Page 61 of Her Courage

"Is everything okay? Andrei texted that you needed me."

My initial irritation at Andrei's interference melted away at the sight of her. She wore a sapphire blue dress that matched her eyes, her honey-brown hair pulled back in a neat bun that I immediately wanted to unravel with my fingers.

"Kaleb?" she prompted when I didn't respond.

"Marshall called this morning," I finally said. "Patrice made bail."

Understanding dawned in her eyes. Without hesitation, she crossed the room and climbed into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"I'm right here," she murmured, pressing her forehead to mine. "We're all right here."

Something tight in my chest began to loosen. I pulled her closer, breathing in her familiar scent—vanilla and something uniquely Lottie.

Andrei had been right to call her. For days, I'd been carrying this burden alone, trying to shield her from my fears. But that wasn't how our relationship worked. We faced challenges together—that was the promise we'd made.

"I've been worried she might come after you again," I admitted, the words easier to speak with Lottie's warmth pressed against me. "Or that she might have manipulated one of my sisters into helping her with bail."

"Have you called them?" Lottie asked gently.

I shook my head. "I've been trying to protect them from all this."

"Maybe they need to know what's happening," she suggested. "So they can protect themselves too."

She was right, of course. My instinct to shield everyone from Patrice was the same pattern I'd been trying to break—the idea that I alone had to bear the burden of my mother's toxicity.

"I'll call them tonight," I promised, pressing a kiss to Lottie's temple.

"Invite them over for dinner," Andrei chimed in from his position leaning against the wall beside the door.

She smiled, the expression lighting up her entire face. "Good. Now, since I've been summoned from my important director duties, do I at least get to have lunch with my three handsome men?"

Her deliberate lightness was exactly what I needed. "I think that can be arranged, baby girl."

Andrei approached, his hand settling on Lottie's back. "I've already told Colby to meet us downstairs. Oscar's bringing the car around."

Lottie's eyes danced with mischief. "You were pretty confident I'd agree to lunch."

"When have you ever turned down food, kroshka?" Andrei teased, tugging playfully on a strand of hair that had escaped her bun.

She laughed, the sound washing over me like a balm. "Fair point."

As we left the conference room, Lottie's hand firmly in mine, I felt the fog of anxiety beginning to lift. Patrice was still out there. The threat remained real. But I wasn't facing it alone anymore.

I had my family—the one I'd chosen, the one that chose me back every single day.

And together, we were stronger than any storm Patrice could unleash.

Chapter Thirty-One

ANDREI

The Italian restaurant buzzed with lunchtime chatter, but I barely registered the sounds around me. Every muscle in my body remained coiled tight as I scanned faces, tracked movements, catalogued exits.

Old habits.

The ones that had kept me alive in Russia.

Lottie sat to my right, her hand resting on my thigh beneath the table—grounding me, even as my attention divided between her and the surrounding environment. Kaleb sat across from her, Colby beside him, both engaged in animated discussion about the menu.