Page 74 of Inked in Devotion

I hoped we would find that loophole.

Chapter

Seventeen

Kolya

It had been five days since Chloe kicked me out of the carriage house. She relented and allowed me to see Sebastian. While she was at work and Sebastian was with Sorcha, I got to play with my son. I was staying at the main house, much to Kirill’s annoyance. He still didn’t like me around when his wife was working in the basement.

So he sent me on pointless errands. Like collections without intimidation. It was so boring. That was grunt work. To which he responded, it was better than my moping and stalking Chloe on the surveillance cameras.

He caught me a couple of times, slouched in his study with my laptop as I watched her and my son.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Especially this evening, with violent storms in the forecast, I wanted to make sure Chloe was okay. I didn’t see Seva today because Chloe was working from home. No way was this distance working long term. I was already feeling phantom limb syndrome. And it wasn’t just about Sebastian. It was Chloe. I missed her. I kept replaying that scene in the bedroom before everything went to shit.

After fucking her to oblivion, she lay cuddled against me.

I liked that. I liked that very much. Something inside me cracked and expanded. A warmth different from the time Sebastian had called me “Dada.”

Lucy had put in the request to Margo. The matchmaker recorded the request but didn’t give us a date when she would get back to us.

Hmm…maybe intimidation could be useful there. I opened the covenant Chloe signed with Margo, checking for contact information anywhere. Did I need to make an appointment? I scoffed. Nah. Showing up unannounced was more my speed. I could ask our new IT guy to hack into Margo’s appointment book although there were anecdotes cautioning about going that route. Appealing to the matchmaker’s good side was the goal.

A streak of lightning lit up the room. Pounding, torrential rain followed a reverberation of thunder. The storm had started.

I switched back to the surveillance cameras.

The live video confused me. Chloe was feeding Sebastian? Or was she eating while watching Sebastian crawl around the floor? Her plate was on the padded floor of the playpen. She was sitting on the backs of her heels and staring into space.

At least she wasn’t cowering. I remembered her shuddering against me during the last thunderstorm. I hated that for her.

Another streak of lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder rattled the windows. That was close. But my eyes were on Chloe and Sebastian.

She barely flinched. No, she hadn’t moved an inch. Shouldn’t she be gathering Sebastian in her arms? She was still staring into space. Shit. A sliver of memory crept into my head. The time she was staring at the kettle of boiling water.

Movement on the screen cut off that memory. It was Sebastian crawling over and picking up something from her plate. I couldn’t tell what it was.

Fuck. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Concerned, I slammed the lid of the laptop and raced out of the house. I had the keys, so I didn’t need to knock or anything. I was dripping, so I toed off my shoes and padded to the living room.

Chloe was still staring into space.

And Sebastian…what the fuck.

A sinister calm blanketed my nerves. Fury threatened to surge, but I tamped it down as I hurried to my boy. He was struggling. He was on his back. His face was purple from the effort to breathe. He was choking!

I picked him up, flipped him over, and started pounding on his back.

“Kolya!” Chloe shrieked. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Our son is choking, and you’re letting it happen.” I turned away from her. I had shut down every emotion, like my Petrov kin would do in this situation. The chilling condemnation in my voice didn’t sound like me at all. I was the protector. Protecting my son from a threat.

His mother.

“I…” she gasped. “I was eating…”