember and Grigori. I made sure to keep my eyes off Brent and Cole since I was almost positive even with the truce they had going on, no one in their situation wanted to hear that.

Carl stood and took Anna’s hand, pulling her up from her seated position to stand next to him. Her eyes were huge, but she was smiling softly as Carl laid the next big one on us. He grinned, tugging Anna in close, looking like a big ‘ol love sap, which was just odd on a man that looked as tough as he did. He stated clearly, and loudly, “With all this talk of babies, I thought it would be a great time to announce that my wife is pregnant.”

Everyone in the room—minus Ember and Grigori, who were still lost in one another directly in front of Daniil and me—cheered and started congregating around them. The loudness startled me for a second, and I know I jumped, scaring poor Beth, who still had her hand on my belly. Daniil shushed her…and me…but I got over it quickly enough. I wasn’t going to allow some damn happy cheers to rattle me for too long.

All in all, it had been one heck of a good evening all around.

I was ready for the party Daniil had been testing and preparing me for. It was time to meet my kidnappers. Mafia style.

One week later, I had to keep reminding myself that I could do this. My mom was helping me into a green dress that matched my eyes, but it was satin, and it bunched directly under my breasts, which were growing damn huge, and draped over my belly, making me look like I had three huge pillows taped around my stomach instead of three tiny babies inside my womb. My back was killing me, my ankles were on the verge of swelling, my tits were tender, and I swear one of Daniil’s children had a foot jammed up under my ribs that no matter how many times I massaged the area, the little bugger kept his or her foot budged tight. And I was hungry, my appetite back in full swing.

The dress hung down to my sandaled feet, and it felt like Heaven, but tonight wasn’t about Heaven. Tonight was about putting two people firmly in Hell. I had to look like I wasn’t affected by what they had done to me. Daniil hadn’t told me who he thought they were. He said he would tell me when it was time. In other words, it was party night.

To top it off, I hadn’t told my mom what was going to happen. Not because I was afraid to, but because now that I knew the primal urges parents had, I was afraid she would take care of business before I got the chance. Especially, with that far away, primal look she got in her eye sometimes when I had—they were getting fewer with each day—a moment when I zoned out and started singing. And that included my dad, too. God love him, he was a devout Christian, but it was there in his eye, too.

So, mum was the word.

“I think Dr. Wisser is going to put me on bedrest soon,” I grumbled, trying to drape the dress differently so it didn’t show exactly how big I was. It didn’t help. There was no hiding a pregnancy of almost five months with triplets. I glanced around Daniil’s bedroom, wondering if there was anything here big enough to make me look smaller. “He hinted at it last week.”

Mom finished zipping up the back of the dress, which the tighter it got, the bigger I looked. “Good. You should be off your feet.”

“Mom,” I griped, turning toward her, putting on my green gloves, which she had to help me with the arm that had the cast – only three more weeks of that damn thing to go. “I don’t want to be an invalid.” I hesitated, and then stated, “I’m not sure I can handle being cooped up in a bedroom for that long. I need to be able to move around.” Make sure I wasn’t trapped.

My mom’s eyes went to that primal place for a heartbeat, but they softened almost just as quickly, and she said softly, “We’ll figure something out. I’m sure Daniil would put a bed in every room of this house so you won’t feel…” She couldn’t say it. She still had issues from my ordeal, too.

I sighed, nodding and turning back to the mirror. My cheeks were rosy, my nose pert, my lips red, and my close curls… “God, I really do look like one of those damn dolls.”

“What dolls, sweetie?” she asked, peering over my shoulder to look in the mirror.

We both jumped when Daniil chuckled from our right. He was a sneaky one at times. I hadn’t even heard him come in the room. He walked over and wrapped his arms around my stomach, thank God, he had long arms, and bent down kissing my—rosy—cheek, murmuring quietly, “You know what kind of kewpie doll you look like tonight?”

I puffed out a breath, ignoring how my mom was quietly leaving the bedroom. “A fat, ugly one?”

He chuckled again, shaking his head. “You look like my kewpie doll.”

I smiled a little at that until I really saw what he looked like in the mirror next to me, and I groaned. “You look all damn debonair in your James Bond attire.” He wore a black tux, his hair pulled back from his sharp features, the clothes fitting him excellently, showing off his large physic.

All my outfit did was show off my own expanded physique.

“You don’t like it?” he whispered against my temple…while his thumb brushed slowly under my left breast.

“I do. And you know it. You’re handsome and sexy as hell,” I grumbled, swatting at his thumb when it made another pass under my breast, tightening my nipple. “And stop that. You’re going to get me hot and bothered before we go down there.”

Daniil growled low…yeah…and I knew there wasn’t anything stopping him, especially not me, when he leaned down and bit my bottom lip, taking my mouth in a kiss so damn carnal I was left breathless and pressing into him. He hadn’t kissed me like that…well, in forever. We’d been keeping it strictly PG, but, man, I had missed that. He groaned against my mouth, his hands moving to cups my tender breasts, and I moaned right along with him.

He squeezed gently, his mouth taking mine again, and the fireworks went off like normal. His tongue swept over mine, rubbing like I wanted his cock inside me. I groaned, none-to-quietly and stood on tiptoe, wrapping my arms around his neck, feeling a burning fire start up low in my belly. When he let one hand fall to my ass, squeezing and pulling me even closer, I felt his erection against my belly, telling me exactly what he would like to be doing, too.

God, he felt so good.

“Ahem,” my mom’s loud, stern voice broke our lips apart. Daniil immediately dropped his groping hands from my boob and ass. “Daniil, what did I tell you about that? If you can’t finish it, then don’t start it.”

“Frankie,” my dad stated—I hadn’t even realized he had come into Daniil’s room. “He knows that. Don’t you, Daniil?”

Daniil cleared his throat, his voice breathless as he stared down at me. “Yes. I do.” He paused, trying to catch his breath. “Now, would you be so kind as to leave our room while we…recuperate.” Yeah, he had a huge hard-on he was keeping firmly pressed against me.

“Mom. Dad. Get out,” I ordered, probably a little too harshly.

But Daniil and I didn’t need their interference.

“Daniil…,” Mom started again.

But Daniil growled a little, and I heard Dad yank her out of the room, into his living room area where I heard dad talking to her about how unwise it was to poke a bear when she had already gotten her point across. Daniil heaved a few breaths in and out and stepped back from me a little stiff…yeah…in more places than one.

“You’re Mom’s right as much as it,” his nose crinkled, “pains me to admit it.”

I wasn’t doing much better than he was, and I sucked in a few steadying breaths. “We just need to keep it at PG. Maybe start doing crossword puzzles or something when we,” my hand moved back and forth between us, “feel the urge.”

Daniil paused, and then he started chuckling and shaking his head. “All that brings to mind is you naked with crossword puzzles under you like a blanket.”

I thought a moment and then snapped my fingers. “We can talk about your dad!”

He paused again, and then nodded, fixing his jacket in swift motions. “That’ll work.”

I chuckled and pulled him out of the bedroom, stating, “Speaking of your dad, did he make it on time for tonight?” His dad had helped with the search for me, but he was supposed to be back here tonight…staying for who knew how the hell long.

Daniil nodded, still a little stiff, and speaking of the devil, his dad walked into Daniil’s private living room with Grigori behind him. They hugged and patted and kissed cheeks, but Grigori’s eyebrows were pinched. His dad patted Daniil’s cheek again, asking, “What’s wrong? You look upset.”

My mom snorted and tried to cover it up with a cough when Dad gave her a look. Daniil looked mildly uncomfortable, and Grigori’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed his dad and then me. His lips started twitching, and he pulled his granddad away from his son, taking him over to the bar, asking Daniil, “Papa, how about a drink?”

“Make it a double,” Daniil muttered.

Grigori chuckled and nodded pouring vodka for his dad and granddad. “Eva’s not downstairs yet.” He glanced at me. “Do you think you can go see what’s taking her so long? People are already arriving, and she’s probably just taking too long getting dressed.” He shook his head. “If I go bother her, she’ll punch me with the way she’s been acting about more brothers on the way.”

I chuckled, nodding. Yeah, Eva had been in a tizzy lately, asking me repeatedly what I thought the babies were. “Sure. I’ll be back in a second.” Plus, it would take Daniil a moment to calm down since his gaze was stuck on my chest. I leaned over whispering, “Think of your dad.”

His nose crinkled, but I felt his gaze follow me all the way out the door, his eyes glued to my ass. It didn’t help me much, so I focused on my role. I needed to get Eva. And if she wasn’t ready yet, Daniil wouldn’t be thrilled. He wanted the whole family together as a united front.

I passed Grigori and Ember’s door. Then Roman’s, and then Kirill and Chloe’s room. Then Artur’s. Eva’s was at the very end, near a hidden staircase and large window. I knocked lightly, but her room was set up much like Daniil’s. Except it was a bit more feminine, done in crèmes and lavender. I opened the door when no one answered and made my way through the living room area.

And stopped dead when I heard a masculine moan from her bedroom.

Uh-oh.

“Oh, God, I’ve missed this,” I heard Eva whimper from said bedroom.

Oh, shit.

And as much as I knew I shouldn’t, curiosity got the better of me. I was still the reporter at heart. Nothing would change that. I crept forward and peeked around the door, getting an eye full.

Oh, holy motherfucker.

They were in profile and naked on her bed. Eva was on her hands and knees…with Stash just as naked behind her. He slowly pumped into her, his ass and legs muscles clenching with the motion, his hands gripping her hips as he stared down at what he was doing. Eva moaned and arched, lifting her ass higher in the air, her shoulders hitting the bed.

Sounding fucking pissed, Stash hissed, “Did you miss this when you were fucking Merc?”

Merc? She’d had sex with Merc?

He drove into her harder. “Did he fuck you from behind, baby?” Oh, my. This was a side of him, I had never seen before. He reached down, grabbing a handful of her hair, and yanked her up, making her body arch, her head against his shoulder. “Tell me, did he make you feel this good?”

Eva groaned when he drove into her even harder, but she sounded just as pissed when she asked, “What about those two fucking blondes you screwed?”

Stash growled low, letting go of her hair, running his hands around her waist, up her ribcage to her bouncing breasts, gripping them as he started thrusting in harder and faster. “Don’t give me that shit. You asked for the damn break.”

