Page 91 of Twisted Cage

Another man touched her, his child grew inside her.

Unfairness eats through my veins like acid.

He had this intimate part of her I’ll never have. Something bonding them in a way that’s even more than the bond I share with her. This whole time pride filled me watching her take control and deliver swift justice in the most savage of ways, errantly believing I sparked that part of her soul to life.

But it was never me. Another man who couldn’t possibly know every facet of her the way I did, tapped into an untouched sacred part of her and made it his.

He turned her into the most ferocious form of herself.

An unapologetic, fiercely protective mother. Ruled by animal instinct and absolutely feral in her response to perceived threats.

Which side of the coin do I fall on, friend or foe, if she could keep this from me?

The unrelenting need to know is a wildfire inside me. Before I can change my mind, I reach for the switch on the lamp next to me.

Nikoletta gasps, immediately pulling her daughter tighter, her hand cupping the little girl’s head.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

31

NIKOLETTA

I force myself to look him in the eye. This moment was inevitable the minute I swiped that credit card at the pharmacy just days earlier. But I thought I’d have more time than this.

“What are you doing in here?” My shoulders sag under exhaustion and the unceasing weight of secrets.

Mine. His. And the unpredictable future before us.

And maybe it’s relief too.

Because pretending Lexi belongs to Faith was slowly killing me. Nursing her in secret. Fighting tears when it ended too soon, and I slipped back into the role of honorary aunt. The resentment burning in my gut the entire time.

The jealousy I constantly shoved down watching Faith get to hold my little girl freely while I slowly withered away under spiteful irrational feelings.

I’m the one who vomited for three months straight, all day every day carrying her. I’m the one who felt her swell and grow inside me. I’m the one who battled through eighteen hours of brutal labor to bring her into this world with nothing more than Faith holding my hand despite having her own baby to care for, just two weeks old.

Every milestone changed me. Endless hiccups and an insatiable craving for cucumbers and salsa, by far the weirdest combination of foods I’ve ever eaten to this day. The first gentle swell of my hardening belly. Her first kick. And the first time she opened those solemn eyes and looked at me with endless trust.

“Answer the question.” His gruff voice cuts through my racing thoughts, an emotion in his tone I can’t quite identify.

Focusing on Lexi, I gently turn her in my arms. I push aside Konstantin’s shirt, nestling her on my other side, brushing my nipple over her lips until she latches on. “Answer mine first.”

“To check on you.” His hungry gaze roams my face before trailing along the skin exposed by his open shirt and the swell of my breast showing over Lexi’s dark hair. Naked yearning etches his features. Like he’s on the outside of some reality he so desperately wants to be a part of.

This is where anyone else would have a niggling of doubt about their decision to keep her secret.

I have none.

The first time I looked into her eyes, I knew I’d suffer whatever I had to for her. I’d force the people I love to endure anything to protect her.

“I wasn’t sure we’d be safe.” I glance down at my baby girl and think about what the Petrovs do to their women. The choke hold on me is swift, and the spill of tears quickly follows.

Outside these moments, I’m vicious with the need to protect her. People don’t have good natures. I don’t categorize them by their good deeds, how respected they are, or loved ones waiting for them at home. They’re animals at their most basic level. They’re a friend, or they’re the enemy.

Enemies are a threat. I eliminate threats.

But in moments like these where we’re warm and safe, and I’m doing something so natural and simple as feeding her, something only I can do like this, I feel everything.

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