I nod, standing when he waves a dismissive hand toward the door. As I leave his home, I don’t spot anyone, but I still resist the urge to pull out my phone until I’m in my car and off the property, nodding at the guards at the gate as I pass.
It takes three blocks before I’m sure he isn’t having me followed. The old man’s not above spying on his own men, and I’m not going to make it easy for him.
Pulling out my phone, my jaw is tight as I call Daniil, waiting impatiently for him to answer. By the time he does, my knuckles are white against the steering wheel.
“Thank youso muchfor calling Maksim for me, youpizda. I really appreciate the heads up.”
He laughs, and I comfort myself with the soothing image of what it would look like if I bashed his head into a wall. “You woke me up in the middle of the night. I figured letting the pakhan know what happened was the least I could do for you.”
I’m seething, ready to rip him a new asshole when I hear children laughing in the background. Not just Niko, but several children.
“Where the hell are you?”
“Aquarium. I promised Blair and Niko I’d spend a day with them.” I try to picture uptight, boring Daniil, no doubt dressed in a full three-piece suit, surrounded by happy families and endless displays of fish. Then I picture Blair at his side, smiling at him while they both hold one of Niko’s hands.
A perfect little family.
A honk brings me back to the present, and I shake my head to clear the image, focusing on the Prius I apparently cut off.
“Well, tell Niko I said hi.”
“Sure thing. Anything else you need from me?”
“Yeah, just a small thing.”
“Make it quick, Blair’s waiting for me to catch up with her.”
“When you get to hell, make sure you’re easy to find so I can fucking kill you.”
Chapter 3
Blair
Niko’s practically bouncing in his car seat by the time we pull up in front of Mila’s house. Before the car has even stopped, he’s struggling to free himself, and when I let him out, he’s more of a hindrance than a help, but he’s smiling so wide that I don’t dare say a word.
It helps mute the dread that I’m feeling; his happiness is a beacon I refuse to disturb.
Daniil stands to the side, scrolling through emails on his phone and only looking up when Niko sprints to the door. We both hang back, watching as he practically skips up the stairs, waiting impatiently by the front door. Taking a deep breath, Daniil slips his phone into his pocket and reaches out to take my hand.
“Let’s get this over with,” he grunts, face grim, like he’s preparing to march into battle, certain that neither of us will make it out alive.
“She’s your mother. You only have to be pleasant for ten minutes.”
His shoulders roll back, but before he can retort, Niko’s standing on his tippy toes and pressing the doorbell. Not even ten seconds later, Mila opens the door with a wide smile, arms open wide so she can hug her grandson.
“Baba Mila!”
They hurry inside, voices a flurry of Russian that I’ll never have a shot of keeping up with. Daniil rolls his eyes and steps back toward the car, jerking to a stop when I slip my arm through his.
“Don’t you dare,” I hiss through my teeth. “You arenotleaving me here again.” I can only sit politely and be ignored for so long before I snap, and I’m not interested in starting a fight with my mother-in-law today.
Honestly, I’m never interested in fighting with her, but there’s only so much that I can take when she goes out of her way to make sure I know she doesn’t want me here.
I play nice because my son adores her almost as much as he does Daniil, and because I don’t need to do anything to widen the gap between me and Daniil.
Not that I think he’d mind if I told Mila to crawl into a hole and stay there, but still. It’s the principle.
I plaster on a polite smile and drag my husband through the front door, even though just the looming shadow of this house makes me shiver.