Eva reached down and back, grabbing his hips and holding on. “I only asked for it until you could figure out how to get around Papa’s security here.” Lock the damn door, then. “And you know Artur was catching on.”

“It took me forever to figure out his fucking system without anyone’s help.” Stash groaned, his head falling back. “No more.” He gasped. “No more fucking break.”

Eva tilted her hips, pressing back against him, and she growled, “No more fucking blondes. Or brunettes. Or whatever the fuck else.”

“Exclusion, baby?” Stash dipped his head, licking across her shoulder. “That’s not like you.”

Eva started panting heavily, and she whispered, “Stash…” It sounded like a plea.

Stash’s breathing was starting to get just as heavy as hers, but he was silent as he slowed his pace, staring down at her body over her shoulder. He hesitated, and then said, “You’re serious.” A statement. “You really want exclusion? I’ve never done that before.”

“Try,” Eva panted, whimpering.

I saw the change in him. He went from considering to…one of his hands slid from her breasts, down to her bare crotch, and he gripped her, his muscles bulging as he growled, “That means no one else’s cock goes here but mine. That means your fucking pussy is mine until we’re through.” He kept his hand below, but his other hand left her breasts and went back to her hair, yanking her head and making her arch again. “Do you understand, Eva? No one else.”

She cried out, nodding, and his fingers began moving through her folds below, and his pace picked up, but she still growled, “If I see anyone near your cock, I’ll kill them.”

Stash grunted. “At least, we understand each other.” He groaned, and she started whimpering and grinding against him…

I slipped out of her room just as quietly as I had entered it, hearing their escalating sounds of pleasure. I knew my eyes were huge. Hell, I was even panting a little. That had been a whole different insight to them I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know. But, God, they had looked kind of perfect together. Most definitely not new lovers by what they said, or by their actions. This had been going on for some time. A long damn time, I was betting.

Well…fuck. I had to go back into Daniil’s and my room. And face Eva’s brother, dad, and granddad after I had just seen Stash fucking and dominating her. I understood now why they were keeping it secret. Eva was the only female of the family. A family of protective, loving, and scary as hell men. I wondered how many men—now, I knew Merc included—she had hidden from them in the past. Hell, if she wasn’t serious about them, I think I would probably hide them all. So, now wasn’t the time to give their little secret away.

I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. Time to put on a damn good performance. I hoped I was up for it. Walking into the room, I saw that Artur, Roman, Kirill, Chloe, and Ember had all joined the group in his private living room. Fucking perfect.

“Well,” Grigori drawled, sipping on his vodka, leaning back against the wall, pulling at the collar of his tux. “Is she finished?”

Oh, good Lord.

Clearing my throat, I answered honestly, “It looked like she was almost done.” I prayed that Stash wasn’t drawing their reunion out.

Ember’s eyes started to go all freaky, so I quickly turned and went to grab some water at the bar, effectively putting my back to her. But she still asked, “Is something wrong, Elizabeth?”

“Nope,” I stated as calmly as I could. The pitch of my tone was a little high, so I amended quickly, “I’m just nervous about tonight.”

I felt Daniil behind me, and I took a sip of my water, clearing my dry throat. He tilted my chin back gently as everyone started talking again, and stared into my eyes, all the way to my damn soul. Why, oh, why I ever thought I could lie to him, I had no clue. His jaw was set, and he started to stalk out of the room.

Oh, fuck!

I grunted—doing the only thing I knew how to do to stop him—and grabbed my belly.

Pathetic, really. But I dropped my head and grimaced.

Everyone in the room stopped. Daniil included.

He came back in a rush, moving me to a chair and placing his hands on my stomach, looking all kinds of nervous as everyone around us starting yelling about what to do. Christ. I hadn’t meant to make that big of a scene. Daniil glanced up at me, and back to my stomach before his eyes slammed back up to mine. And, yeah, I couldn’t lie so well, which I had already learned, but he got the hint that I didn’t want him leaving.

“Don’t do that again,” he hissed harshly, but quietly, before standing and lifting his arms. “She’s fine. She’s fine. Everyone calm down. It was just one of the babies kicking.”

“There are three in there. It’s bound to hurt,” mom stated, rushing to my side. “You should really be off your feet. I’m going to call Dr. Wisser tomorrow.”

Daniil actually grinned at that.

Whatever, jerk. Justice, and all that for tricking him.

He still didn’t leave my side, and thank God, five minutes later Eva came into the room dressed impeccably in a red velvet gown. Her chestnut hair was perfectly brushed, her make-up fully intact, and her dress thankfully zipped. However, to the trained eye, her red lips were fuller, and her eyes were still silently dilated, and she was a little breathless even though she hid it behind a small glass of vodka she quickly proffered.

Daniil caught all of it, too. Dammit.

His arm tightened around me, but he didn’t ask. Instead, he went over to his desk as everyone spoke and quickly typed into his computer, staring at his monitor no one else could see from here. And I knew what he was doing. He didn’t need to ask because he figured he could find out from the comings and goings of his surveillance system. But…oh, oh, shit…he looked furious as he typed in something else, his narrowed eyes scanning the screen.

Silently, and slowly, he turned off the computer. And his gaze met mine.

Stash must have done a stellar job with the system. That gaze right there told me he had figured out it had been tapped into. And he didn’t like it. Nope, not one bit.

“Time to go down,” Artur stated, checking his watch. “Everyone should be here by now.”

Oh, thank you, Lord. Saved by the bell.

I scurried out of the room quickly, trying to avoid that determined look in Daniil’s eyes.

“You sure you’re okay?” Ember asked quietly.

I took the opportunity given and wrapped my arm through hers. “Just stay next to me and I will be.”

Her eyes widened, but she nodded. “Alrighty.”

The entire family descended the stairs, and I felt like a girl coming out with everyone below in their finest tuxes and dresses milling around, only to stop and stare up at us. Swiftly, all of their eyes landed on me. And my belly. I took a deep breath, and muttered, “I’m huge. Like a whale.”

Ember chuckled. “And you’re only going to get bigger.”

I snorted. “Thanks.”

She shrugged, her arm solid underneath mine, keeping me steady. “You’re welcome. I’m always the bearer of good tidings.”

I chuckled at that because she so wasn’t. “Talk to Dr. Wisser yet?” She and Grigori had planned to speak with him about their options since Ember had difficulty becoming pregnant.

She nodded. “I start Clomid treatments next week. It’s how I got pregnant with Nikki and Beth, so I’m hopeful, but the doctor seemed to have a reservation because of my,” she cleared her throat, “advanced age.”

I chuckled even harder. Ember wasn’t even thirty-five yet. “I’m sure he’ll get you two all set.” I grinned. “At least, you two get to have sex.”

Ember chuckled at that, both of us landing at the bottom of the stairs. “Yep. And you’re abstinent for a few months.” She patted my arm. “Good luck with that.”

“Wicked redheaded bitch,” I muttered behind a fake smile, as people came up to greet us.

“Crazy preggo bitch,” she answered in kind, plastering a smile on her face just as fake as mine.

Daniil stopped behind me, resting a hand possessively, and a little tightly, on the back of my neck. Yep. He wasn’t pleased. Oh, well. There wasn’t much I could currently do about that. Now, I wanted to figure out who had killed all of my bodyguards and then kidnapped me.

Fun times.

Two hours later, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much as I met so many damn Russians my head was swimming. The house was packed, but I had yet to meet anyone who I thought might have gassed everyone in a church. Not that I wouldn’t put it past most of these people since they were like… No, they were, the grand total of the Russian mob, which I was sure was giving the US a full freak out. I was pretty sure I heard the word FBI and CIA a few times in reference to the reporters that surrounded the property. I guess we had a few more guests keeping tabs than our normal around here.

Daniil had only left my side twice, and that was when he had gotten drinks for us, and now was the third time. Grigori was standing guard by my side, and I had been keeping tabs on Merc this whole while. He was here with my family, standing next to Katie, who was leaning against Artur—whoa, more surprises—and signing with my mom. I really wanted to talk with him because I noticed the glance he gave Eva at one point…who was studiously ignoring Stash, where he stood clear across the room, speaking with Zane and Brent. It was like a game of Clue—who done it. Or, rather, who done whom?

“I’ll be back in just a second,” I told Grigori, already moving away from him. “Bathroom calls.” Hell, he should believe that. I peed all the damn time now.

He nodded, sipping his drink, but I felt his eyes on me as I moved toward Merc. I was short, so everyone hid me after a certain point. I yanked Merc’s hand, jerking my head toward the hallway. His eyebrows rose, and my mom sputtered for a minute, but I shushed her and pulled Merc behind me. I wound our way through endless hallways and tons of people, and finally opened the door to the music room.

I pulled him inside and glanced up and around, finding the cameras and placing my back to them. I could hear people talking outside the door I had shut, so I hurried and started signing, “You slept with Eva.”

His eyebrows rose, and he signed back, “And?”

I scowled, signing, “You said you never sleep with hearing people.”

He sighed, nodding, but slowly, he grinned. It was a little naughty, and he shrugged, signing, “It was only a few times. She wanted nothing serious. I wanted nothing serious. It was just sex.”

I waited for a second and signed, “You don’t want anything more from her?”

He shook his head. “It was just sex.” He grinned again, and signed, “Good sex.”

I chuckled then. “Oh, I’ll never let you live that down.”

His grin widened. “I may try it again if she wants it.”

My chuckle died off. “Merc…I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

He cocked his head. “Why?”

I bit my lip and stared at my belly.

He lifted my chin lightly with his fingers, making me look into his eyes. His dark eyes scanned mine, and he signed, “She’s already with someone?”

I nodded, and started signing in a hurry, “It won’t bother you?”

He shook his head, signing, “I told you we were only having sex for the pleasure of it. Nothing more.”

I grinned. “Can you keep a secret?”

He nodded, his smirk mischievous.

“It’s not like you could tell anyone here,” I signed, laughing, and his shoulders shook. “All right. I walked in on her tonight.” I made the gestures grand. “Fucking! She didn’t see me, but she and…” I leaned forward, “she and Stash were going at it.” I fanned myself. “It was pretty damn hot. And I think it’s been going on for some time.” I paused. “Daniil is going to want to know, but,” I paused, “he’s her dad. And dads can be scary, as it is. Daniil’s the scariest dad out there. I think her and Stash might have a chance if no one bothers them. What should I do?”

