Page 57

I dropped the knife, freezing.

“Oh, no, that can’t be right,” Paloma said. “Maybe it was a bad dream?”

Brady shook his head. My cheeks were on fire as I caught on.

“No. I heard someone crying and begging.”

Elena lifted her head, here to join us for breakfast since Adrik had come to talk with Nikolai. The others were meeting with them, too. She raised her brows, watching me.

“They sounded very impatient,” he added, furrowing his brow.

Carina turned her head slowly, pulling her lips in her mouth as she mimicked Elena’s raised-brow expression.

“I’m sure it was a bad dream,” Paloma said, patting his head.

“It was so loud⁠—”

I thrust the plate of buttered toast toward him. “Toast?”

“Mama, half of them don’t have butter.” He frowned at me. “Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m fine. I’m absolutely fine.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are,” Wren muttered. She shifted, as though Mila might have kicked her leg under the table. “Ow.”

“Miss Wren, are you okay?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m fine, kiddo. Hey, I think it looks like Paloma is hoping you’ll help her carry that plate of eggs from the stove for her.”

He smiled and got up to help, always eager to. Paloma lifted her head too, frowning since she hadn’t indicated for him to do that. Then when she saw me blushing, her eyes popped open wide. “Oh! Yes. Yes, come help me.” She ushered him away from the table.

I covered my face with both hands.

“I was worried for a second,” Carina muttered. “If they caught one of the Konstantins and Nikolai had one here⁠—”

I blanched, sobering at her comment. “Wait. He’d bring a… a… someone like that here?”

I’d been getting more confident about belonging with Nikolai as more than his protected witness, but I still had moments of struggling to accept I was placed—with my young, innocent son—in a world of violence.

“No.” Elena pursed her lips and shook her head. “No. He wouldn’t endanger you or Brady.”

“I’m just saying,” Carina said as she took a piece of toast that was buttered. “They do tend to cry and beg for mercy and all…” She shrugged.

I winced and sat.

“You’re scaring her,” Wren warned them.

“No. I’m… not. I’m not scared. I’m just still getting used to it.”

“Sounds like you’re getting used to Nikolai, though,” Carina teased with a saucy smile.

I couldn’t hide a smile, caught and sheepish about it.

Brady and Paloma returned and all of us steered the topic further from anyone crying or begging loudly at night. That was me he’d heard, and I wondered how else I could keep it down.

We stayed together, hanging out and just lounging with Brady for most of the morning. It often turned into this, these moments together of us acting like a family. The most precious part about it all was how Brady liked making Luka laugh.

“Mama, do you miss the Richards boys?” he asked.