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Theresa immediately stuck her head back out of the living room, pale and nervous. “Are you okay? Should I call someone? Yuri said he wasn't going to visit anymore.”
“That was the last one,” I said, meaning it. “I’m fine.”
He’d never once asked about my happiness, not since my marriage, not in my entire life. He only cared about what I could bring him. If I couldn’t destroy him, I’d be damned if he gained any more power or riches off my back. I had a rough location now and forced myself to relax.
Back in the living room, the nanny was packing the babies into a double stroller. “They always fall asleep after a walk,” Theresa explained, turning to the nanny. “You don’t mind taking them on your own, do you?”
I felt bad that she thought I needed comforting after the harrowing visit, but it was a good opportunity to get the last pieces of the puzzle. We’d become closer over the last few weeks and if things were different we might have been true friends. It was always if things were different, and I was always brimming with regret. Pretty soon I’d be free, and I could deal with my guilt over using these kind people when I was putting my life back together. Now I had to focus.
“I’m sorry if he bothered you too badly,” she said, pouring me some lemonade from a pitcher. She cleared a spot on the sofa, pushing toys and blankets to the floor, and sat down, closing her eyes. “I love those boys but it sure is peaceful when they’re out on their walk.”
“I can’t wait for things to be peaceful around here,” I said, hoping it wasn’t the world’s most awkward segue. “As soon as that dumb shipment on Dodge Island happens, Yuri and I can finally settle down.”
She nodded, giving me a commiserating look. “It’s the only thing on Aleksei’s mind too. Tuesday can’t come quick enough.”
Bingo. I bit my lip to keep from shouting in celebration. “Are you worried about him? Is it going to be dangerous? What’s going to happen?”
“I’m not any more worried than I always am when they’re down at the shipping terminal. I went there once in the daytime, and it’s kind of creepy then, so I can’t imagine it at night. But unless your father does something stupid, I don’t think it’ll be especially dangerous.”
There, another few puzzle pieces coming together. Tuesday night, Dodge Island shipping terminal.
“You can never count on my father,” I said. She leaned over and patted my hand, frowning at my wrist. I looked down and saw the beginnings of finger mark bruises and shrugged. “He’ll be gone soon.”
“Yes, thank goodness. And at least Yuri won’t be part of the delivery. You’re lucky he mostly stays out of those things.”
That was an unexpected relief. “He has to protect his reputation,” I said, feeling a bit defensive if she was insinuating he wasn’t doing his part.
“Oh, of course. Aleksei understands how important it is to have a clean face, so to speak.”
I was pleased to hear at least one of his brothers appreciated him. The subject veered to less stressful things and as we chatted, I let my mind drift to formulate a plan. I had a time and place, just needed to figure out what to do and how to get there on my own. Thankfully I had a lifetime of observing criminal behavior and still had a lot of useful skills.
Yuri came home about an hour later, and I watched him play with the babies for a few minutes before Theresa packed everyone up and left. I had to squelch the strange, tingly feelings it gave me to see him holding those darling little boys over his head and drawing out their infectious baby laughter.
He swept me into a hug once they were gone. “Let’s go out to dinner since it’s my last night of vacation,” he suggested, blissfully unaware of what I was plotting.
I needed to figure out how to deal with the crisis of conscience that hit me like a category four hurricane. What I was planning would ultimately affect Yuri. Hopefully, he’d forgive me once he had his own freedom back.
Focus. Ultimately, all I could do was keep my eyes on the only thing that was important. Destroying my father and getting my life back.
Chapter 15 - Yuri
Our little interlude had been perfect, but now that I was back to work, Kira seemed to be pulling away from me again. Now that I was only home in the evenings, it seemed like she might have been resentful that I still refused to leave her alone. She refused to understand that it wasn’t because I didn’t trust her. Of course, I didn’t completely trust her. There was always the chance she’d bolt and it would put a lot of strain on our resources to get her back. We’d been getting along so well, though, I was on my way to giving her more freedom. But only when things were more settled.
It was because I didn’t trust her father and his men not to do something stupid. Artur had become a real thorn in Ivan’s side, making demands above and beyond what was promised him in the marriage contract. He was making vague and worrisome threats, and Ivan even considered he might try to take Kira back in the hopes that I would renegotiate the terms. The man was power-mad and money-hungry, and nothing would ever be enough. It was smarter to hold a firm line and get him out of the area as soon as possible.
That day finally arrived, and I could sense hope on the horizon. I had to pretend nothing special was going on, since I didn’t want Kira involved in any way. As much as she hated secrets, and I had been more forthcoming with her lately, she needed to stay out of this for her own good.
Once Artur’s shipment came in, we’d put him on the first plane up to Boston. If he continued causing trouble there, we’d find a way to send him back to Russia. The Rossis were trouble, and it was always good to have allies, but Artur Orlov wasn’t proving to be a very good ally at all. Perhaps after this was all over, there wouldn't be a need for any more secrets. Maybe then she’d finally settle in and be happy.
I wouldn’t have anything to do with the drop, being the public face of respectability in the family. Ivan knew I refused to do anything extremely illegal, and whatever was being delivered tonight was definitely on the wrong side of the law. I could see he wanted to argue that point at our last meeting, but I put my foot down, not about to risk everything I worked for. I did my part in marrying Kira and had been going above and beyond lately, working to find the stolen artwork—which had luckily turned up before it crossed the border into Canada and we were able to retrieve it without shedding too much blood. The people who stole from us wouldn’t be doing it again, though, and that was because of me.
I got home that evening to find Kira in a good mood, if a little jumpy. Her body was tense when I pulled her into a hug, breathing in the fresh scent of her shampoo.
“Everything okay?” I asked, not wanting to worry her since we didn’t have anything to do with the situation at the harbor tonight. Our future hung in the balance of everything working out, though, so it was difficult to hide that I was pretty tense myself.
“I passed my test,” she said, smiling up at me.
The smile didn’t reach her eyes but I was sure my own face held the things I didn’t want to share with her. After tonight, after her father was out of town, we’d start fresh.