Merc stood there thumping his leg with his thumb and finally shook his head, signing, “Don’t lie to him. That’s never the option.”

I sighed, knowing he would say that. I hugged him, and pushed him toward the door, signing, “You always know what’s right.”

He grinned, walking backward toward the door. “You know, I don’t always do what’s right. Now that I’ve had sex with a hearing person,” his grinned widened, “if you weren’t taken, I always thought…” He stopped abruptly, his smile dropping as he stared over my shoulder.

I stilled and ever so slowly turned to the side.

Daniil and Grigori stood in the room right outside a damn hidden door. Grigori’s face was blank, but Daniil’s eyebrows rose, and he stared at Merc, saying and signing at the same time in a lazy motion, “Oh, please. Do continue what you were going to say.”

I turned toward Merc, and signed, “Get the fuck out.”

Mercs jaw hardened, and he looked past me, signing, “I was only joking around. We’ve been friends since we were small. She knew I was kidding.”

“Wonderful,” Daniil stated, walking forward slowly, talking, and signing. “Now, do as she said and get the fuck out.”

“Daniil,” I hissed. “He was only kidding.” Hell, everyone here knew that.

Daniil’s calm broke, and he yelled and signed at the same time, “Whether he was joking or not, it doesn’t mean that I want to fucking see it. Have you already forgotten how my wife had behaved?”

I blinked, realizing I had scared him. Glancing at Merc, I signed, “You need to go.”

He nodded, signing, “I’m sorry. I meant no disrespect. That won’t happen again.”

“Just go,” Daniil yelled.

Merc nodded again, and left quickly, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Daniil took in a deep breath and glanced at Grigori, who was still standing there quietly. “Did you catch all of that?”

Mutely, Grigori nodded.

“Then go keep an eye on,” he hissed, “Stash.” He paused. “But don’t make it obvious. I want to find out how the fucker got past my security system.”

“With pleasure,” Grigori muttered, quickly exiting the room through the hidden door.

I stood there, not really knowing what to do. Daniil was furious. And all because of some previous baggage. Not to mention, he had eavesdropped on my private conversation with Merc. I wasn’t sure if I should feel bad or pissed. I was a little of both.

Daniil and I stood, staring at one another.

He was silent, using that as his weapon.

Which worked damn well. I couldn’t take the silence. I stated slowly, “I’m not her. You’ve already said that before. Don’t expect me to do things that she did. You are more than enough for me.” I paused, and ground out, “Which means you need to have a little fucking trust in me, and not go around sneaking into rooms when I’m having a private fucking discussion.”

His jaw set. And stayed that way, his nose crinkling as he stared at the door Merc had gone through.

I muttered, “Daniil. I don’t want him that way. He’s only a friend.” Jealousy really didn’t suit him.

He turned back to me, growling, “Do you know how many women have hit on me tonight? I’ve lost track with how many numbers I’ve had thrown away. And while I ignore every single one of them, because I’m not fucking interested, you run off the first chance you get and drag a man into an empty room. What the hell was I supposed to think?”

That stopped me. And, really, I only heard one part of it. I practically exploded, shouting, “Which fucking woman gave you her damn number?” I started marching toward the door, pointing back at him. “Tell me right now!”

Daniil blinked, and suddenly, he lunged, grabbing me by the shoulders. He jerked me back when I had almost made it to the door. I felt myself panting as a dangerous, possessive feeling crept inside me, practically boiling my brain. I screamed, “Who the fuck hit on you?”

“Shh… Shit, I’m sorry, my sweet.” Daniil tried to calm me, wrapping me in his arms. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said that. Calm down.”

“I. Will. Not. Calm. Down!” I punctuated each hiss with a jab to his hard chest. “Some damn bitch out there,” I paused, and restated, “Multiple bitches think they can take what’s mine. Just tell me which ones! I’ll take care of them.” Oh, hell yes, I would.

Daniil made an odd gurgling sound in his throat, but he quickly cleared it, leaning back and shaking my shoulders a little, but so help me, his fucking lips twitched. “Now do you see what jealousy can do to someone?”

I already had my mouth open to yell some more, but I made a funny noise instead, trying to stop myself. I slowly shut it, remembering that trick my mom had taught me. I closed my eyes. Counted to ten. Then, twenty. Ah, hell, I counted to a hundred. Then, I was able to open my eyes and speak halfway rationally. I still muttered, “You’ll point out at least one of them to me.” And I said it because I had to. “And I’m not her, so don’t expect me to act like it.”

He nodded once curtly, murmuring, “I’m sorry. But, it may take a little time.” He paused, and said, “And I don’t think it’s a good idea to show you any of them. They only hit on me. That doesn’t deserve a dagger in the back.”

He started herding me out of the room.

I muttered, “Says who?”

Daniil chuckled. “No one deserves anything in their back. If you’re going to do it, do it right. Make sure they can see your face before you put the hurt on them.”

I snorted, knowing he was joking…and also not joking. “Mary was right. You are a funny man.”

“Mary is a very wise young lady,” Daniil gestured grandly, opening the door for me. “Try not to run off again and make me worry.”

I grinned and winked. “If only I were a good, sweet preacher’s daughter, maybe I could do that.”

Daniil growled low, wrapping his arms around me from behind as we walked along everyone, their stares on us. “Luckily for me, I’ve caught one.”

“Preacher’s daughter, yes,” I whispered. “Except, I’m not all that good and sweet.” I reached back between our bodies and cupped him.

He groaned, and muttered under his breath, “Think of Papa. Think of Papa.” Too bad I felt him growing hard against my hand. I decided to give him a break, and released my hold on him, and patted his hip. And I watched out for any woman hitting on my man.

By the end of the evening, we were all back in the music room. I was exhausted. I had spent two more grueling hours, not only looking for the fucks I wanted to kill, but also ‘accidently’ spilling drinks on at least six women who I had finally been observant enough to see try to pass off fucking notes to Daniil. The last lady, I had just grabbed the note from her, read it, then slammed the damn ‘Come hither’ note into her own drink, and told her to fuck off. Daniil had found this all very amusing, of course.

Well, until some idiot had actually hit on me. With Daniil right there.

That didn’t go over well. How anyone could hit on me while I was as big as a whale was beyond me, but a few points in my favor was the guy was sexy fine. And young. Two things Daniil didn’t like so much. Needless to say, the gentleman was no longer in the house. Or probably, the country by now. Hopefully, he wasn’t scratching at a wooden box six feet under.

I sat tuckered out watching Roman play on the piano while Mary sat next to him, facing out toward everyone, singing one of her heartbreaking songs. Daniil had finagled that one somehow. It probably had to do with the fact that Mary had illegally imbibed—she had only turned twenty while I was ‘away’—in some spirits and was feeling giving at the moment. She wasn’t drunk, but she was tipsy. It was a small blessing my aunt hadn’t noticed.

All of Daniil’s family from Russia was sitting around us, along with everyone from Lion Security that was here, and my family, and Daniil’s so I rested my head on his shoulder.

Oh, and the fuckers who had kidnapped me were here in this room.

I had figured it out in the last half hour of our rounds with everyone. I was pretty sure Daniil had saved them for last on purpose. I recognized their voices first. And then, the woman’s eyes. They were hazel, a greenish brown color. She was stunningly beautiful. I was oddly at peace knowing they were here in this room with us.

Probably because I knew they would be dead by the end of the night.

I waited, pushing back those memories of my bodyguards dying, of everything they had done to me and had planned to do to me. I merely waited for the right time, resting against Daniil. He was so damn warm and strong. It felt…perfect. I felt at peace. I was where I wanted to be.

Mary finished her third song, and as everyone applauded like normal, she bumped Roman’s shoulder, saying, “You’re not so bad.”

I couldn’t see what he said since he leaned over, whispering in her ear, but she blinked, and her mouth dropped open a little, just for a heartbeat, and then she snapped it shut and smiled out at the audience. I chuckled quietly, whispering, “Ten bucks says that was inappropriate.”

Daniil chuckled right along with me, and whispered against my short curls, “Are you trying to rob me? I know that was inappropriate. He is my son, after all.”

I laughed outright.

God only knows what Daniil had taught his kids growing up about the finer art of seduction.

I glanced at Stash where he stood against the wall next to Zane, damn covertly, watching Eva who was being flirted with by Merc. I almost chuckled. Merc knew what he was doing. He was only having a little fun with her at Stash’s expense. I leaned over, whispering, “You aren’t going to kill Stash or anything, are you?” He had better not try that. I’d have some major words for him if he even considered it.

Daniil glanced at him, then at Grigori, who stood next to Zane, still keeping a close eye on Stash, but not acting as if anything was different. “She’s my daughter.”

I nodded. “Touch him, and you’re going to be in big trouble with me.” I cleared my throat, and whispered even quieter, “You didn’t see them together. They were…different. Not like they normally are.” I raised my hand, palm facing down, and then turned it quickly so my palm was facing up. “It’s like they flipped. The roles were reversed. He may be the only man capable of handling her.” She was a damn strong woman, but in bed with Stash, he wore the pants.

Or not…whatever.

Daniil’s jaw clenched, and he muttered, “I’m not sure I wanted to know that.”

Mary started singing again, and I shrugged. “I told you so you won’t hurt him.”

He sighed and, again, glanced at Stash, who was trying for his normal calm as Merc sat down beside Eva. Stash wasn’t doing so well. Or maybe it was because I knew what to look for. Daniil mumbled half-heartedly, “I won’t hurt him. For now.”

I patted Daniil’s leg, and settled in and listened to Mary and Roman as they created beauty music together.

One more song down, Daniil patted my leg and readjusted me as he stood, clapping along with everyone else. He walked over to them, helped Mary up, and patted Roman’s shoulder. They left the piano bench, and Roman was definitely on the prowl because he sat on the arm of the couch that Mary sat on, leaning back with his tux jacket undone, showcasing his body to full advantage. I almost laughed. Mary was in over her head, and she didn’t even realize it. Whether it be a quick tumble or something more, it looked like Roman was now in the chase.

“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Daniil stated loudly, shushing the applause for Roman and Mary. Daniil smiled at everyone, leaning back on the piano calm and composed. He lifted his hand and motioned for me to get up. “Beth, come and stand by me.”

