Page 101 of The Enforcer’s Pawn

The answer earns me one hard, suspicious look.

Mikhail puts both hands on Cara’s cheeks and tips her face toward him. “Can we go home now?” he asks, looking straight at her. “Where is this?”

Cara puts him down and strokes his hair back. “This is a safe place for now.”

Mikhail studies the receiving hall, then me, then Kathryn. “Why are there so many people?”

Kathryn bends beside him. “Because some people are bad at being subtle,” she says, shooting a look at me.

Mikhail thinks about that. “I went on an airplane for a long time.”

Cara smiles through tears. “You did.”

“International,” Mikhail adds, very serious. “Auntie K said it was international.”

Kathryn nods firmly. “I did say that, and I stand by it.”

A few of the guards look away, trying not to react. I can’t. I’m looking at my son.

He has my eyes. That’s the first thing I understand. The same way of watching before he speaks. The same habit of looking at everything before he decides where to stand.

Mikhail doesn’t know why the adults have gone still. He only sees me standing back from everyone else, staring at him like I’ve forgotten how to move. He tilts his head. Cara follows his gaze, and her hand tightens over her son’s back. For one second, I know I need to speak. All night, I thought about this moment. Maybe he would cry or hide behind Cara. He would ask who I was and hate the answer.

None of that happens.

Instead, Mikhail lifts the red car and points it toward me. “Do you know how to build race cars?”

The question catches me with no warning. Behind me, Maksim makes a small sound. Cara’s eyes narrow.

“Yes,” I say anyway.

Her mouth opens a little. Liar, her face says.

Mikhail takes one step forward, though he stays close to Cara. “What kind?”

“Fast ones.”

His gaze drops to the toy in his hand. “Are any red?”

“Some,” I say.

“How fast?”

“Fast enough to win if they’re built correctly,” I say, and Cara’s expression turns into a warning.

Mikhail nods with grave approval. “That’s important.”

I incline my head. “I agree.”

Kathryn mutters, “Of course, this is the male bonding portion.”

Cara gives her a look, but she isn’t really angry.

Mikhail studies me again, then presses his face into Cara’s stomach. He turns his face sideways with the red car clutched in one hand. “He can maybe stay,” he says through his fingers.

The courtyard exhales.

Elena arrives at exactly the right moment, dressed simply, with her baby asleep in one arm.