Page 25 of Cashmere Ruin

April turns to me, eyes suddenly wide. “Yeah. I… Sorry, I didn’t ask you what names you liked. I just always thought, if I ever had a girl…”

She holds the bundle out to me. Her hands quiver.

With the utmost care, I take it. “It’s fine.” I shake my head. “It’s a good name. It really… suits her.”

May.My daughter’s name is May.

I’m a father.

And speaking of fathers…

“Carmine was probably behind it all,” I tell April, my face turning grim. “The kidnapping, the break-in. Until I deal with him, you’re both back under my protection.”

I don’t leave her room to argue. Luckily, she doesn’t. She may be a liar and a cheat, but from what I’ve seen…

From what I’ve seen, she’s one hell of a mom.

“Okay,” she says. “Until Carmine’s dealt with.”

“Until Carmine’s dealt with,” I agree.

It’s a pact. We don’t shake on it, but we don’t need to.

Our baby seals it for both of us.

9

MATVEY

Minutes tick by, then hours.

By the time Yuri returns, the sun must have traveled all the way across the horizon, because the room has grown dark again.

Not that I’ve been keeping track. I was too busy watching something else.

“Matvey?”

I put a finger to my lips. “Quiet. She’s asleep.”

With a nod, Yuri walks around the currently occupied couch. “Must’ve been one hell of a night for April, too.”

“I didn’t mean her.”

My brother reels back at my harsh tone. I watch his gaze linger on April out of the corner of my eye, one hand darting out to fix the blanket she burrowed herself into. “My bad.”

I force myself not to bite it off at the wrist.

Silent, Yuri creeps closer. That’s when he spots her: bundled up in blankets, tiny hands curled in tiny fists. Safe in my arms at last.My daughter.

“Oh.Her.Yeah, she’s a real sleepyhead.”

“Mm. Guess you’d know better than me.”

Hurt flashes across my brother’s face. “Mot?—”

“Don’t,” I warn. “No more excuses.”

Grimly, he nods. “I’m sorry.”

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