I sighed and rose—albeit a little awkwardly because of my big belly—then plastered on a smile as I waved at everyone around the room. Daniil shook his head at me, seeing the falseness in my attempt at courtesy. He wrapped his arms around me and said to the room at large, “I’m very lucky to have my Beth. She’s the woman I was meant for.” He kissed my forehead softly, and then glanced back out our audience. “And someone very recently tried to take her and our unborn children away from me.”

The room’s occupants that spoke Russian all exploded into…well, Russian. They shook their fists in the air and yelled out things I was only beginning to understand from language lessons. Daniil lifted a hand from my stomach, holding it up in a shushing gesture. “Yes. I know.” His tone had changed, getting quieter. More deadly. I glanced up at him and saw his smile had vanished. No goodwill there.

Brutal utter death peered out. And slowly, he turned his head to the two people in the room who had kidnapped me, and he stated quietly into the silence, “I know.”

Suddenly, all of the guards in the room took a step to their left or right, depending on where they stood in the room, strategically placing themselves almost in a circle around the couple. They stopped moving altogether, utterly still in their seats.

It was Daniil’s sister-in-law from his marriage to Olya. And her husband.

Daniil cleared his throat, and he stated softly, “Valentina, it would be wise to have my niece leave the room.” He looked at the girl who was around twenty and more Goth than Ember and Grigori combined. “Inna, please leave.”

I felt for her. I really did. But I could also tell that her father, the man who had taken me abused her. She wore white make-up over her naturally tan skin, her eyes done in black, enough to make Marilyn Manson proud. It still wasn’t enough to cover the bruising on one side of her face. It was healing, but it was too purple to not be noticeable. And then there was the way she flinched from the man. That was enough.

Inna glanced at the guards surrounding her parents. She wasn’t stupid. The girl turned her attention to me, and she said softly, “I believe I’d like to stay for this.” Damn. She was so timid. Not to mention tiny. She was even smaller than I was—when I wasn’t pregnant, that is. She had an iron will. I could see that now in her eyes.

“What’s going on?” my mom asked quietly into the silence.

Daniil glanced down at me, raising his eyebrows, giving me the opportunity to explain.

“Mom. Dad. You might want to take our family out of here.” I jerked my head at the two who were surrounded. “They’re the fucks who kidnapped me.” I stared my dad right in the eye. “And I’m going to take care of it tonight, so please leave.”

Dad stared right back.

Not the preacher.

Not the man.

But my dad stared right back into my eyes.

A fury was buried deep within his gaze I had never seen before as he turned his attention to them…but he glanced at my mom and quickly stood, jerking her to her feet before she lunged out of the chair at the couple. Yep. I knew I had been right on that score. Having a hard time keeping my mom contained, dad muttered, “We’ll be outside.” He jerked his head at the door to my aunts and cousins. “Help me with her.” He really was having one hell of a time. I had never seen my mom react like that. Never.

My aunts Susan, Rebecca, and Ella all tore their equally furious gazes from the surrounded couple and jumped to help dad. My uncles even muscled into action to help. Katie left the room swiftly, looking decidedly ill.

But Mary…

I raised my eyebrows at her, and she shook her head, turning her attention back to what was going on with the fuckers. Ah. This was one of those times Mary was older than her age. She knew this was an execution, and she wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, she patted the seat next to her, ignoring how Roman didn’t move a damn muscle from where he was beside her as she beckoned Daniil’s niece to come and sit by her.

That was an odd duo. Colorful Mary sitting next to Goth Inna.

The early stages of a tiny uproar were beginning with Daniil’s family from Russia. I couldn’t understand them completely, but I got the gist of it. They were asking if Daniil was positive about this. Apparently, they didn’t believe Valentina was capable of such an act. They all knew her and loved her. Although they did point their finger at her husband, Bogdan.

They all thought he was capable of it.

Daniil raised his hand again, shushing them and shaking his head. “Oh, no. Valentina played a part in it.” He glanced down at me. “You recognized her, did you not?”

I nodded. “Her eyes and her voice.” I jerked my head at Bogdan. “And his nose is crooked because I smashed it with the trunk.” I grinned. Fucker.

Valentina started to argue very prettily, but Daniil made a gesture with his hand, and one of the bodyguards moved. He gagged her for lack of a better word. And her pretty words stopped. I grinned again. Fuckerette.

Daniil stated to the room at large, “Beth was singing this song that was repeatedly played while she was in captivity. You tell me if you do not believe it was Valentina after you hear this.” He placed me aside and sat down at the piano and started playing that fucking song.

I couldn’t take more than a few chords of it, and I lunged, grabbing his hands. “Stop. Please.”

He nodded, swiftly standing and holding me tight again. “Now. Does anyone have any arguments?”

Valentina’s parents stood. Daniil’s previous in-laws.

They literally spit in the direction of their daughter and her husband. They said a few harsh words in Russian, which I understood for ‘stupid girl’ before they turned and left the room.

Shocked. I was shocked. I didn’t think they would have just left their daughter. I glanced up at Daniil. He must be one scary motherfucker in Russia. Quietly, still a little stunned, I asked, “What song is that, anyway?”

Daniil shook his head, saying quietly, “She plays music as well. That song is one that she created herself. Only a few CDs were ever made. And only given to those who she was friends with.”

Oh, yeah. Stupid fuckerette.

I took a deep breath in and released him, holding out my hand. His gun. I wanted his gun before all of the damn memories bombarded me, and I wasn’t able to walk over there. That fucking song had almost pushed them up and out. I needed the damn gun. And fast.

He reached behind his back and pulled his gun out slowly, whispering, “Beth, my sweet. I can do this for you.” No one was paying us much mind, although a few of the women were leaving the room, and one or two men were also leaving, not wanting to watch, but doing nothing to stop it.

I shook my head hard and damn if a few tears didn’t roll down my cheeks. Six to be exact. Six for each of those men they had slaughtered in cold blood.

I whispered harshly, “Eye for an eye.”

Daniil’s lips thinned, but he nodded, placing the gun in my hand. He tried again, “It’s all right if you can’t do this. I understand. Not everyone can take a life so easily.”

I shook my head. “They would be put on death row for what they’ve done from just what I saw. I can’t ask someone else to do this if I can’t do it myself.” I wiggled my hand holding the gun since he still had his hand on top of it. “Give me the fucking gun.”

Still, he didn’t budge, saying, “You won’t be the same after this. You’ve killed a man before, but that was to get free while you were kidnapped. That’s different than this.” He bent down, capturing my attention since I had been staring at the gun. “Beth, this is different. Let me handle it for you.”

My jaw clenched.

I really thought about what he was saying. Nerves rushed me.

And…I almost gave in. I almost let him do it.

But staring into those fiercely beautiful brown eyes, I saw another pair of brown eyes.

My guard. Trofim’s dark gaze forever gone because two cowards decided it. Like a simple selection between buying orange juice or apple juice. A person’s life should be worth more than that. Their memory should be worth more than me backing down from giving him justice. Albeit, also illegally, but if we went through the proper channels…well, the outcome would be the same. Just a different timeframe and by a different hand.

“Trofim deserves better than me being a coward.” I jerked on my hand with the gun. “I was there. I saw them kill each and every one of my…” I choked and cleared my throat, “…my bodyguards. Now. Give. Me. The. Damn. Gun.”

Daniil eyes darted all over my face, and slowly, he nodded, standing up straight. His thumb clicked the safety off before he took his hand away. The room was silent now, everyone watching our interaction. I took a fortifying breath, willing myself not to break down into tears. All I could see for a moment was Trofim. On the resort, chasing me through the hotel. Ordering my food. In that damn Bermuda outfit on the boat, watching over me. Teaching me Russian words when he was supposed to be working. But, always protecting me.

His head splattered open on the floor of my dad’s church.

His blood and brain matter…all over. Like his life.

I blinked and turned toward Valentina and Bogdan. The guards had already made sure they weren’t armed, and they were now standing against the wall reminding me of prisoners being lined up execution style. Because it was.

Slowly, I walked toward them with Daniil at my side. The guards opened their ranks to let us into the circle. I wasn’t going to drag this out. I asked Valentina bluntly, “You wanted Daniil’s children. Why?”

She was past pleading for her life, and she held her chin up high. “He got my sister killed. I wanted to take something from him as he did me.”

I shook my head, leaning forward, and stated quietly, “Your sister was a whore. That’s what got her killed.” I leaned back, watching her face alter to furious. “Do you have any last words?”

Her lips thinned. “I wouldn’t say them to Daniil’s only whore even if I wished to.”

Her implication was clear. “That’s pathetic.” I took two steps forward so I wouldn’t miss. “Enjoy Hell.”

My hand only shook slightly as I raised it quickly. I thought of those six guards, hoping they were watching this as I pulled the trigger. The jerk in my arm shocked me. I had never fired a gun before. I grunted, taking the blow with my weakened muscles from not having enough food for two months. My muscles were only just back to decent strength.

I had been close enough not to miss.

Valentina’s eyes were forever huge on her face, a thin line of blood trailing down between her perfect black eyebrows from the tiny bullet hole in the middle of her forehead as her dead body tilted, and then slid down the wall.

I quickly stepped back, lowering the gun so she didn’t fall on me. Feeling the blood on my face freaked me a little, but I wouldn’t ruin my bodyguards’ memory by screaming and running away. Instead, I yanked on my ear because I couldn’t hear very well, and turned to Daniil asking, “Do you have a napkin or something?”

I probably yelled it, and he was watching me like a fucking hawk, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. I snatched it, wiping my face off as I moved over to Bogdan. I really just wanted to get this done as soon as possible, but he deserved the same as her. I asked in what I hoped was a quiet voice, “Why did you do it?”

His eyes were huge on his face, but he sneered, “My wife said that if she didn’t decide to kill you after you had the kids, I could keep you as a pet.”

I had stared at his lips, only faintly hearing him. I was positive that was what he had said. I gritted my teeth, feeling Daniil vibrating behind me. I raised my gun and aimed. “Do you have any last words?”

“I should have fucked you when—” Last words were overrated.

I pulled the trigger, bracing myself better this time.

I still grunted at the way it jarred my shoulder. This shot hadn’t been so clean since I had been in a hurry. His nose was split open where the bullet had gone in. But he was still dead as he fell to the ground. I stepped back and banged into Daniil.

Quickly, I wiped the blood from my face. Daniil took the gun from me, immediately wrapping his other arm around my waist. I didn’t realize I was shaking until I had something sturdy to hold onto. I kept my sight away from the bodies but really hoped I had served those who died for me well.

