“Do you want to hear something exciting, Leonid?”
He nods up at me, his blue eyes huge. So much like Leks — but without any of the harshness that Leks has developed as a protective mechanism. He’ll never have to go through what Leks did.
Leonid has a family who will love him and protect him.
I place his hand on my belly. “You’re going to have a baby brother or sister.”
He gives a gasp of excitement. “I have always wanted a sibling. Can I choose the name?”
I let out a laugh. “Well, that depends. What do you want to call your sibling?”
He thinks for a second. “Potato,” he says gravely.
I ruffle his hair. “If you can convince your Daddy, we’ll think about it.”
Leks makes a noise of outrage. “Oh, so you’re making me be the bad guy here?”
He wraps an arm around his son, too. “We’re not calling your sibling Potato. Sorry.”
“What about Carrot?”
Leks chuckles. “Well, maybe if they have red hair.”
A warm, overwhelming sensation settles in my stomach. It’s a kind of steadiness, a certainty in the knowledge that these people will always be here for me.
I’d thought I had family before — but this is different. This is a kind of joy I haven’t felt since my brotherswere alive.
Leks’s hand stills on me when he sees my face. “Is something wrong?” he asks, kissing away a tear.
“No,” I whisper, tracing my hand over his stubbly jaw. “I’m just really happy.”
EPILOGUE
NATALIA
The elevator ride to the top of the skyscraper feels like it takes a full ten minutes. This isn’t where the Pakhan lives, but it’s where he hosts the Bratva Council meetings.
Leonid’s eyes go wide as the number on the elevator ticks over to one hundred.
“One hundred?” He asks out loud, as if to check whether he’s reading the numbers right.
“Hope you’re not scared of heights,” Leks teases him.
Leonid puffs out his chest. “I’m not scared of anything.”
Confirmed. He’sdefinitelyLeks’s son.
Not only is he having to adjust to being in a big city after growing up in Siberia, he’s being introduced to the social occasions of the Bratva. The way he keeps shifting uncomfortably in his suit reminds me of how my brothers would behave when our parents brought us to events like this.
As soon as we step out of the lift, a stony-faced guard appraises us and stands aside.
It wouldn’t be fair to describe this as an apartment. It’s the entire top floor of the building, a cavernous space with floor-to-ceiling views of the city skyline.
It’s only Leks’s tight grip on my hand that holds me steady as every eye in the room turns towards us and Leonid.
I thought I was overdressed, but my baby blue Dior gown is cute compared to the overload of sequined dresses and diamonds adorning every throat.
The stormy expression on Leks’s face makes the room fall into silence. Or maybe they’re just surprised to see that he really is alive and back in the city.
