Page 55 of Savage Little War

I don’t get the chance to ask what he means before Luca walks off to reach the bar where Andrei is already standing. To my surprise, Andrei pours him a drink, and they toast to something that I can’t hear.

At least they’re getting along.

Given how close they are to Dmitri, would they be considered the baby’s uncles?

My hand absentmindedly drifts down to my belly. I swear there’s the slightest bump now that I’ve been eating well, or maybe I’m just being hopeful.

“Have you felt the baby kick yet?” Dmitri asks me.

My eyes meet his as I shake my head with a small smile. “No, it’s too soon. Hopefully in a few weeks, though.”

“I hope so,” Dmitri replies as he gazes at my hand.

The fact that he wants to feel the baby kick so badly makes my heart flutter. I can’t wait to watch him be a daddy. I’m sure there’s a part of him that is wary that he’ll turn out like his own father, but I don’t believe that’ll happen. Not in the slightest.

Once the jet zips down the runway and lifts off into the sky, I lean my head against Dmitri’s shoulder, exhaustion weighing my eyelids down. For the first time in a while, I feel like I can finally sleep.

But sleep doesn’t erase instinct.

Back home, I can already feel it. Someone is still out there, watching, waiting.

Paolo was only the first to fall.

Things aren’t over yet. Not by a long shot.

17

Dmitri

The second we touch down, cell service snaps back and my phone detonates with messages.

Victor’s is on top. Of course it is.

You crossed a line killing Paolo Ferro. The Bratva will pay for your recklessness. End the Irish alliance. Repair what you’ve broken.

I grind my teeth as we deboard the jet with our things.

I’ve already put my foot down and told them how much of a lost cause this is for them.

“Are you okay?” Cara asks me as she wraps her fingers around my upper arm.

I pocket my phone for now as we head toward one of the black SUVs waiting for us. “I’m fine. I need to run an errand today after I get cleaned up, but I want you to relax at the penthouse until we get your doctor’s appointment scheduled, okay? Please, get some rest. You and our baby need it.”

Cara looks wary about me going out and about so soon, but she doesn’t argue. “Okay, I will.”

“Thank you,” I tell her before kissing the side of her head.

Before we get in our car, we offer our goodbyes to Luca, Andrei, and Sean. We just endured a tough journey together, but I doubt that this will be the last time that we’ll all be forced together again.

“You all didn’t have to come with me,” I tell them. “You did anyway. I won’t forget it.”

“Cara survived hell,” Sean says. “She’s not living scared ever again.”

“Paolo was rot,” Luca says. “Cutting him out saved more than my family. The world is a better place without him.”

“I’m always down to take out corrupt assholes,” Andrei says with a shrug. “Especially when they really have it coming.”

“Thank you all for saving me before. I wouldn’t be standing here without you,” Cara says, voice steady. “Any of you.”