But that didn’t mean I could look at the dead bodies. I could only do so much.

I couldn’t hear a damn thing, but I felt Daniil’s chest vibrating against my head, so I looked up and saw him saying something to the guards. Finishing quickly—the guards were removing the bodies—Daniil looked down at me and took the handkerchief from my hand, and started wiping my face, getting the places I had missed. When he was done, his gaze darted all over my face, and then his eyes met mine. Perhaps it was sick of me, but I loved that I saw pride and tenderness in his gaze.

I was startled to hear cheers around the room with my name at the heart of them. I jumped as my hearing came back, turning in Daniil’s arms and peeking around him. My core was shaken, but it was even more rattled seeing his family—the ones who had remained in the room—standing and yelling with their fists in the air for what I had done. Wide-eyed, I turned my gaze back to Daniil, “What are they yelling?”

My ears still rang, but I heard him clearly when he said softly, “They’re welcoming you to the family.” He looked a little guilty. “When you kill your first…,” he paused, considering the word, “…traitor…you’re officially one of us.”

I blinked stupidly. My. God.

“You want me to sneak you out the hidden door?” he asked with a small smile lifting his lips, obviously gauging my reaction correctly.

I shook my head slowly. No. This was his family. I wouldn’t stay long, but I needed to be by Daniil’s side right now. Not because he needed me, but because I needed him. Taking someone’s life, even if justified, wasn’t a nerve-settling act. It was a gut-wrenching act that should never be taken lightly.

I clung to Daniil’s arm as he walked into the cheering people. I stayed there and accepted their hugs and kisses, but I couldn’t muster up a smile. I just nodded when I needed to and hoped I would be able to sleep tonight, and hoped I had made the right choice by choosing to do it myself.

Daniil handled my parents and aunts and uncles while I trudged up to bed after I had killed two people. Mary had been as somber as I was, staying by my side for most of the remainder of the evening as Daniil’s family proceeded to really get the party started after the corpses had been carried out. Inna…God, help her…she had hugged me the longest. Daniil had offered her a room here, and she accepted. I think she was now getting comfortable in the room across the hall from Eva.

My mom tried to talk with me, but I… I just didn’t want to discuss the finer details that she wanted to know. Her bloodthirsty eyes took in any little blood splatter I had missed or that had stained my outfit. I planned to burn this dress as soon as daylight broke tomorrow, and I wasn’t so weary. Dad only hugged me, saying I could talk to him anytime I needed to, a little of the preacher peeking out in him.

After that, I left, my ten bodyguards following me. I still hadn’t formally greeted them. I understood now why Daniil rarely ever talked with his. If you do, you become personally invested in them, and you feel responsible for them when they are there to take the bullet for you, not the other way around. One day, I knew I would break down and talk with them. If they were offering up their lives for me, it was the least I could do.

I merely needed a little more time.

I shut the door to our room, seeing the guards take up their stance around the door before closing it, and made my way through the living room into our bedroom. I was tempted to fall headlong into bed, but I wanted the dress off. I stripped, dropping the dress to the floor after ripping the damn thing to get it off. Yanking open the door to the dresser, I had to steady the picture frame on top of it because I jerked it too hard, pulling out a thin cotton nightgown that I had bought for my biggest days to come, wanting something comfortable. I tore off my bra and underwear, putting on the nightgown. And stopped, staring at the dress and undergarments on the floor that was soiled with my kidnapper's blood.

I rushed to the toilet and promptly puked up my guts.

And I sobbed over the toilet.

I was no hardened killer. Their faces flashed in front of me, but at the same time, six others took their place. And then, my own personal Hell flashed in front of my eyes.

I caught myself singing as I cried.

I shut my mouth immediately, knowing I was a little fucked in the head.

Time. I just needed to give it a little time. Their deaths and my own ordeal had been eradicated. Now, I only needed to heal like I had been doing.

I took a shuddering breath in, and wiped my face off, flushing the toilet and standing. I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the sink, and then glanced up at myself in the mirror. My dripping face in the mirror was pale and terrified. I hoped I hadn’t looked like this while his family had been congratulating me. But who knows. Maybe this was how most people looked after offing someone.

I blinked, my eyes focusing, and noticed what was behind me in the mirror.

Or more like someone was behind me.

I shouted, and jerked around, wiping my face off as I stumbled out of the bathroom.

In the shower, I could have sworn I had seen hair peeking out from behind the wall.

And…my cousin, Katie, stepped out of the shower, following me into the bedroom.

My heart slowed down, and I asked, “Katie, what are you doing in here? You scared the shit out of me!” I wiped my face off, flicking the water away. “What the hell?”

I rubbed my eyes when she didn’t respond.

My brows snapped together when her right hand lifted. Holding a gun.

I froze, asking slowly, “Why do you have a gun, Katie?” I tore my eyes away from the weapon to look at her face. My attention stayed trapped there. “Katie, what are you doing?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” she hissed. “I’m sure Valentina blabbed all about me.”

I blinked, seeing something I had never seen before in her eyes. Hate. Pure, unadulterated hate for me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Calmly, I added, “Katie, why don’t you put the gun down. We can talk about whatever you want to. Without the gun.”

“Bullshit!” she barked, taking a step toward me.

I skittered back.

“I know they talked. They would have loved to tell you.”

I stayed mute, wondering if I could make a run out of the bedroom before she did something insane. “What would they have told me, Katie?” Best to keep her talking for right now since she was watching me with crazy eyes.

She snorted, taking another step forward. “Oh, please. Don’t start with that bull. You already know.”

I shook my head slowly. “No. No, I don’t.”

Slowly, it clicked. Katie had brought in the gift that had been supposedly left outside for me. Valentina and Bogdan knowing that Daniil’s kids were there. Where we were exactly. It had been a planned attack with them getting into the ventilation system like that, knowing the layout. Oh, God.

“No, Katie.” I shook my head, moving back farther into the room as she advanced. “Why? God, why would you do this? I love you! You love me! Why would you do this?”

She pulled a cigarette pack out of her pocket even as she raised the gun, pulling a cigarette out with her teeth and tossing the pack on the bed. “You don’t mind, do you?” She pulled a lighter out of her pocket, lighting her cigarette, not waiting for my answer. She waved the gun she had pointed at me toward the bed. “Sit down. It’ll make this easier.”

I sat slowly as she puffed on her cigarette, and froze…there was someone in the closet. I didn’t look too closely because it was Artur. He was texting from the quick glance I had, the white light of his phone shining on his face, illuminating it before he shut it. I scooted back slowly on the bed as Katie bent over, ashing into the little clay bowl on the nightstand Daniil used for spare change he had in his pockets.

Katie cocked the gun and aimed it directly at my chest, instead of in my general direction, and opened her mouth to speak. Artur heard the sound, and made his presence known then, stepping out into the light of the room, cocking his own gun, it already aimed at her. She jerked, thankfully not shooting me, taking a quick glance at who had snuck up on her.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?”

Artur drawled, “I could ask you the same thing.” He snapped his fingers at me with his free hand. “Get over here, Elizabeth.”

“Don’t move,” Katie shouted, her attention swinging back to me. “Don’t you fucking move!”

“Okay,” I said slowly. My heart was in my throat, and I felt like puking again with all of these guns being waved around by people I loved. I wasn’t sure which I hated more. Katie aiming a gun at me…or Artur aiming a gun at Katie. “Katie, why are you doing this? This won’t end well for you.”

Again, she didn’t answer me, her attention going back to Artur.

Daniil slipped into the bedroom, breathless, but slowly moving closer to Katie. He didn’t have a gun drawn, but his eyes encompassed everything, and his expression didn’t bode well for her.

Katie hadn’t even noticed his entrance. She hissed at Artur, “Put the fucking gun away. You know you aren’t going to shoot me.” She smirked and took a drag off her cigarette. “We had sex. Men like you don’t shoot someone you had sex with.”

I kept my attention firmly off Daniil and watched Artur shrug, his attention also off his dad while he said bluntly, “You’re a decent lay, but you were only a job. I’ve been watching you since I first saw your file. Anyone with as much debt as you have would be a threat. The weak link, so to speak. And I will shoot you. You weren’t that good of a fuck.”

Katie’s face had turned furious at the beginning, and her grip on her gun faltered at the end.

That was when Daniil struck.

I ducked, rolling in on myself as Daniil slammed into her back, grabbing her arm with the gun. The gun went off as I felt them hit the bed where my legs used to be. I peered up seeing the gunshot in the wall above our bed, and then down to Daniil ripping the gun away from her, and handing it off to Artur as she kicked and screamed under him. Daniil had her contained in less than two seconds, even if still squalling loud enough to be heard over the new ringing in my ears. That’s all it had taken.

I shouted over her, “What the fuck is going on with her?” I glanced at Artur since he seemed to have the most information. “Answer me!”

Daniil yanked her off the bed, none-to-damn-gently, and handed her off to one of the bodyguards that were filing into the room. Artur glanced at his dad, his expression hooded, and Daniil sighed heavily and turned to me, sitting down slowly on the bed. He pulled me into his arms as I watched Katie being drug out of the room, and he slowly began to speak, “When your family showed up at the resort, I had a profile ran on all of them. Katie’s came back with all the classic signs of someone who might accept bribes. I asked Artur to watch over her while we were there,” he glanced at his son, “although, I did not tell him to sleep with her.”

I blinked, feeling really fucking lost.

Artur shrugged, a small smile lifting his lips. “After the money showed up in her account, I needed an in.” He shrugged, putting his gun away. “She offered. I accepted. In accomplished.”

“Anyway,” Daniil growled, shaking his head at his son, and turning back to me. “I also asked Ember to watch over you at the resort since Katie had stayed with you that one night.”

“Ember slept in my damn room,” I muttered.

Daniil nodded, still giving dagger looks every so often to Artur. “She helped watched over you there. And the rest is hit or miss. There was fifty thousand dollars placed into her account the day before you were taken. It was cash so we couldn’t trace it. That’s when Artur really started,” he cleared his throat, “watching her. We know she gave you the mask. Although, since your father doesn’t have cameras in his church, we didn’t know if it was really left as she stated. We continued watching her. I even gently questioned her. But she never gave any indication that she knew where you were or even that she was a part of it, saying the money came from a generous benefactor in her escort business, which could have been true.” He shrugged. “We had to wait and see if she was a real threat.”

