Page 95 of Inked in Devotion

It was an archaic custom that the Zahkarovs of the last fifty years didn’t take seriously, except their disgraced brigadier, Grigori Petrov. Kolya’s cousin didn’t have the required shade of blue eyes. The Zahkarov bratva was a step removed from the custom because they were based in the US.

The Petrov clan, who remained in Russia, further splintered into different groups to serve different factions of the Russian mob.

Most recently, Dimitri, another one of Kolya’s cousins and the one whose text I saw, had taken part in a failed breeding.

I was still trying to wrap my mind around the careful curation of bloodlines, but after I’d been exposed to Marriage Ink, the revelation went down easier.

A kidnapping ring targeting my son doubled my anxiety, but adding a shadow organization tripled my trepidation.

“Do you think they want Sebastian?”

Kolya nodded. “We’re not sure where Marena comes in. Either they’re working together, or they’re separate entities.”

“I can’t believe it.” Fuck my life, but I wasn’t regretting Sebastian.

My gaze fell on him, sleeping peacefully in the car seat carrier.

Fierce protectiveness flowed through my veins and hardened my resolve. I glanced at Kolya. “How do I protect my son?”

“Our son,” Kolya reiterated calmly. “He’s in danger because of me, so I’m responsible for his protection. Yours too.”

Our eyes locked. His eyes, so like my son’s beautiful ones, were burning right through me. He was assuming all the blame, but deep inside, I couldn’t find any resentment or anger to pin on Kolya. I couldn’t hate the man simply because he made up half my son’s DNA.

His warmth washed over my body as he erased the gap between us. His face lowered to mine. His breath, a whisper across my cheek.

“Chloe, I’m sorry.”

A resigned smile pulled at my mouth. “I don’t blame you for being Sebastian’s father.” I backed up a step before I did the opposite and stepped forward to hug him. To be able to think clearly, I needed space from him because it was so easy to just give in and have him take over.

“I’m overwhelmed by all this.” I waved at the whiteboard. “Do we have any lead at all on the Vozhokari since Marena seems to have fallen off the face of the planet?”

The grimness on Kolya’s face ratcheted up my anxiety. “What?”

“There’s something else I need to tell you.”

Here we go. I wanted answers, didn’t I? “Do I need to sit down for this?”

“Probably.”

“I was kidding.” Oh my God. What else could he tell me that was more fucked up than this? My mind was already having a hard time processing the existence of the Vozhokari and its ancient practices.

“If it’s what I think Kolya wants to tell you, then we could move to the sitting area,” Lucy broke in. “It’s cozier, less intimidating.”

She led us to a collection of leather couches against an exposed brick wall. On it was a framed The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh or what looked like it. It wasn’t a painting. And as I moved closer, I realized it was a jigsaw puzzle.

“Did you do this?” I asked.

“Kirill and I did,” Lucy said with what I could describe as a suppressed, giddy smile. Like she was tickled by the thought.

“Yeah, I couldn’t believe Kirill had the patience for it,” Kolya said with a hint of sardonic humor. He carried the car seat carrier and set it on the coffee table. Unlike the clinical area of the whiteboards with the fluorescent task lighting, this adjacent sitting area was more inviting courtesy of the pin lights bathing the space with an orange radiance. “Must be quite an incentive.”

I snorted.

Lucy’s face pinkened. Or maybe it was the lighting.

I settled into the couch and checked on Sebastian. He’d become more accustomed to frequent changes of surroundings and usually slept through people talking or light laughter. It had been a blessing. We still hadn’t determined what we were going to do this evening. I was a tad spaced out, but given what I’d been through, I felt fine. I’m sure all the IV infusions helped.

The voices were nonexistent. I hadn’t felt more like myself in a long time, since the announcement of Theo and Aralina’s engagement. Since before Marena gave me that last batch of tea.