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“I hope he makes you smile, too.”
We hold each other, our breathing getting heavier. When sleep finally takes me, a slideshow of the past day and a half plays rapidly in my mind. The threat and the near-kidnapping and a gun in my face and the secret date and rushing back to the compound, then lunch, and now this. Bliss. Nothingness. A chance to escape from the torment in my mind.
“Just sleep,” Mikhail whispers, his voice heavy. “Nothing will hurt you again. You’re safe forever.”
The wordforeverchases me into my dreams, like a wild line of code in my mind, producing sensations like a warm bundle against my chest, as though Lia’s painting has come to life and I can feel our child warmly against my skin. The sleep is too deep for me to care about doubting this or thinking about how impossible it is. All I can think is …
I want it. I need it—a future with this man.
CHAPTER 18
MIKHAIL
Iwake a few hours later, leaning up and looking down at my Mila. She’s lying on her side, her knees pulled to her chest, her hair messy across her face. She looks so peaceful as she rolls over, pulling the blanket around her. I stand up and adjust the blanket, pulling it over her shoulders. She smiles sleepily, and I lean down, kissing her on the cheek.
I have to be careful. Even an innocent kiss like this could lead to places I must avoid. I sense that Mila won’t want to go all the way until this is over. Hell, if a man ever needed more motivation, I’ve got it.
Leaving the bedroom, I find the closest bathroom and splash water on my face. Then I change and go into the kitchen. It’s late afternoon. Yuri stands in a puddle of light, cleaning the kitchen counter.
“Master Sokolov,” he says when I walk in.
I grin. He’s always called me that. Dimitri is nowsirsince he’s acting leader and will soon be the official Pahkan of the Sokolov Bratva. “Is my brother home?”
Yuri hesitates, then says, “Yes … in the other house.”
I smirk. “Don’t worry, Yuri. I think we all know something’s going on between those two.”
“He asked me to pass along a message,” Yuri says, “but also to give him some time … in the other house.”
“Okay.”
“He asked you to keep your phone on so he can talk with you when he’s done in case he can’t find you.”
When he’s done… It’s not like I have to use much imagination to figure out what they’re doing over there.
“Thanks, Yuri,” I say.
After checking on Mila again, still sleeping peacefully, I go to the gym and put in one hell of a workout. I lift the weights, trying not to think about the man currently in our underground prison or the fact that, soon, if this goes wrong, we’ll be in a full-fledged war. With each rep, with each animal grunt, it’s like I can see Nikolai hitting his daughter, my woman, and see him torturing his own family.
I roar on the last rep of the hour-long session, straining. Behind me, I hear footsteps.
“Leave it,” I grunt when Dimitri leans over me, clearly meaning to spot the weight.
My vision blurs as I push, my veins bulging as I grind my teeth and let out a trembling, groaning noise. Finally, I sit up, my chest feeling like it might explode.
“Five-fifty?” Dimitri says, studying the plates. “How many reps was that?”
“I don’t know. I stopped counting after ten.”
Standing up, I rotate my arms and jab the air a few times, loosening my joints.
“What got into you?” Dimitri asks.
I shake my head and try to smirk, but it’s difficult when I’m so hyped up, so ready for a fight. “Don’t be jealous just because a nerd can lift more than you.”
Dimitri laughs, but he’s looking at me strangely. “I’m sorry you had to handle that bastard. I didn’t want you to get back into the life.”
I almost tell him the truth. Not only did I want to handle the prick, but Ineededto. Nobody gets to make my girl afraid ever.
