AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nothing has changed, not that she’s been gone that long. Vanya guides me gently to the velvet couch in the living room. I stare at the picture of a mother bathing her child and press my hand against my belly. The blue brushstrokes on the canvas give me comfort as if I’m staring at the ocean miles away.
“Are you comfortable?” Vanya asks. “Can I do anything else, Paige Geraldovna?”
“Yes.” I nod. “I want a guard at my door.”
Chapter 21
Paige
Daylight disappears into the night as I sit alone in Eva’s room. Temptation pesters me, and I want to sneak out into the hallway and listen for his voice. Instead, I pull back the heavy silk curtain and lift a corner of the blind to look out at the front gate. I haven’t heard it open since I returned home. Andrei has been gone a long time, and all the possible explanations crowd reason out of my mind.
Around midnight, I hear his voice outside in the hallway, but then footsteps quickly move away from the door.
I press my face into a throw pillow, letting the rough needlework rub against my cheeks.
I don’t want to see him, but a part of me would’ve been heartsick if Andrei hadn’t shown he cared. The door opens slightly, and I bury my face deeper into the pillows, pretending to be asleep. I wait to see what he’ll do because I’m unsure of whatI’lldo.
The door closes again, and I know I’m alone in the dark. I inhale as my head lifts.
I’ll deal with my feelings tonight, before I make a decision tomorrow.
Tossing and turning, I see Kenney’s face every time I close my eyes. And I see Andrei’s dark eyes looking back at me as he hunches over him. Sleeping is impossible.
I need Andrei. Not for his money or his protection. I need him to feel complete. It sounds silly, like a teenage crush. But when I form my thought into words, that’s what it says to me. I’ve never felt this pull toward any man before—this desire to make him want me, to show him tenderness, and to soothe him when he’s hurting.
And I know Andrei has been hurt. He wouldn’t have resisted love for so long if he hadn’t been.
But by the second day, Andrei loses his patience and enters Eva’s room to get me.
Dressed in a dark gray suit, he stands in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, ready for business.
“You can’t stay in here.” His gaze challenges my behavior, and I can barely look into his piercing eyes.
I remember what he said when Emma was first brought here.“A pakhan’s wife sleeps with him unless he decides otherwise.”
“I didn’t plan to … I fell asleep.” I stand and navigate my body carefully around his. “I’m going upstairs to pack.”
I don’t dare look at him as I hurry out the door, past the guard.
My foot lands on the step, and I immediately run the rest of the way to our bedroom. I know he won’t let me leave, and I must be crazy to think otherwise, but I’ll try anyway. I don’t have my own luggage, so I search in his closet. That’s not all I find. Behind a heavy wool dress coat, there’s a gun cabinet. I stare at them in rows—shiny black and terrifyingly cold.
I cover them up with the coat again.
I drag the first empty suitcase out and toss it onto the bed when Andrei enters the room. He walks slowly to the bed and watches me as I throw an armful of dresses into the case.
Where am I going to wear these things?Evening gowns made of silk and satin are too fancy for me to hide in. I glare at a knit wrap dress in my hands and never want to wear these things again.
But I toss everything into the case as if to prove a point. Each action feels less genuine than the last. I feel like a brat putting on a show. I am threatening to run away from home when I know I won’t get any farther than the driveway.
“Paige,” he breaks the silence. The gentle tone of his voice is unexpected. “You don’t have to go.”
I stop in my tracks, ready to scoff. “I don’t need your permission. I can’t stay here, Andrei. Not after what you’ve done. Not if I want my family and my baby to survive.”
“Ourbaby,” he corrects me. “Ourfamily.”
I hesitate for the briefest moment, and he notices.Our family. He’s eagerly claimed ownership over the baby before, but never Emma. I never really bothered to consider what Andrei must feel for Emma or if it might upset Andrei if she left. I assume he’s desperate to get her back for my sake, not his.
I toss another handful of dresses in the suitcase, and the ridiculous pile looks like a tiered cake ready to topple over.
