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I can’t resist shooting Vitaly a smug grin. “I think he’s chosen his favorite.”
“Wait until he’s old enough to be bribed with candy and toys,” he says, laughing.
I look back at Luka, smiling down at him and then look up to seeAlina snapping photos of us. I give her a wink, realizing that I’ve started doing the same gentle swaying motion that she’d been doing. Instinct just takes over, and I rock him gently while his eyes drift shut. Yelena used to love being held like this. I wasn’t too much older than her, but our dad was a piece of shit, and our mom was often exhausted from trying to keep it all together, so I’d step in and try to help keep Yelena happy so she could rest or get supper made. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to remember anything about my sister except for the way she’d screamed when the flames hit her skin.
Pushing the thought aside, I look over at Roman and Emily. “He’s beautiful,” I tell them before turning my head to Danil. “You’re next, brother. You ready for this?”
The huge smile on his face says it all. “Absolutely.” He kisses Simona’s head and pulls her closer. “We both are.”
“Well, I’m ready for the cute baby in my arms,” she says, “not so much the whole labor and delivery thing.”
“The epidural helps,” Emily says, leaning back against her pillows. She smiles when Roman puts another blanket on her and then tries to hide her yawn from him.
He instantly looks worried as he takes her hand and kisses it. Knowing she needs to rest and that Luka will probably want to eat again soon, we start to say our goodbyes. I keep holding him while everyone hugs and the women hand over the bags from home. Roman had already brought the bag she’d packed weeks ago, but they wanted her to have a few extra things to make her and Luka as comfortable as possible. Plus, there’s a bag filled with the customaryIt’s a boy! goodies.
When it’s time, I walk over and hand Luka back over to his dad. Luka wakes up enough to start rooting around, and that’s when we really know it’s time to go. Emily laughs as all the uncles make a quick retreat when she takes him from Roman so he can nurse. Alina gives her a quick hug before kissing her nephew’s head and then hugging Roman one last time while Vitaly slips the keys to the minivan on the stand by the bed, sneaking out the door before Roman can notice and give him hell for it.
Alina waves at them both and squeezes Roman’s hand. “Call us if you need anything at all.”
“We will. Love you, sis.” He smiles and sits down on the edge of the bed so he can be near his family.
“Love you, too,” she tells him, while I give them a wave before closing the door behind us.
It isn’t until we’re pulling into the parking garage that I get a text from Timofey.
Not sure these two can hang on much longer like this. Pyotr says they’re getting an infection.
Alina looks over at me, noticing my change in mood as I read what Timofey’s written. I always thought I’d be the one to end Konstantin’s life. Knowing I was going to get my revenge on the man who took Alina was the only thing that kept me going at times, but now I can’t bring myself to do it. At first I told myself it was because I wanted him to suffer, and then it was because I didn’t want to leave Alina’s side, but now I know why I waited, why some part of me was so hesitant to sink the blade in deep enough to end all this.
It’s because he’s not mine to kill.
He’s hers.
Chapter 17
Alina
Iwatch Matvey send off a text, knowing something is off, and when he puts his phone away and lifts his dark eyes to mine, I wait for him to tell me what it is.
“Do you trust me,malishka?”
“Always,” I say without hesitation.
He smiles at my quick response and then hollers at the others while they start walking to the elevator. “We’ll be back in a bit.”
Lev raises a pierced brow at him. “You doing what I think you’re doing?”
“Yeah.” Matvey pulls the keys to his Camaro out of his pocket. “It’s time to finish this.”
“Send pics!” Vitaly hollers while Matvey grabs my hand and leads me to his car. Finn perks up and stays close to my side, jumping in the backseat when Matvey opens the door for him.
“You’re going to kill him?”
He smiles, waiting for me to get in the passenger seat. As soon as I’m sitting, he leans down and winks. “No, baby, you are.”
And with that, he shuts the door. I watch him walk around the hood before cutting my eyes to Finn’s alert ones. His ears are perkedup, his tongue hanging out, and when he makes a low, grumbling noise like he’s trying to tell me something, I laugh while he licks my face.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. You’re coming along for the ride, no matter what that ride might be.”
