Page 155 of Crimson Tears

“What are we celebrating?” Boris asks, entering the kitchen.

I look between the two of them. “Do you want to know what we are having?”

Boris cocks an eyebrow as he eyes the counter. “Cupcakes for dinner?”

I shake my head, and Cillian walks up to pat Boris on the shoulder. “You can be so thick sometimes, Old Man. Our girl is trying to tell us if we are going to have a little mini Nessa running around, or a rambunctious boy none of us will know what to do with.”

Boris’ eyes widen, and I can’t keep the grin off of my face. My cheeks actually hurt. I don’t think I have ever smiled this hard before.

“Lisichka?”

I give him a nod and he runs to me, scooping me in his arms. He plants a kiss on my lips so sweet I know this will be ingrained in my mind as a core memory for the rest of my life.

“Are we really doing this?” Cillian asks.

Boris sets me back on my feet, and I turn to take both of their hands.

“Together,” I say, placing their hands on my stomach.

“Together,” they promise at the same time.

We each reach for the dessert I made when a ringing sound fills the room. First, my phone. Then, Boris’, and then followed by Cillian’s.

We all pause as I answer first. “What is it?”

“We found them. Lev has eyes on them now. We need to hurry, it looks like they could be packing up camp.”

Evie’s in full mission mode, and my mood turns from sunshine and joy to black as night in a heartbeat.

“He has eyes on the kids?” I ask for confirmation. We have seen heat signatures, and heard of these children, but never once have we laid eyes on them.

“Yes! He’s counted at least twenty, but it’s getting dark and it seems most of them are in the bunkers already.”

We all rush to the bedroom and grab our go bags before running to the cars. Evie texts us a meeting location just outside of the perimeter they‘ve established. We decide against bringing my car because of how loud it is even if it is the fastest.

Instead, we jump in Boris’ black Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron with bulletproof windows and doors.

Boris calls Evie when we get in the car, and we come up with a plan as Lev explains the layout. Security seems tight, but there are windows where we can get onto the property. Everything is set up in a circular pattern, the training areas scattered along the outside and the kids seem to be staying in bunkers made from shipping containers. There are a few stable buildings that sit above the containers as well, which we can use as vantage points.

We decide to infiltrate the inner circle of buildings with a two man team of Damien and me, along with Azazel guarding our backs.

Once we’re in, Cillian and Boris will pick off the outer security on the south end while Alexi and Evie do the same with the North side. Lev’s going to keep an eye on the perimeter and let us know if anything changes.

The heat signatures aren’t showing up well, which means they must have an additional measure in place we can’t see. We’ll have to be extra careful and rely on what Lev can see in the dark.

When we arrive, we do our best to remain silent as we get our gear on. Boris and Cillian stress over the fact that my bulletproof vest doesn’t cover my entire stomach. Then, I remind them we have the upper hand, and I’m the best sharp shooter of the group, so they finally relent.

I wish we’d gotten the chance to have our moment to celebrate. I even wrote the name I liked the best on a piece ofpaper on the plate for them to open after they found out the gender.

Right now though, these victimized kids are not safely tucked inside my belly and need someone to fight for them, so that is exactly what we’re about to do.

Soon, we’ll have these children safe and sound back at the house, and then I’ll tell Boris and Cillian that they’re going to be fathers to a baby…

Chapter 47

I’m beyond stoked to go along with Nessa on this little mission. Cillian put up one hell of a fight, but Azazel is still learning to do his job and doesn’t listen to others as well as he listens to me. Having him at our backs is the best thing for Nessa right now.

Evie practically bounced in the door earlier today, overjoyed that Nessa gave her permission to tell us that Alexi was going to have a half-sibling soon. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed quite as hard as I did when we all saw the look on Alexi’s face.

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