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“It’s always been like that,” I told him. “And if anything, we’ll be more determined to protect the family now that we have a future to look forward to.”

He saw it as a weakness to have something or someone to come home to. Like it was an obligation.

I knew it was a blessing. It was a gift to have my woman and boy at home, looking forward to my return.

He shrugged again, dismissing me.

We came to the club and parked.

“There’s got to be more than one sniper,” I said.

He nodded, diving back into the matter at hand. “There definitely was.” That night that Adrik was almost shot was a close call none of us wanted to risk again. It was why we had to find Vladimir Konstantin sooner than later in case someone hired him to take out Adrik again.

Alexei was there that night when Viktor pulled Adrik to safety. But the investigation into what happened that night had been unproductive. Whoever had taken that shot hadn’t left any clues or evidence.

“I’ve been wondering if maybe it was a training session.” He glanced at me as we got out of his car. “You know? Like showing a recruit how to do it.”

“Maybe.” I joined him as we moved toward the entrance of the Gray Bird, the stupid name of this club where we thought Vladimir might be hiding tonight.

“Vladimir has been active for a while.” If we had to compare assassins among families, Kirill’s favorite and very elusive sniper was probably on par with Alexei’s skills. “But that can’t mean that Kirill will want to hire more.”

“Or that Gregori wants him to hire more,” Alexei said. “I keep thinking that looking for Vladimir is going to cost us too much time. If we try to figure out who’s assisting him, assuming that they are not as advanced and experienced, we could probably get an in like that.”

I didn’t argue with him as we entered the busy establishment. Tuning out the sounds and lights that unreliably cut through the darkness, I scanned the crowd for a sign of Vladimir. The assassin’s light-blond hair was a giveaway, a constant of his appearance, but he often used hats to cover it.

My phone buzzed with a text from the group.

Louisa: Rico is on the move.

Alexei didn’t check his phone, still scoping the area. “What is it?”

“Louisa says Rico is on the move.”

“Here?” He scowled.

“Yeah.” I read her next text. “Shit. He’s leaving through the back.”

I bit back a growl of frustration as I dropped into a run with Alexei. Weaving and dodging around people and rows of gambling machines, we forged a rush through the packed entertainment area.

Getting close was a good sign, but I was too annoyed with the prospect of a target slipping away—again.

I didn’t have time for these obstacles.

I had the rest of my life waiting to start.

38

LOUISA

After Nikolai left, Paloma demonstrated once more how much of a godsend she was. Brady was full of energy with the news that we’d shared at our special occasion of a lunch. He was also bursting with questions.

He wanted to know everything, and while I would never discourage him from being curious or speaking up, I needed a breather.

He went from asking how babies came out to wondering if he could have two brothers at the same time, with twins.

Then he asked why babies took so long to be born.

And how come he couldn’t remember being a baby himself.