Page 175 of Ivory Ashes

“Dante?”

His head pops up and I know instantly it’s my son.

“Dad?” he croaks, sniffling back tears. Then he’s on his feet and sprinting towards me. He throws his arms around my neck and I’m too stunned to move—to speak.

Dad.

He called me Dad.

“I knew you’d come for us,” he cries, squeezing me tight. “Pyotr is bad and hurt Anatoly, but I knew you were good.”

He saw Anatoly get shot. He was there for all of it.

I suddenly regret not taking more time dispatching Pyotr. He deserved so much worse.

I scoop Dante up and carry him with me down the hall. “Where’s your mom?”

He points a shaky finger towards the last door on the right. “The man left, but he didn’t unlock her door. I can’t get her out. She’s crying, but I can’t help her.” He hiccups, trying to control his sobs while he’s talking a mile a minute. “The man scared her, I could tell. He scared me, too. I told him to let her go, but he wouldn’t. The chains are big. And now, he’s gone and he chained her up and they’re big. I can’t break them. Even you can’t break them. Is she going to be stuck here? Is she going to die?”

“Hush now, son. No one is going to die,” I assure him. And I realize I mean it.

It’s why I told Anatoly to get Viviana out of the mansion in the first place. I wasn’t going to let my father kill her. She may have lied to me about killing Trofim, but she is still my son’s mother.

That alone is a good reason to keep Viviana alive. Whatever else I might feel for her isn’t important.

It turns out my father didn’t leave a key behind because the door is already unlocked; it’s just heavy enough that Dante can’t open it on his own. As to why Viviana isn’t trying to open it from the inside… I don’t want to think about that yet.

I lower Dante to the floor and he instantly clings to me. His fingers dig into the collar of my shirt, holding tight.

“I’ll be right back, but I have to go make sure your mom is alright.”

His blue eyes are panicked. “Is she okay?”

Fuck, I hope so.

“I’m sure she is,” I tell him. “But I need to go in there and check on her. I want you to stay right here, okay?”

He nods, his chin dimpling with the effort not to cry.

“Good boy.” I kiss the top of his head and then turn to face the door.

I didn’t feel a thing walking down into the bunker. But now, facing a door I know Viviana is behind, my heart jolts.

I don’t want to parse out why.

I don’t want to think about what she’s been through.

I don’t want to do anything except get her out of here and figure out what happens next.

As soon as I open the door, I hear the rattle of chains. Viviana is huddled in the corner, her arms coiled around herself to protect from the cold concrete and damp walls.

She looks up as the door opens and she is half-wild. Her face is pale and her green eyes are circled in purplish bruises. Her hair is a matted tangle over her shoulder. She looks hollow and sick.

But when she stands up with hands fisted at her sides and her mouth set in a firm line, all I can think is…

I want her.

After everything, I still fucking want her.

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