Page 23 of The Pakhan's Secret Baby

We could be normal again.

He pours another drink and downs it as his face twists. “Gusev found out the intel I passed them was good. They used it against Krasnov and hit him hard. But then they dug deeper and found my skim." He's white as a sheet and my stomach turns. "I barely got out of the office, Em. They sent men after me."

I stare at him while my stomach twists into tighter knots. “Batya, what on earth..." I cover my face with both hands and start to feel too warm. This can't be happening. I thought we were doing fine financially with the bits I’ve been able to add to our family budget. I had no clue he was skimming too, and from people like the Gusevs. Is he stupid?

Batya rubs his forehead with a hand, mopping up sweat. “I had to. I was trying to get us enough money so we could leave this life behind. A fresh start somewhere safe." His lip trembles as he speaks and I see how badly he wants this. But ripping off criminals who kill their enemies is a horrible move.

"Batya, you're making risky choices. This isn't safe for us." I say the words but they come back to bite me right away, the instant I hear Lex fuss. He's probably too warm in his snowsuit, and I'm not one to talk. The choices I've made have put us in even more danger than Batya's poor decisions.

He stands up and starts pacing the kitchen, back and forth between the table and the sink.

I just need a few days, maybe a couple weeks, to get the rest of the funds together. I’ve got some cash hidden to buy new papers for all of us. Then we go to Moscow or Perm. Somewhere far from St. Petersburg where they won’t look for us right away. We can disappear and start over.

I rise slowly, knowing this is about to devolve into another night of him drinking and being paranoid, and I stalk over to Lex to unbundle him. I can't skip classes, and I won’t miss work either.

If Batya insists on hiding away and keeping me locked up, he's going to have to babysit for me. I can't sit around waiting for life to suffocate me.

I want to finish my degree. As it is, it's risky enough taking Lex to Irina's house now that Rashid is out looking for me.

Maybe letting Batya keep Lex during classes isn't a bad idea, but I won't play the hermit to avoid Rashid.

I will live my life and stand my ground, even if I'm scared shitless. And if it comes down to it, I'll run.

It might be the only way to have any semblance of a life at this point.

8

RASHID

"It's nonsense and you know it." Devid practically stomps his foot like a fool as he follows me through the house toward the car.

The driver is already waiting, having pulled around ten minutes ago when I first wanted to leave. Emory's class will be letting out soon and I have to be there when she gets there.

"If it were nonsense, do you think I'd be doing it?" I'm not roiling with emotion today like I was last week when I intercepted her and saw her with that child, who I now know is most certainly hers. Whether or not it's mine is still to be determined. Without DNA we can't prove a thing, but a simple search of public record indicates Emory Rostova gave birth to a baby boy approximately nine months after that night in the club. It's no mystery to me.

"Think about this, Rashid. You’re focused on the wrong thing, pulling our men off of more important?—"

I whip around with a glare so cold it stops him dead in his tracks and square my shoulders. "Our men?" I ask, lifting my eyebrows. "Or my men?" Devid is my loyal, very trusted right hand, and theclosest thing I have to a brother on this planet. But if he crosses me one more time, he's going to learn why men don't cross me.

He flounders, taking a step back and dropping his head, though his scowl seems permanently etched into his forehead. I don't care if he thinks this is a waste of time.

The men want me rushing into war, ready to shoot it out with whoever stands in my way.

But I see the bigger picture.

We have to follow Rostov back to his source and stop it there, which we can't do if we go shooting him.

Besides, I have a son now, and that son would be affected by this violence—maybe caught in the crossfire too. I won’t have that.

"Sir, I swear. I just..." Devid hasn't called me sir in years, so hearing it proves he's gotten my point.

"Keep watching the Gusevs movements and reporting back. Let me deal with this. And stay the hell out of my way from now on. I'd hate to lose the only man in this organization I'd trust with my life." I straighten my tie and turn back toward the door, stalking through it into the colder air.

The driver takes me across town to the campus where I slide out, saying, "Follow behind me, but stay out of view." He grunts, and I shut the door, ready to wait for Emory.

Last week when I was here I lost my head. The shock of someone actually having the gall to defy me the way she has felt like the ultimate betrayal. No one crosses me like that—or they lose their ability to ever do it again.

But today, I'm coming to terms with the facts.