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I didn’t care that I blushed. I could only hope for a future like that. I didn’t need to doubt whether Nikolai would be the kind of man who could make my dreams come true like that. But still, I held myself back.

It was too soon. Too fast.

“We’ve only known each other for less than two months,” I reminded her. “He only ever met me because he was supposed to kill me.”

“And now he’ll kill to keep you.” She gave a single nod of finality again, not at all bothered to talk about life and death like that. I supposed she was more used to it, though, working for the family for forty years.

I wanted to ponder how much Nikolai would like to keep me—for good.

First things first.

Before I could get ahead of myself and even begin to think about a lasting future with this family, I had to do whatever I could to handle the biggest threat facing them.

And I would.

23

NIKOLAI

As soon as I reached the property, I felt calmer. Being closer to Louisa and Brady completed me. Before I could go in and see them, though, I wanted to check with the head of the guards. I walked to the side of the garage, where they usually patrolled near the maintenance addition.

“The property is secure,” he told me again.

“Nothing else coming close?”

He shook his head. “No. And if anything does come near the boundaries, we’ll know about it.” He showed me the app that he’d been relying on since the drone came close. We had significant security measures, but with this remote location, drones weren’t a common issue. It seemed that we would need to reconsider that stance now.

“Prepare to relocate to my house,” I told him before I entered the guest house that had started out as a safehouse for Louisa and Brady. “I’ll be taking them there tonight. Just in case.”

He nodded. “I imagine they’ll be excited about that.” A small smile lifted his lips, softening his otherwise gruff appearance. “The boy will be thrilled to swim.”

He would. Brady had been using that small kiddie pool all this time.

I went inside, impatient to bring Louisa and Brady to my main residence. It seemed almost symbolic, that I could have them in my “home” and not here as extended guests who needed to be hidden and protected.

Paloma would probably be over the moon to go back to the main residence as well, since she was fond of the garden space to have her little breaks or naps.

All three of them were at the big dining room table set off to the side of the great room. Coloring books and crayons were spread all over the surface, and I grinned at the mess. A good mess. Something as simple as coloring in bold printed outlines was just one more sign of how much my life had changed. How drastically my priorities had shifted. And how full my life was now with a child in it. Not a baby to carry when they were fussy. But a boy.

One who looked up and grinned at the sight of me. “Mr. Volkov, can you come color with us?”

Lousia lifted her gaze, a smile behind her blue eyes. It probably amused her that someone like me could ever want to do something so childish. But the longer her gaze stayed on me with a hint of mischief, the more I detected the desire lurking in those azure orbs.

No sign of fear.

I half-expected her to be tense with the drone coming close. That didn’t seem to be the case. If anything, she looked confident. Comfortable.

“I’d love to,” I told him, pulling out a chair and dropping into it. Louisa raised her brows at me to my right. Paloma smiled at me from across the table. To my left, at the corner, Brady slid over a coloring book. “Did you have a good day?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but I didn’t want to come in so soon. We were out by the pool and then when I saw another drone, Mama said I had to come in.”

I furrowed my brow but stopped as soon as I caught myself reacting like that.

Another drone?

When was the other one?

I glanced at Louisa. She wore the same confused expression to indicate she was curious what he meant. “What’s that, buddy?”