Artur snorted. “She gave it away when you pegged Valentina and Bogdan in the music room. She couldn’t wait to get out of there.”

I shook my head, burrowing into Daniil. “That still doesn’t explain why she did it.”

Daniil nodded, pulling my chin up to look into my eyes. “Do you want me to find out? Or do you want to talk to her?”

Honestly, I didn’t want to be in the same room with her after seeing how much she hated me, but I couldn’t just let someone else find out for me. She was my damn cousin. My responsibility. “I’ll do it.”

Daniil nodded, glancing at Artur. “Call the police. Inform them there’s been an attempt on Elizabeth’s life.”

Right then and there, I fell in love with him all over again. He hadn’t brought a gun out earlier. He hadn’t used lethal force on her when he could have. And, even now, he was going the legal way about this with the police. Because I loved her.

“I love you,” I whispered, kissing his cheek, and moving off the bed. “I have no clue how we’re going to keep her from talking about what I did tonight to Valentina and Bogdan.”

Daniil grabbed my hips, instantly stating in a business manner, “She wasn’t in the room. The surveillance has already been wiped tonight. Just state that they ran, dumping Inna here with us once they found out we knew they were the kidnappers.” He paused and nodded. “Their car is gone, and so are their bodies. Everyone will believe they just fled as far as they could. I’ll inform Inna and Mary of what they need to say if questioned. My kids will know to keep their mouths shut.”

I nodded slowly. This was a lot of fucking effort to do legally. “Okay. You go and talk to everyone, and I’ll go and talk to Katie.” I glanced at Artur. “Will you come with me?” I knew the guards were in there…but, damn, there had been a lot of hate in her eyes.

His lips lifted in a gentle smile. “Only if you promise those are boys inside your body.”

I blinked. “Not you too.”

He lifted his hands and shrugged. “I am my father’s son.”

Daniil snorted. “Get your ass in there with her, son.”

“Why?” I asked, staring deeply into her furious eyes.

Katie glared and hissed, “Think, Elizabeth. Really think.”

I was at a loss. I shook my head. “I don’t know, Katie. This doesn’t make any sense to me.” I waved my hand up and down her body, where she was being restrained by two of my guards. “You attacking me? Wanting to kill me? That makes no sense to me at all.”

She snorted. “You are so selfish that it doesn’t surprise me.”

I crossed my arms over my nightgown. Waiting.

Her faced flushed red in anger. “Daniil fucking killed my ex-boyfriend!” Her eyes were wide in fury. “I know he hurt you, Elizabeth, but I loved him. I did. He only had ten years left on his sentence.”

My expression went blank. “A poppy seed killed him.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

I grimaced, and my lips thinned. “Maybe.”

She shook her head. “Again, bullshit.”

Yes, it was bullshit. I didn’t doubt for one second that Daniil had caused his death.

My voice was small, deep hurt clenching my heart. “Was he really worth having me killed over? Your own flesh and blood? Someone who has loved you forever—no matter what?”

Her jaw clenched. “They offered me money. And your death would hurt Daniil in the process.” She stared straight into my eyes. “And I want him to hurt. To hurt just as bad as I do.”

Tears burned my eyes, and I took a step closer to Artur. “I just can’t believe this.” I shook my head in confusion. “I really can’t. I love you, Katie.”

My cousin didn’t even flinch. “How bad did you want to kill those people tonight for hurting you, for killing your friend?”

I could only blink repeatedly, trying to keep my tears at bay.

She lifted her chin, staring down her nose at me. “It was no different, Elizabeth. I feel the same way about Daniil.”

I shoved my hands into the air. “But that meant you would have to kill me!”

“I know. That was unfortunate.”

My hands slowly lowered back to my sides. “You truly feel that way.”

Katie merely raised a brow. “He was the love of my life.”

I swallowed hard and gently shook my head. “So much death.”

She snorted. “That’s what you get when you sleep with the devil, my cousin.”

“But I never expected it from my own family,” I growled, stepping closer to her. Artur instantly put a stopping hand on my shoulder, keeping me a safe distance from the threat. “Never my goddamn family.”

Katie shrugged, but her eyes were so full hate. “Family is what took him away from me.”

I stopped breathing for a second, my heart pounding in my ear with her truth. My brows creased. “If I had known you still had real feelings for him—”

“What? You would have asked your baby daddy to not kill him?” She grunted. “That man will do anything to take care of what he perceives as a threat against you.”

My shoulders slumped. “I know.”

Her gaze ran over my face. “Yes, you do. And you still stay with him.”

“He’s the man I fell in love with. Maybe you and I aren’t so different after all.” I steeled my shoulders and stared down my own nose at her. This shit would continue on if I allowed it. Because she was my weakness. “I just picked the villain to fuck.”

She blinked, not understanding. “What?”

I turned my attention to Artur, my tone turning cold. “Tell your father not to call the police. He can put her in whatever jail cell he wishes.”

Artur slowly raised his brows, as she sputtered. “You’re sure about this?”

I nodded. “She’ll get out of jail for good behavior before I want her out. She’s not insane. She’s just pissed. Time will only enhance her vengeance.”

“What?” Katie screamed, now understanding. “You can’t be serious, Elizabeth.”

My hard gaze snapped right to hers. “I’m very serious. You know that hole I was put in thanks to you? That hole changed me. And you’re a threat. So I’m going to let my villain love cart you off to a horrible place where you will live for the rest of your life.” I brushed my hands off. “Threat eliminated.”

Artur nodded his head. His eyes were full of approval. “You’ve finally become a Kozar.”

I glanced in his direction. “If your father would just put a ring on my finger.”

He blinked, and his mouth bobbed. “Oh.” Another blink. “Does he know you would say yes?”

“All he has to do is ask to know.” I turned away from Katie’s shouts, heading back to my bedroom door. “Anyway, get her out of here. I need sleep.” And even more therapy now.

“Wait!” Katie hollered. “I have more information. I’ll trade you for it!”

I peered over my shoulder at her in surprise. “What else could there be?”

She spewed quickly, tears now running down her cheeks. “Their family. Olya and Valentina’s parents. You just took away their last remaining daughter. Daniil has killed both their children now.” She shook her head. “Where do you think the money came from? Their parents are the ones who contacted me.”

“Hm.” That didn’t surprise me. It was merely frustrating that they had fooled us, pretending that they were ashamed of their daughter and had left the house easily tonight. “Katie, you really need to learn what a trade is. You just gave up your information without me even agreeing to anything.” I walked into my bedroom, closing the door behind me.

Katie’s screams as she was dragged out of the room didn’t bother me as much as it would have a year ago. Her hatred had changed me. I was now much colder in the heart.

Artur was right. I was now a Kozar.

Zane parked three blocks away from the restaurant in an alley. It was the restaurant we were going to demolish. Along with the occupants inside it. Katie hadn’t been lying. Daniil’s former in-laws were out for blood, all evidence Lion Security had found proving their treachery.

Daniil let me come along by my own fierce willpower. A trip to Russia when the doctor had just ordered me on bedrest, had been a hard one to achieve, but I had managed to coax him into allowing me to go. It was his former in-law's money that had funded my kidnapping. I wanted to see it all the way to its end. I needed this closure for my own sanity.

Our group stayed in the shadows, not going anywhere near cameras. After marching down another alley, we arrived at our destination, the back entrance to the bakery directly across the street from the restaurant. As we broke in, we found out it had the oldest surveillance system known to man, which actually took us longer than a high-tech system would to bypass, each of them having to stop and think about what needed to be done since this wasn’t the norm. We hadn’t had time to properly case the place since Daniil and I had both been concerned with tonight’s occupants in the restaurant, spending more time on figuring them out, so it wasn’t exactly a welcome surprise.

Eventually, we made it to the third floor, to the windows we had spotted earlier in the day. In harmony, Zane and Daniil unloaded their sniper rifles and got into place on either side of the room, sighting on the restaurant directly across the street. I grabbed my night vision binoculars, still obeying Daniil’s one demand that I do not do anything strenuous. The place was just closing up, the last of the employees leaving, but a party was in full swing upstairs on the second floor, the windows glowing with light and merriment as the family ate their dinner that had already been served.

I evaluated the occupants and breathed a sigh of relief seeing our research had been correct. There were no children at this party. It was all adults. I checked out the entire room and saw bodyguards lining it, which wasn’t a surprise. Obviously, these people weren’t stupid. They knew they had enemies.

And then, I gasped. “You see that?”

Instant from Daniil. “Where?”

“Right corner. Second floor.”

I studied it, and Zane muttered, “Jesus. They’re fucking sick.”

I agreed one hundred percent.

There was a large table in the corner of the room where birthday gifts were placed. And dead center was a birthday cake. It was one of those cakes that would cost me a month’s worth of salary, specially made to view before you ate it.

It was in the shape of our house in New York. But it looked like there was blood running down its rock walls. And on the perfectly reconstructed front lawn around the fountain, there were miniature people that looked remarkably like Daniil’s family, lying on the grass, bits of them everywhere with blood all around. I was pretty sure I even saw one that looked like me.

“Insane, more like,” I muttered, pulling my view away from that disturbing visual and focusing on the room at large.

“Hey. Daniil’s toy head is in the fountain, while his body is on the front stairs.” Zane chuckled roughly, muttering, “I hope they make this pretty.”

Daniil grunted. “They will.”

I refocused my binoculars, leaving my gun as it was, checking out the sidewalk below. “There are three on the ground.”

Daniil corrected, “Four. The last one’s in a car at the end of the block.”

I glanced to the right but didn’t see anything, and then to the left.

Ah. There you are. “How many in the car?”

“A loner, I think.”

I zoomed in and agreed. I couldn’t see anyone but the driver. Probably the get-a-way car if needed.

We waited.

And waited even longer.

No one tells you how nerve-racking waiting can be. In the beginning, when I was a young reporter, waiting had really bothered me. I have more energy than most, and it was hard for me to grasp the concept of finding a balance between serenity and alertness. I had actually flubbed a job or two before I overcame my issues. I employed one of my old tactics and started examining each individual, trying to assess their threat level, giving me something constructive to do in the quiet.

