I’m going to need more men.
That’s the endgame here.
If there’s an attack, I need men.
But there’s only one option. And it isn’t good.
Santo.
Chapter Seventeen
ILYA
“Alina!”
She’s in my kitchen when I get home, a delightful surprise, and one I want to spend time unwrapping.
I take her in.
She’s perfection. That’s my first thought.
The second is panic.
Even though she looks wonderful to me as always, and not as pale as yesterday, sh still looks tired. Worse, her eyes are haunted like she has something big, something… I suck in a breath. What if it’s bad news? A rush of panic hits me.
“Did you go to the doctor? Did?—”
“You made me the appointment. You didn’t have me followed?” Her smile’s infectious.
I shrug as I come up to her, breathing in her fresh, soft, flowery scent. “I figured your brother had that covered.”
She rolls her eyes.
“So you just broke in to see me?” I ask.
Exaggerated horror hits her face as she gasps, but she can’t stop her smile at my teasing words. “No. Svetlana let me in. I know I don’t live?—”
“Malyshka, where I am is your home. I hope you know that.” I kiss her softly, stroking her tongue with mine, reveling in the sweetness of her mouth, the heat of her in my arms. Too soon, I break the kiss. “What did your doctor say?”
“I do know that,” she whispers, “and I have news.”
“News?”
“Interesting news.”
“Your doctor gave you interesting news, like stock tips or movie-star gossip?” I frown at her, and she laughs.
“Better.”
“Than stock tips?”
She nods. “And celebrity gossip.”
Now I frown at her in earnest. “I don’t…”
“Ilya…I’m pregnant. We… We’re pregnant.”
I stare at her and whoop out a “da!” Grinning like my face is gonna split, I haul her into my arms and kiss her hard, spinning her around. I’m floored. Completely.
