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He had been standing in front of me, checking my eyes with a pen light and feeling my heartbeat on my neck, but he paused and kneeled down next to me, taking my hand in his. “And you saved mine. With my brother being who he is, I really don’t want to end up in prison. People would’ve taken the opportunity to get their revenge on him by hurting, or more likely killing me. You faced the man who spent years hurting you to protect me. I think you and I are gonna be really good friends.”
The thought warmed me, and I finally had enough courage to lift my chin and look at him. I’d never had many friends. Carson liked to keep me isolated, but now I felt like I had a real support system and my eyes burned from happy tears.
“You make her cry again and I will be the one to hurt you,” Viktor growled.
Sean rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “They all like to threaten me, but when someone is hurt, who do you think they call?”
I fought back a smile, nodding. “They call you.”
“Exactly,” he winked. Pushing to his feet, he ducked Viktor’s grasp and took a few steps back. “I’m going to check on Gabi. She looked alright, but she was a little dehydrated and since she’s pregnant, I erred on the side of caution and put her on an IV. If she’s feeling up to it, I should be able to take it out now.”
I was relieved to hear she was alright. When we eventually went downstairs for breakfast, she was sitting on the patio with Jo, complaining about Sean’s choice for an IV.
“The baby isn’t even that big, but I still have to pee all the time. The IV made it so much worse. I swear, I got up like four times last night.”
Jo made a face. “That’s just messed up. We’re already exhausted. Why make it worse?”
She threw her hands into the air. “I know!”
When Viktor sat me in the seat across from them, they both turned to me and smiled.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You turned in early last night and missed all the fun,” Jo grinned.
I tipped my head, curious. Nothing would beat the fun I already had this morning, but I wanted to hear what happened. “What fun?”
Jo went into an elaborate story about how they somehow ended up talking about pregnancy being contagious and Britney not wanting to drink the water at Jo’s house. Jo started teasing her about it rubbing off on her and she and Gabi cornered her and smothered her with hugs while she complained and her husband laughed his ass off.
Britney appeared out of nowhere, scowling at Jo. “I’m still in nursing school. I don’t have time to get pregnant right now.”
Jo just grinned at her. “The plague will get you eventually, Britney. Just you wait.”
While Britney rolled her eyes, I looked around. It was a lot more crowded than I expected first thing in the morning. Mariana noticed my scrutiny and shook her head with a small smile.
“We ended up filling all the guest rooms and the in-law suite. Everyone wanted to stick around and make sure you and Gabi were alright. I kind of wish I had an Andre, though. I made Mateo order out for breakfast because there was no way I was going to be feeding this many people on short notice.”
My mouth fell open. They were all here. Jo and Liam, Gabi and Dmitriy, Mariana and Mateo, Britney and Vlad, Sean, Amber, Yuri, and a few more I hadn’t been introduced to. All to make sure Gabi and I were okay. I hadn’t had people who cared like that since before my parents died. I looked around slowly, watching the group as they talked and laughed.
As a young orphan living in survival mode, this was everything I hoped for, and more. I thought I got it when I met Carson, but now that I saw the real thing, I knew just how much he lacked. Even if he hadn’t turned out to be a cruel, violent bastard, he would never be like the people here. These kind, wonderful people who teased each other and made jokes, hugged and loved one another, stood by and protected each other. This was a real family.
It didn’t matter that they were technically criminals. They were the best people on the planet. And I was glad that Viktor found me and brought me into his world. I may not be brave or adventurous, but they made me feel like I was part of the family anyway. And I couldn’t imagine ending up anywhere else.
ChapterThirty-Four
Drawing in a deep breath,I let it out slowly. My legs were starting to protest the awkward position, and I had an itch the size of Texas on my back, but I pushed it all aside, focusing on my breathing.
“And again. In and out.”
I heard Jo growl, and I pursed my lips to hide my smile.
“Good. Good job, ladies. We’ll see you again next week. Namaste.”
Blinking my eyes open, I looked around and burst into giggles. Jo was flopped over on her back, making a face. Gabi was struggling to unfold her legs, holding onto Elizabeth for support. Even Mariana, who was usually the poised one of the three, looked stuck. I unfolded my legs, rubbing the tingles away before offering her a hand.
“Stop laughing, Rosie. We’re not all bendy like you,” Jo complained.
I shook my head. I started yoga before them, so it was an unfair comparison. My therapist recommended it to help me relax more. I started seeing her after my restraining order went through and she helped me get through my difficult divorce. She was a really kind woman, never rushing me to talk about things before I was ready. There were some days when I went to see her where we just talked about nothing. It was like she could tell when things needed to stay light and easy.
My friends started joining me when Sean told Jo her stress levels were too high. She wouldn’t go without them, and I found a class that catered to pregnant women. It didn’t bother me that I wasn’t pregnant. I just liked the company.