At the end of a half hour, I had pretty much decided they were all whacked out murderers. Even grandma, who kept staring at the cake with a gleeful smile while she played with a knife in her hands, twirling it damn expertly for someone with liver spots. I couldn’t repress the shiver that consumed me. If Grigori and Kirill couldn’t get this job done, we were going to have to come back and take care of these people. Watching them had brought to mind images of patients escaping a loony bin while toting machine guns.

Crazy. As. Fuck.

“Someone’s moving around on the first floor,” Zane stated quickly.

Again, I aimed my binoculars at the ground level. I couldn’t see what Zane had. “Where?”

“Left side. Wait for it,” he murmured quietly.

I trained the goggles on the left side of the building and did as told. A minute later, I saw the tiniest bit of movement. But… “Was that a female?” I could have sworn I saw long blonde hair. “I thought all the workers were gone.”

I saw it again. But with long black hair this time.

Zane started chuckling quietly. “All the workers are gone. No wonder we didn’t recognize them on the street. They’re obviously taking pointers from Stash.”

I blinked. “No way. They wouldn’t do that.”

Zane chuckle turned criminal. “You want to bet two g’s on it?”

I saw a flash of the black wig again, but on the right-hand side. The woman was fucking tall. Oh, God.

Daniil growled, “If you ever tell anyone about this—”

“If they kill those crazies up there, my lips are sealed. However they have to do it, I’m good with it,” Zane grumbled, but he started snickering again when we saw the briefest flash of fake tits. “God, I bet they make ugly women. Stash can pull it off because he’s so pretty. Them? Not at all.”

I chuckled a little myself. They were both handsome men, but they sure as fuck would be ugly women. I tried to get control of myself, mumbling, “Shut up and leave them alone, and keep covering their asses.” I shut my mouth. Oh. Wrong choice of words.

Zane snorted hard. “Their asses are already covered in miniskirts.”

I groused, “I think they’re wearing black pants. Not skirts.” I had to stick up for them where I could, dammit.

Zane snorted again but controlled himself after that. When they didn’t show again for at least two minutes, he asked, “Where did they go?”

“I lost them. Crazies are unaware, cutting the cake.” I started counting the guards around the room. “But there are two missing guards in Crazyland.”

“Shit,” Daniil grumbled and started fumbling through his bag. I didn’t take my eyes away from the targets. A half minute later, he murmured, “There are four heat signatures on the bottom level. They’re fighting.”

I held my breath, waiting for him to tell me two went down. Grigori and Kirill could take care of two men fast enough…then I saw what I didn’t want to see. “Four guards are touching their ears pieces.” Shit. “They’re exiting Crazyland.”

“I think a gun was discharged. One man went down with no one touching him.”

I sucked in a breath. I hated not knowing.

Daniil growled, “Two more went down. One left standing.”

My chest seized. No. No. No. Two! Two needed to be standing.

“Move, dammit,” Zane muttered. “The one standing is helping the first that went down.”

I sucked in. “Are the other guards down there yet?”

“No. The other downed man is moving. He’s definitely injured. Wait…” Daniil hissed out a breath. “The four guards just showed. And if those two are Kirill and Grigori, they’re coming this way, not the back. Get ready, Zane. I’ve got left, you take right.”

I yanked my binoculars down to the right just as a chair crashed out of the first level window of the restaurant. The sound of gunfire erupted. Two ‘women’ jumped out the window, the blonde helping the black haired one.

Zane fired two quick shots, just as Daniil fired four, the glass from our windows crashing in front of us.

I stared at the unmoving guards. “Extra guards on the street are done, and the car is done for.”

The four bodyguards were suddenly at the broken window, aiming their weapons at the women. Daniil and Zane immediately readjusted their aim.

And…the restaurant across the street exploded.

I gasped on a scream, ducking and rolling as debris flew at all angles through the air, the brick and glass and pieces of metal soaring through the windows as fatal projectiles. I stared at it across the room where the debris was embedded into the wall. Another explosion rocked the building I was in, and again, I covered my head as more bits of the opposing building flew into the window, hearing solid hits against the outer walls. I stared at the new debris catching the wall on fire.

“Time to jet!” Zane shouted. “Grab your shit. Grigori detonated early. Nothing left over there to aim at.” Everyone in that building was now dead.

I sucked in smoke-tainted air and watched as Daniil and Zane quickly dismantled their rifles, tossing them into their bags, along with my binoculars.

I asked in a rush, “Where are they?”

“Probably the street. Let’s go,” Daniil ordered.

Zane darted past the flames, duffle over his shoulder.

Daniil grabbed my hand, his own bag crossed over his shoulder. We hurried as fast as we could to the ground level.

Shattered glass from the blown windows crunched under our boots as we made our way past the still intact baked goods counter and out the front door that was hanging on its hinges. I ignored the destroyed building that was blazing in front of me and scanned all the debris on the ground, searching for our men.

To the right, I spotted the ‘women’ on the sidewalk.

They were unconscious, lying in front of the business two doors down.

I hit Daniil’s shoulder and pointed, my feet already moving.

Zane passed me, ordering, “Get the blonde, Daniil. I’ll get the black.”

Please let them be okay. Please let them be okay.

Please let them be okay.

My head was spinning in a repeating circle. I could hardly focus on anything other than the two ‘woman’ lying so still on the ground.

Please let them be okay. Please let them be okay.

Please let them be okay.

I sped up, and Zane and Daniil jumped over a burning table at the same time.

I trotted around the debris, holding the underside of my protruding belly. There was a mirror with a beer emblem that was miraculously intact I had to step on, cracking it to hell, and I spun past three broken and bent chairs.

They hadn’t moved yet.

Please let them be okay. Please let them be okay.

Please let them be okay.

I halted at the blond, and stared down, scanning his body. It was Kirill. He didn’t appear to have any visible injuries. I almost fainted as relief slammed me harder than I had ever felt. I slurped in a breath, and shook my head hard, making the dizziness go away. Not the time. Not the time to fucking pass out. Daniil lifted him off the ground, and I didn’t hesitate, smacking Kirill hard on the face. “Wake up, dammit!”

His lids fluttered open but shut again.

I smacked him again. “Wake up!”

He groaned but didn’t open his eyes.

“We need to move!” Zane lifted Grigori from the littered ground, his hold extremely gentle. There was blood on Grigori’s outfit. Zane stared into Daniil’s eyes. “Your son’s hurt. We need to get him out of here.”

“How bad?” Daniil hissed.

“I can’t tell right now. But there’s a lot of blood.”

There were sirens in the distance now, and a few late night business owners were staring out their windows with a few even coming out of their shops. We moved, keeping our heads down from any cameras.

The few shop owners that were on the streets didn’t even seem to notice us, as they stayed farther away from the destroyed restaurant, their eyes up to the skies where the flames leapt instead of on the ground where we walked.

Those three blocks were some of the longest blocks I had ever walked in my life. I thought we would never get to the car, especially when we had to duck into a shadowed business front when we were on the last block, police cars speeding past us on the streets. Arriving at the darkened alley, I never thought I would see anything more beautiful than that damn car.

Zane was putting Grigori in the back, and he barked, “Put him in the very back, Daniil. You’re driving.” He thumped the keys on the hood and got into the back with Grigori, and only then did it occur to me that he must be badly injured for Zane to order Daniil around, keeping him from his son.

My legs about gave out as I lowered into the passenger’s seat. I slammed the door, cracking my neck. Daniil grabbed the keys and dove into the car after opening the hatch to put Kirill in the back.

Daniil started the car, and turned to Zane, seeing him sitting on top of all our bags with Grigori lying over his lap as he ripped his top off him. There was blood pouring from a chest wound, and I swallowed hard. “He needs a doctor.” His tone was calm and smooth, not ruffled and distraught seeing his son bleeding out. “Keep him alive until I get us there.”

“Fuck,” Zane muttered harshly, examining the wound. He talked to himself as our car reversed at breakneck speed from the alley. “Not near the heart, but the bullet didn’t exit. I can feel it stuck in his rib cage.”

My phone kept buzzing in my pocket, and I heard Grigori’s and Kirill’s buzzing in their pockets as well. I didn’t even need to look. I knew it was Ember. That woman had an uncanny knack for knowing when Grigori was in trouble.

Seven minutes after we left the alley, we came to a stop outside a red duplex. My heart was hammering, and I seriously wanted to throw my fucking cell out the window. If Grigori died—possibly from blood loss at this point—I wasn’t sure I could ever show my face to Ember again. I would owe her for the rest of my life. That’s how much I knew she loved the bastard.

Two men rushed down the duplex stairs, and unbelievably, through it all, Zane ripped the wig off Grigori’s head and tossed it in the front seat, apparently preserving Grigori’s man status even though he was bleeding out. The two unknowns opened the back door, and Kirill suddenly sat up, shouting in pain and holding his head. They stared at him like he was a wild creature.

Daniil shouted, “That one is fine for now.” He jumped out of the car and opened the door where Grigori was. “My son needs immediate attention.” He raised a gun with a silencer aimed at their heads. He stated calmly, even as he repeatedly blinked, “Understand?”

I peered out the window, watching silently.

Both nodded their heads, mumbling together, “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Daniil stepped back from the car, motioning to it with his gun. “Hurry the fuck up and get him inside.”

The two lifted Grigori out of the car, and the four of us followed with Zane and me on either side of Kirill since he wasn’t exactly steady on his feet. He had taken his shirt off—the woman’s shirt with fake tits—and was bare-chested as we hurried him through the front door. There was a long, thin hallway that went straight back along with a staircase leading upstairs where I could hear a lot of banging happening on the second floor. They had taken Grigori up there. To the right, there was a living room and an older man with a cane gestured for us to go in there.

We did, sitting down on a flat, timeworn yellow couch. Cane Man sat down in a chair next to the yellow eyesore, staring at us. He didn’t say anything but nodded to Daniil, who nodded back before dropping his head in his hands, staring at the floor. Instantly, I wrapped my arms around his stomach, and I felt myself start to shake just as much as my phone was doing in my pocket.

I choked, and I hated it, but I started to cry.

Daniil jerked against me when my tears hit his heated skin, and I was suddenly enfolded in his embrace. He held me tight and kept kissing my forehead as I clung to him. He held me as I shed relieved tears—my body shaking as adrenaline and shock left my system, crooning in a soft whisper, his voice keeping me grounded.

