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Warm sunlight washes across my face, waking me from a deep and dreamless sleep. I feel so incredibly well rested, like I might have slept for days. And the intense peace that radiates through me for the first moments of my morning is such incredible relief that, for one fleeting second, I forget why I’ve carried such a crushing weight recently.
Then, slowly, reality trickles back to me. That hollow ache in my chest is the hole that was punched by my brother being taken from me.
At least Efrem and I have found each other once again.
It’s then that I note the absence of his arms around me, and when I turn to find the bed empty, the sheets cool where he slept, I know he must have risen long before me.
Fighting off the wave of disappointment, I sit up, pulling the sheet up to cover my breasts as I look around me. His room is neat and organized, like always. He’s even gone to the trouble of collecting my clothes and folding them neatly on the modern leather chair that occupies one corner with a reading lamp.
And on the bedside table beside me is a piece of paper folded in half.
I pick it up, my heart skipping a beat as I open it.
The handwriting is a beautiful and interesting combination of cursive and print, making me wonder if that doesn’t have something to do with his primary education being taught in Cyrillic. But the words themselves are what bring tears to my eyes.
My love,
You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn’t bring myself to wake you, but I have somewhere to be. I’m expected at the Veles house at dawn for a very big day. It might be a few days before I come home, but I want to see you as soon as I’m back. Until then, my thoughts will be consumed by you.
I love you, Dani, now and always,
Efrem
Days feel like far too long now that we’re together again, but I suppose after all I’ve put him through, Efrem deserves my patience until he comes home. Falling back onto the mattress with a sigh, I press his note to my chest and allow the soft smile to curve my lips.
My world might have been torn apart by my brother’s death, but with Efrem, I think I might just be able to get through this. One day at a time.
32
EFREM
The short flight up to the Veles estate hummed with silent anticipation. Now, as the men gather, checking their guns and filling their weapons and pockets with ammo, I can almost taste the excitement in the air.
Though I only got a few hours of sleep last night, my time with Dani has revived my soul. I’m ready for anything now. I’m invincible. Knowing that Dani’s waiting for me, sleeping soundly in my bed, that’s enough to create an impenetrable force field around me.
And today, I’ll need it, because today’s the day we kill Mikhail, the ugliest blight on our world.
After all the trouble he’s caused the Veles, after how many times he’s dared touch Dani, after how close he came to having my pakhan killed on my watch, I fully intend to make him suffer for his crimes.
“You look like you’re in a good mood,” Pyotr observes wryly, his proud features curving into an amused grin.
I watch him from the corner of my eye as I engage the safety on my pistol before holstering it at my chest. “You sound like you might know why.”
“I may have sent my best negotiator to try and break down Dani’s defenses,” he confesses.
“Dani said Silvia talked some sense into her.” I’m going to owe my pakhan’s wife a considerable debt for bringing Dani back to me.
“She’s been talking some sense into me, too,” he says, his voice dropping so our conversation remains between the two of us.
“You’re lacking sense?” I joke, moving on to my next weapon as I check it carefully and load it.
“She thinks it’s time I find a position for you that would allow you more consistent hours, something perhaps less… life-threatening—now that we’ll be putting the whole Zhivoder conflict behind us,” he adds quickly when I stop my task abruptly to study his youthful face.
“You’re removing me as your bodyguard?” My stomach knots as I say those words.
Pyotr pauses his own gun inspection, turning to face me fully. “I want to promote you and, yes, take you out of security. Let Val head that division. I want you to be my right-hand man with Gleb. No more late nights and hours on your feet. Silvia’s right. You have more than earned it, my friend. You deserve a life that will permit a family.”
I don’t know whether to be honored or injured by the offer. Then it strikes me. “Is that what you and the gospozha were discussing when I came bursting into your office?” At the time, I’d gotten the feeling they were talking about me—something they didn’t want me to know. And that had left me questioning my pakhan’s honesty when I should know better by now.
