I huff a laugh at that. “First of all, he wouldn’t get far. Most of the people in there are armed. Secondly, he wants to be pakhan, and the people inside are the ones he wants to impress, not murder. Trying to kill us all would only end his chances faster.”
She takes half a breath. “So, he could wait until the party is over and then come at us?”
“He won’t get the chance. Do you trust me?”
She stops walking, so I do as well. Her sparkling blue eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I’m that nervous kid again. Her soft face is serious now. “I trust you with my life, Roman.”
It feels like the highest honor until she adds, “I trust you with our sons’ lives too.”
Thatis the highest honor. Something in my chest goes tight, and I stop breathing. I rasp, “Thank you.”
She starts to walk, so I keep up. We step back into the edge of the reception. The lights are warmer now. The music is a familiar song. Men turn their heads because men like to clock the moments when something might happen. Nothing does.
I take her hand and guide her back toward the head table. We pass three faces I will speak to later. They all get a nod. None of them gets more. My wife has all my attention.
She stands with her hand on my arm. She smiles for a woman who wants a picture. She looks like nothing is wrong. She is the reason I will set everything right.
13
MINA
The reception is still goingstrong, and Roman already has a plan.
But I don’t want this. I don’t want to be bait. I don’t want to hand my babies to anyone and watch a door close between us. My body knows before my mouth does. My grip locks on the stroller. There isn’t enough air in here.
My voice scrapes out of my lungs. “Are you sure this is the only way?”
Roman’s voice stays even. “He can’t be two places at once. So, we divide the targets. It’s the safest plan for them, Mina, and it will help us handle him.”
I hate that it makes sense. I want to argue the logic, and I’ve got nothing, other than a mother’s instinct to keep her babies close to her.
The house is a maze of quiet halls and fast steps I try to keep pace with. Wedding noise bleeds away. A female team waits by the service door. Dark clothes. Flat shoes. No matching anything. They look like the women who arrive first when a flood hits andnobody else has a plan. Stocky, for the most part, with freshly trimmed hairstyles and nothing flashy on any of them.
So purposefully plain that they almost stand out.
Roman introduces me to Carol, who gives me a firm nod and not much else. But she looks like competency given form. “Our route is ready. Three cars. No stops.”
Roman faces me, not them. “Your mother goes with them. Among them are drivers, medics, guards, and nannies. They look like retreat staff because they are. We own the retreat. It’s far. No men on the grounds. No reason for Vitaly to look there.”
“Farwhere?”
“The woods, three towns over. It’s isolated private property. You’ll have two check-ins a day through a line that only rings to me.”
I want to say no. The word is useless. I know it. It still sits on my tongue and burns. This is madness, or maybe it just feels like madness because I’m going crazy every time I think of my boys being so far away.
Mom appears with the diaper bag and a set of knit hats. Her mouth is tight. Her eyes are clear. “I don’t like this. I get it, but I don’t like it.”
“Same here, Mom.”
Roman’s smile is small. “Thank you for protecting our boys, Jennifer.”
She takes a deep breath and nods. “I won’t let them out of my sight.”
I slide the hats on. Yuri scowls at the elastic and then forgets. Xander makes a breathy sound that could be a laugh or a complaint. Their cheeks are warm under my palms. Looking at them rips my heart out, knowing what’s coming. But not looking at them would be worse.
Roman stands so I can see him and the door. “The boys ride separate. One per car. Your mother with one. The house nurse with the second.”
“No,” I say before I can think. It comes out hard. “They stay together.”
