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Zak
HearingOleksandr’s plans for me to take my child from Sofia and marry someone else turned my vision red around the edges. I could see the thrill in his eyes as the idea began to take root in his mind, and I knew unless I put a stop to this here and now, he would ruin my life completely.
Behind me, Olena and Yulia stepped into the room, Volodymyr at their back. More footsteps followed, and I crossed to where Sofia sat, placing my hands on her shoulders to reassure her that she had nothing to fear. Not from me or Oleksandr, but especially not where our baby was concerned.
“You’re looking unwell, Oleksandr,” Olena commented with genuine concern in her voice, but I could almost hear the hint of glee in her tone. She wanted him out of her life even more than the rest of us did.
“I’m perfectly fine, woman,” he barked, rolling his eyes at her nagging.
“No, no,” she insisted, taking the coffeepot Volodymyr offered and pouring her husband another cup. “Drink another cup of your favorite coffee. Maybe it will bring color back into your cheeks.”
He scoffed at her but lifted the mug to his lips without arguing further. Sofia pushed her chair back and stood, but I didn’t give her more than a few inches of space. “We should talk,” she told me, squaring her shoulders and lifting her blue eyes to lock with mine.
Seeing the strength I was used to in those depths was a relief, and I quickly nodded. “I heard what you told him. I don’t care what our child’s last name is. If it will prove to you that I love you and don’t give a damn about Oleksandr’s plans, then all of our children can have the last name Volkov.”
Oleksandr slammed his fist down onto the table. “Unacceptable!” he roared, then started coughing. I let my gaze flicker to him for all of two seconds, taking in his sweating, ruddy face. Damn, the substance Raven Reid had slipped to Olena to put into her husband’s coffee had worked faster than I’d assumed it would. It was already taking effect, inducing the heart attack that would be fatal—and, according to Raven, wouldn’t show up on a toxicology screening should an autopsy be necessary.
Not that it would be. The old man had health issues. I’d make sure his medical records showed that,ifthe medical examiner needed them. But that was only if they insisted. Anya Vitucci had assured Olena and Yulia with a wink that they wouldn’t before we’d left the hospital.
“There will only be this child,” Sofia told me in a cool voice, lifting her chin to stare me down.
“I’m on board with as many children as you wish,dragotsennyy.”
“I told you not to call me that,” she snapped. Behind her, Oleksandr began to wheeze, and she jerked her head around to look at him. “Oh shit. Call an ambulance. He actually does look unwell.”
“In a moment,” Olena said with a careless shrug. “Let it work a little more before we involve the authorities.”
“Let it—” Sofia broke off with a sigh. “I really don’t want to know what that means, do I?”
“It’s best if you didn’t, dearest,” Olena assured her with a small, warm smile. “Why don’t you let Zakhar take you home to rest? We can handle the arrangements for everything else from here.”
Biting her lip, Sofia considered the old woman for a moment before turning to her grandfather. “I actually didn’t want you to die,” she informed him, but his wheezing only increased as his heart began to overwork. “To me, knowing you had to live a long life without the power you craved at your fingertips was more than enough justice for me. But it isn’t up to me.” She stepped up beside him and bent so they were at eye level. “The sad truth is, I was like you once. Selfish and entitled. Thankfully, I had people who loved me enough to show me the injustice I was doing to myself acting like that. I’m sorry you didn’t have anyone who loved you enough to do the same for you.”
A tear spilled down her cheek, but she leaned in a little closer. “But now, I won’t ever have to worry about my baby being contaminated by you.”
Sweat dripped down Oleksandr’s face, which had turned a sickly color. I put my arm around Sofia’s waist and turned her away from the sight of the dying man. This death was quick but painful, just as the motherfucker deserved. But if I’d been given a choice, I would have put a bullet in his brain and been done with it.
Olena and Yulia had wanted it to look less obvious, though, and apparently Raven Reid was well versed in how to make a death look natural. She was a dangerous woman, one I didn’t want to make an enemy of, that was for damn sure.
Glancing at Olena and Yulia, I saw they both were watching Oleksandr with varying degrees of emotion on their faces. Sadness was there, but it was the relief and triumph in their eyes that told me they would be just fine. Olena gave my arm a gentle pat as I guided Sofia out of the room and then the penthouse altogether.
Downstairs, I put her in the back of my SUV and told the driver to take us home. Theo and the others had left once we’d arrived, so just my men were waiting for us. As soon as the door shut behind me, Sofia scooted across the bench seat as far from me as possible while the partition lifted between the driver and us. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered but kept her gaze out the side window.
I shrugged off my coat and covered her with it, worried that she’d left the hospital too soon. But Raven had assured me before I’d left earlier that Sofia was fine. The doctors had been more concerned about her mental state than the physical dangers to either Sofia or the baby.
“You have to know that what Oleksandr said was all bullshit.” I needed to clear this up first, before it had the chance to take root in her brain, making her hate and distrust me even more than she already did. “I would never steal our child away from you.”
“I know,” she whispered, continuing to keep her gaze out the side window.
“And I sure as fuck won’t ever marry anyone else but you. I love you,lyubimaya. You are it for me.” I grasped her hand and lifted it to my lips. “It’s you or no one.”
Even with her face turned away from me, I saw her clench her eyes shut. “Then I guess you’ll never marry. Because I’m sure as hell not going to marry you.”
“I know I fucked up—”
“No,” she said with a harsh laugh. “I’m the one who fucked up. You did an amazing job at everything you set out to accomplish.”
Swallowing a curse, I released her hand only to grab her around the waist. She yelped then started slapping at my arms and chest when I lifted her until she was straddling my lap. Being careful not to harm her, I trapped her arms against her sides and gripped her lush ass.
