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She shakes her head. “You didn’t have to, Isabella. It means a lot to me.”
Nodding, I accept her gratitude.
Lifting her hand, she gives my arm a squeeze. “It’s nice to know there’s a woman I can count on. If you ever need me, I’ll be there.”
Hearing the words from the woman who inspired me so much brings tears to my eyes. “That means a lot coming from you.”
She smiles and then slowly makes her way to where Damien is waiting with their son.
I head back to where Alexei and Ana are waiting. Throwing my arm around Ana’s shoulders, I tug her against my side, and then the three of us walk to the house.
Ariana runs toward the plane, and I glance over my shoulder, watching as she jumps in Demitri’s arms, kissing the living hell out of the man.
Letting go of Ana, I glance up at Alexei. I lean closer and whisper, “You’re going to be out of action for at least six weeks.”
“Action?” he asks.
‘Sex,’ I mouth the word.
“Hell fucking no. You haven’t seen me heal. With enough motivation, I’ll be good to go in a week.”
I let out a burst of laughter. “What kind of motivation?”
He winks at me. “I’ll tell you when we’re alone.”
We head into the house where Cillian’s wife, Dana, prepared a feast.
The atmosphere is joyful and full of bantering as we all help ourselves to the food. I fix a plate for Alexei and take it to where he’s sitting in the dining room, staring at the table.
I set the food down, along with the utensils, then take a seat on one of the chairs. “What are you thinking?”
“St. Monarch’s,” he murmurs. “I need to reach out to Madame Keller.”
“You don’t have to do that today,” I say. “Eat something so you can shower and get some rest.”
Alexei’s gaze lifts to mine. “Where’s your food?”
“Here,” Ana says as she brings me a plate. She sits down next to me with her own food. “I helped with the mash.”
Raising an eyebrow at her, I ask, “You did?”
She lets out a chuckle, then shrugs. “I peeled the potatoes.”
“Still counts,” Alexei says as he scoops some mash onto his fork.
We dig in, and silence falls in the house as everyone eats. As soon as Alexei’s done, I take our plates to the kitchen. When I get back to him, he rises from the chair, a flash of pain tightening his features.
Glancing at Ana, I ask, “Will you be okay on your own?”
She nods. “I’ll help Dana clean up.”
I follow Alexei out of the dining room, and he stops by Damien, “Which room can I use?’
“First on the left,” Damien answers as he gestures up the stairs.
Alexei’s much slower as we climb the stairs, and it tells me just how much pain he’s in. I follow into the room and shut the door behind us.
Walking to the bathroom, I say, “All you have to do is stand in the shower. I’ll be quick, so you can get to bed.”
Alexei still manages to chuckle. “Damn, my first shower with you and can’t do shit.”
I shake my head as I shoot him a smile before turning on the faucets. While I strip out of the armored vest and my clothes, Alexei asks, “What happened to your shirt?”
“I used it as a bandage for Winter’s leg.” Turning to Alexei, I’m careful as I help him out of his clothes. Once I have him naked, my eyes scour his body, assessing all the bruises. “God, Alexei.”
He moves under the spray and then leans back against the tiled wall.
Grabbing the body wash and a loofah, I begin to gently clean his body. I avoid his chest because the bruises look feverish and painful.
I take a moment to quickly wash myself, and then I turn off the faucets. I grab a towel and pat Alexei dry and then take care of myself.
When I glance at his face, he’s grinning at me.
“You’re liking this way too much,” I mumble.
“Of course. I can get used to you tending to me.”
“Just don’t make it a habit of getting yourself shot,” I warn him.
When I finally have Alexei sitting on the bed, I walk to the bags we left here when we dropped off Ana and take some clothes from them.
I help Alexei into a pair of sweatpants, and throwing the covers back, he eases down onto his back.
“One week?” I tease him. “I don’t see that happening.”
His eyes roam over my body. “With the kind of motivation I’m looking at right now, give me seventy-two hours.”
“In your dreams, lover boy,” I taunt him as I put on a pair of leggings and a t-shirt. I crawl onto the bed, and lifting a hand to Alexei’s face, I brush my fingers over his jaw.
He turns his head, and we stare at each other.
“Sonia’s dead,” he whispers as if he only realizes it now.
“One down, many more to go,” I say with a heavy breath.
Alexei frowns at me. “Many more? How many enemies do you have?”
I let out a burst of laughter. “Ohhh… just every flesh peddler in the world.”
Admiration shines from his eyes. “You’re going to continue freeing girls?”
I nod. “It feels like I’m actually making a difference. Doing something good to balance out the bad.”
“Kiss me,” Alexei orders.
I lean over him and press a quick kiss to his lips. “It also doesn’t hurt that I have a badass fiancé to save my butt when I get in trouble.”
“Your badass fiancé will be right by your side whenever you find a shipment to free.”
A smile splits over my face. “You want to help?”
Alexei nods. “I’ll always have your back, Isabella. We’re a team.”