Zane was the only one who answered his cell while we sat for half the night, only using four worded answers each time Ember called, and then hanging up—the same thing repeated each time. Those words were: He’s still in surgery. ‘Surgery’ was a large jump for the place we were in, but Ember stopped calling Kirill and me, and focused all her energy on Zane.

Three hours later, Cane Man looked away from us, gazing outside the room’s entrance. I couldn’t see what he was looking at, but he glanced back, gesturing with his cane for us to go into the hallway. No one had come in to talk to us, or offer a drink, or even turn on the television. It had been silent except for the banging upstairs.

I think we all about passed out when we exited the room into the thin hallway and saw Grigori propping a wall up, looking haggard with a face that was almost as white as the huge bandage around his chest. The two men who had taken him inside had blood all over their hands and forearms but were standing next to him scowling. Grigori immediately stiffened at their expressions, and his face went even whiter with the movement. Right before his lids lowered, he threw up.

I had seen a lot of blood and guts in the past week, but there’s just something about seeing someone puke right in front of you. It was never a pleasant experience. It was like seeing someone yawn—it kind of sucks you in and makes you want to do the same. I swallowed hard and held my breath, keeping my eyes firmly away from his spew.

The bloody helpers had glanced at Daniil when we came to a dead stop, gripping Grigori by his shoulders as he heaved onto the cracked tiles. One of them starting speaking harshly and speedily in Russian, and I had to listen closely to catch it all. “Stubborn man won’t stay. Won’t take the drugs. He wants to leave.”

“What have you done for him?” Daniil asked slowly in English, studying Grigori.

The same man continued speaking, but also answering in English, “We’ve removed the bullet, and since we already knew his blood type, we were able to give him blood.” It was long past apparent that the Kozar family had used their services before. “We’ve cleaned and stitched up his wound, but he’s got two cracked ribs. His right ankle is also banged up prettily badly, but it isn’t broken. He needs rest and pain medication before he leaves.”

Grigori gasped, rasping, “I’m leaving, dammit.”

“Take the drugs,” Daniil stated calmly, walking over to him and helping him stand straight. “We’ll go if you take the drugs.”

Grigori eventually nodded. “Fine. Just get me home.” He barely made it to the car without falling down the stairs.

I mumbled under my breath, “Grigori, you are ridiculous. You should have stayed there.”

He snorted, his dad helping him into the car. “Ember would have been too worried. Plus, she’s supposed to be at her most fertile in two days.”

I stared. “You aren’t really going to try—”

“Beth, my sweet, get in the car,” Daniil growled, his worry finally seeping through.

I nodded. I guess now wasn’t the time.

Zane drove this time.

Daniil and I sat in the back seat, and Kirill took the passenger’s seat.

Grigori was sprawled on the middle seat, already passed out again.

I stared at the night sky through the window, and instantly, the weight that had plagued me lifted off my shoulders. I murmured quietly, “It’s done. Those bastards can’t hurt us again.”

“That family is done.” Daniil pulled me closer against his side. He tilted his head to look me in the eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to know where I ended up putting—”

“No,” I cut him off. “I don’t want to know where Katie is. I trust you.”

He kissed the tip of my nose and hesitated. Then, he lifted a ring in front of my face.

My mouth dropped open. “You are not doing that right now, Daniil.”

Kirill glanced back, his eyes shot wide open, and then he quickly turned back around in his seat. He held perfectly still and turned an ear in our direction. Eavesdropping…in the polite way.

“Why not?” Daniil asked as he rubbed the ring back and forth between his fingers, watching as the diamond sparkled with every passing light we drove by. “We just finished killing off the bad guys. I thought this would be a perfect time.”

My mouth bobbed. “You really are a sick bastard.”

“You say that like it’s a surprise.”

I growled, “I want to hear the words!”

Brown eyes met mine, appearing amused at my grumpy expression. “You’re going to say yes, anyway, so why should I ask?”

“Daniil.”

“It is a valid point, my sweet.”

“Daniil.”

His lips twitched. “Yes, my sweet?”

I crossed my arms and tried a different tactic. “What are you doing?”

Daniil smiled bright enough to light the night. “I’m asking you to marry me, Ms. Forter.”

Instantly, my heart melted to mush, and I fell against his side and rested my head against his shoulder. I lifted up my hand, allowing him to place the engagement ring on my finger. “And I’m saying yes, Mr. Kozar.”

Dr. Wisser kept bumping Daniil with his hip when my husband swayed on the chair he sat on. Medical beeps let him know I was still alive as the doctor cut into my stomach. C-Sections weren’t anything new, but to my loving husband of one week, he found it entirely terrifying.

I would never tell, though. His secret was safe me with.

“Don’t you dare look past that curtain,” I hissed.

Daniil glared down at me and rubbed the sweat off his forehead. His wedding ring glinted in the harsh lighting. Behind his facemask, he muttered, “I want to stay upright. I won’t be looking, my sweet. I promise.”

“Almost there,” Dr. Wisser stated happily. “Are you ready to know what your first born is, Mrs. Kozar?”

My eyes widened in excitement, and the monitors beeped more quickly. “Yes.”

Daniil’s eyes crinkled, and I just knew he was smirking. “I’ve already told you. They’re boys.”

I grinned. “Eva would be thrilled.”

Daniil nodded, more sweat beads glistening on his forehead.

We both waited, ignoring any horrifying sounds filtering past the curtain where the doctor worked on my body. Time ticked by, passing in excruciating slow seconds. I bit my lips and stared into the most perfect brown eyes.

“I love you,” I whispered.

Daniil’s eyes crinkled once more. “I love you too.”

I felt an odd tug on my body from below, and Dr. Wisser chuckled, “Baby one is a boy.”

A tiny cry erupted after his announcement.

My chin trembled, and a tear escaped my right eye.

The medical team inside the room were sectioned off, one for each baby.

One fraction moved into action.

“Oh!” I sniffled, tears freely flowing as they quickly showed us our son before taking care of him. He had the most perfect features. All bitty toes and fingers in place. “He’s perfect.”

Daniil’s voice cracked as he eyed our son. “He looks like me.” His eyes glistened as he followed the team’s movement with our child. “They’re taking good care of him, my sweet.”

I nodded and sniffled hard.

Dr. Wisser snickered once more. “Baby Two is another boy.”

Daniil sat up straighter on his chair, his chest puffing with pride.

I bit my bottom lip, trying not to sob in happiness as I saw our second son. He didn’t cry immediately, but only a few seconds later, I heard his shout of panic facing this world outside of the safety of my body. I laughed and grinned at my husband. “He looks just like you too.”

The sweat had dried on his forehead, and he stated with cocky flair, “Of course, he does.”

Dr. Wisser cleared his throat. “And, baby three is…”

I blinked. “Yes?”

A precious cry erupted loud and strong.

The doctor glanced over the curtain at the two of us, lifting our third child for us to see. “Your husband was right all along. It’s a boy.”

My eyes widened with a flood of joyous tears. “All I’ve dreamt about are having boys since I got pregnant.” I stared at my son a moment longer before turning my attention to my beaming husband. “I can’t agree all the time with you. Even if you’re right.”

Daniil chuckled, “I know, my sweet. I know.”

“What should we name them?”

“Anything you wish.”

I chuckled. “That was easy.”

“Yes, well, I may have peeked past the curtain.”

“Daniil! I told you not to.”

He winked. “And I don’t always agree with you. Even if you’re right.”

I snickered and ran my gaze over his strong body. “You’re mine.”

“You better believe it.” He wiggled his brows, and stated quietly, “And, now, you’re not pregnant anymore.”

I laughed. “Oh. My. God.”

He shrugged his right shoulder. “Seeing someone’s guts has never bothered me.”

I shook my head. “You are so wrong and so right for me.”

“Always, my sweet.”

THE
END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times bestselling author and award-winner, Scarlett Dawn is the author of the Forever Evermore new adult fantasy series, the Mark new adult science fiction saga, and the Lion Security contemporary series.

She lives in the Midwest, adores her music loud, and demands her fries covered in melted cheese.

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"MY
WORLD
WAS
FOREVER
CHANGED."

FALL

Thrown head first into a barbaric world she knows nothing of, Braita Valorn must adapt to a dark life as a slave of the Mian society--her existence depends on it.

SINK

Danger lurks, and Braita's lack of knowledge of the planet, Triaz, is now abundantly clear. On a mission to find her best friend, Jax, she must infiltrate the Crank Pit, a brutal complex where Mian enter, only to leave absent a heartbeat.

STOP

Braita Valorn is stuck. She has no real freedom, her existence dependent on what the men of Triaz decide. But she desperately wants it to be, and will do anything to capture it.

RISE

Judgments are made, an archaic stand within Mian laws, and Braita finds herself charged with treason. But never one to sit during a battle, she risks her last chance of release with blackmail.

SOAR

Braita Valorn is a disaster walking. One mistake after another on the planet Triaz has landed her in trouble time and again. Will Braita obtain her freedom? Or will she finally accept a life she never asked for?

One Skeleton Key. Endless Adventures.

Arizona Creed lost her assassin father, and her whole world changed.

Literally.

With one magical skeleton key, Arizona lands in another realm.

Forget Earth. Terlant is the place to be. And Lucifer wants her there, the dashing man with no last name and more secrets than even she has. But love isn’t always enough. Arizona must find purpose in her new life.

The Royal Guard could give Lucifer and Arizona what they desire.

They only need to pass two tests to win the Game and enter the elite Guard.

But is her real test to open her heart to true love?

And will she win her wings to fly into his arms?

The second saga in the bestselling, groundbreaking Forever Evermore series begins with Chosen Thief, where the life of a skilled lawbreaker becomes much more than she ever wanted...

Caroline Jules knows death is imminent. She’s only 22, but as an inmate of Death Row in the most secure Mystical jail, what else could her future hold?

Caro has no idea. Her solitary, transient life is about to get flipped on its head when it is revealed that she is the new Prodigy Elemental, and she has responsibilities and ties that she can’t ever escape. Caro is attempting to run from a brutal past, but the Rulers have other plans for this thief’s future.

But the transition from a self-contained existence to life with the other Prodigies, the Kings and Queens, and even the Elders was never going to be easy, and Caro has secrets she’s loath to share. Suddenly she has friends, mentors, lovers — and they all want to know more about her than she is willing to reveal.

Will Caro ever escape the darkness of all she is, or will she fall deeper into the life that has been chosen for her?

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24