When we get to Polly’s room, I make myself comfortable on the window seat while she sprawls out on the floor with a huge stretch and yawn. “Sorry about Uri,” I say. “He’s been a little tightly wound since our last doctor’s appointment.”
“I can’t say I blame him. You really are a menace to your own health. He doesn’t even know you’ve been cleaning Lev’s room and fetching me snacks from the kitchen, does he?”
My eyes go wide. “You aren’t gonna tell him, are you?”
“Don’t worry. Your dirty little secret is safe with me.” She holds up a finger in warning. “But if you don’t start taking it easy, I may have to rat you out.”
I frown and flop back against the wall behind me. “You’re as bad as your brother.”
She smiles sympathetically. “I get where he’s coming from. And I’m inclined to agree. You need to put your feet up and let yourself be pampered.”
“Blech. I’d rather be waterboarded.”
Polly laughs. “I know you’re worried about me, Alyssa. But don’t be. I’m okay.” I raise my eyebrows and she nods emphatically. “Seriously. I’ve been doing better lately. I’m not gonna lie: some days are harder than others. But today’s a good one. I feel… optimistic." Her eyes land on my belly. “Mostly because I’m gonna be an aunt in a few months and I can’t wait. But in order for me to be an aunt, you need to give birth to two healthy babies. So…”
“I know, I know. Bed rest,” I mutter. “You really are as bad as your brother.”
She laughs. “And I don’t want him blaming me. So off you go.”
“You’re kicking me out of your room?”
“Just for the time being. We both know he’s in your bedroom right now, counting down the twenty-minute deadline he gave you one second at a time.”
“I’m surrounded by a bunch of neurotic crazies.”
Polly laughs. “Can’t argue with you there.”
I drop a kiss on her forehead and head down the hall to my bedroom. Sure enough, she was right. I walk in to find Uri standing by the window, waiting for me.
“Three minutes to spare,” he growls, glancing at his watch. “Not bad.”
I roll my eyes. “Polly forced me out of her room, thanks to you.”
“Smart girl.”
I pull off the wraparound dress I’m wearing and crawl under the covers, burrowing into my nest of soft sheets and blankets. When I glance up out of my cloud, he’s watching me with a strange look in his eye. “Want to join me in here?”
He pulls off his shirt and slips under the covers with me. I slide my hands over his rock-solid arms and abs while his hand lands on my belly.
“You know something I was thinking… you’re going to be a great mother,” he says gently.
“Thanks,” I say with a blush. “What makes you think so?”
“The way you look out for the two kids—Polly and Lev. You’re a mother already, whether you know it or not.”
I exhale slowly. “I always wanted to be a mother,” I admit. “I just didn’t think it would happen so early.”
“You regret it?”
I glance at him in surprise. “No,” I assure him emphatically. “Not at all. I just… I was scared when I realized I might be…”
“Scared?”
I nod. “I lost the one person I thought I couldn’t live without. I couldn’t imagine losing anyone else that I cared about that deeply.”
“You’re not going to lose anyone,” he growls ferociously.
I slide under his arm, drinking in that woodsy musk that clings to his skin. “Just so you know, I’m gonna be one of those unbearably overprotective helicopter moms.”
He chuckles. “Just so you know, I might not be much better.”
“So our kids are gonna need therapists young—is that what we’re saying?”
“Our kids will have us,” he says firmly. “That’s all they’ll need.” He kisses the top of my head. “As long as their mother remembers to sit still long enough to pop them out.”
“We’re back to this again?”
“Bed rest doesn’t have to be boring, you know. There are plenty of things we could do to pass the time.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?”
He raises his eyebrows as his hand slides over my belly. His fingers land between my legs, stroking at the thin fabric of my panties. “Like this, for example.”
I let out a long, drawn-out moan as my legs part instinctively for him. “I’m not sure this is what the doctor had in mind when he told me to spend more time in bed.”
Uri gives me a smug smile. “Doctors don’t know everything.”
My toes curl as he slips his fingers underneath my panties and starts grazing them over my moistening lips. “Mmm, Uri…”
“Relax, my little kiska. This is the part where you let go of all your stress and let me take care of you.”
Well, when you put it like that…
I guess I’m okay with staying in bed a little while longer.
41
URI
I wake up spooning Alyssa, my arm draped over her hip as she breathes gently. I lie there with her for as long as my conscience allows. If it were solely up to me, I’d stay here indefinitely, living and basking in the perfect silence of the moment.
But my head activates almost immediately. Has Stepan completed the third sweep of the estate that I’d asked for yesterday? Were all the extra security measures around the property implemented? Where the hell is Boris and what is he planning?
My children will be born in just a few short months and I need for this to be over before then. I don’t want them born into a world on the brink of burning.
So with a sigh, I extricate myself from Alyssa and roll to the side. When I reach for my phone, I see I have three missed calls from Kruger.
Heart in my throat, I pull my boxer briefs on and slip out of the room, ignoring the chill in the air. The cabin is flush with quiet. Everyone’s in their own rooms, taking advantage of the lazy morning.
I call Kruger back and walk towards the gigantic window at the end of the carpeted hallway. “What’s going on? You have an update for me?”
“Ever heard of Artur Agapov?”
I frown. “No. But I’m guessing he’s related to Oleg. His son?”
“Younger brother. And according to all my sources, this guy is unpredictable and reckless.”
“Let me guess: he’s gearing up to take revenge on me for offing his brother?”
“That’s what I’m hearing. And he’s not doing it alone.”
“Sobakin,” I growl.
“None other. I caught a whiff of his name earlier when I was scoping out a couple of Agapov’s men. It seems that the two are joining forces.”
My jaw clenches tightly. “Then we’ve got to prepare. I need you to stick to Agapov’s men as closely as you can. Pass any information you get from them directly to me.”
“Got it, boss.”
The moment he hangs up, I call up Stepan. His voice is groggy with sleep when he answers. “Sir?”
“Stepan, get everything ready. We’re coming home today.”
“Consider it done, sir.”
I hang up and turn around to find Alyssa, standing in our doorway, a thin bedsheet wrapped around her body. Her hair falls carelessly over her shoulders but her forehead is creased with worry.
“Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” I walk over and brush the bangs from her forehead. “Go back to bed.”
“Only if you come with me.”
I kiss her forehead. “I wish I could. I have to prepare a couple of things.”