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“Ugh, I could just eat him up!” Bee coos as she peers over my shoulder. “Seriously. I’m actually not joking. A little Nutella on that cheek and it’s bon appetit for me.”
“He’s barely two hours old, Bee. Let’s not terrify the baby.”
She doesn’t hear me over the gnashing sounds she’s making with her teeth. I’ve spent the last two hours trying to work up the appropriate level of fury to throw her way. But infuriatingly enough, the relief of knowing she’s actually alive beats my sense of betrayal.
For now.
“… gobble you up… yes, I will, yes, I will…”
My son starts to wail, so with a weary sigh, I scoop him up and position him to latch on for another feeding. The first one was a bit of a struggle, but we found our groove toward the end. And this second round gets off on much better footing. He quiets and gurgles as he drinks.
“You’ve got great boobs. Just saying.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “No number of compliments can make me forget the fact that you made me believe you were dead, Bee. For freaking months!”
She sighs and sits down at the edge of my bed beside my feet. “I’m sorry, okay? I knew it was a mistake to keep it from you, but?—”
“You let him call the shots?”
“He’s the pakhan. You know this.”
I click my tongue at her. “It’s pathetic that you and Aleks continue to use that as an excuse. He’s your best friend. This whole power dynamic thing that exists between you is fucking weird.”
She slaps my ankle lightly. “Watch your language—there’s a baby in the room.”
I don’t laugh. “You were right above me the entire time?”
“Yeah.” Bee’s face falls flat. “Yeah, I was.”
“Do you know how much easier the last couple of months would have been if I’d just known that you were alive?” I hiss at her. “That you were safe? Do you realize how badly I missed you?!”
“I missed you, too,” she swears. “You have no idea how many times I thought of riding that elevator down and just revealing myself.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No,” she sighs, “I didn’t.”
“Because as usual, you chose him over me.”
“That’s not true?—”
“It most certainly is true. You may not have agreed with his decision, but you went along with it, and that makes you complicit.”
She opens her mouth but then snaps it shut again, biting down on her bottom lip. “You’re right. There’s nothing else I can say, but… I’m sorry. I really am, Wren. So deeply, deeply sorry.”
Sighing, my gaze drifts to my beautiful little son. He’s perfect. He’s perfect and he’s here and he’s safe. And in light of that gratitude, I’m finding it hard to keep up the same level of indignation.
“Okay,” I say at last.
“Okay?”
“I’m not totally over this yet,” I warn her. “But I am over the moon that you’re alive.”
She grins from ear to ear. “I’ll take it.” Scooting up to my head, she leans down and pops a wet kiss on my cheek. “By the way, I love his name. I couldn’t have picked a better one myself.”
The door to my room shivers like someone’s coming. I wait for Dmitri to rush through it, but nothing happens. No one enters.
“Where is he?” I whisper, unable to keep it in any longer.
