Page 45 of Defiant Devotion

“Eva isn’t alone and unprotected.” I gazed up at Ben, thrilled. I didn’t try to hide the smile on my lips. For once in a long, long time, I felt free to express happiness.

“No. She never was while you were gone. Oleg was there. So was Boris, even if he did nothing. And as of a month ago, she has Lev as a husband, too.”

My jaw would hit the floor at this rate. “Eva marriedLev? The Baranov soldier Uncle Oleg took in?”

He nodded. “He’s more or less Oleg’s right-hand man now.”

“Evawantedto marry him?”

He chuckled, a rich, deep sound I wanted to hear more often.

“Yes. They chose each other in marriage. Oleg asked him to be her bodyguard while she attended college and?—”

“Wait.” I grinned wider. “Eva went to college?” How bold of her.

“Yeah. And after that experience, um, they… wanted to be together.”

I sighed happily. “My father didn’t try to use her in an arranged marriage?”

“No. Boris wouldn’t have had any say in that decision. Oleg has called the shots, and it seemed he had no interest in an arranged marriage to gain or hold on to an alliance or power. I once heard Rurik say Oleg preferred to orchestrate alliances and power on his own, not through a marriage.”

That actually did sound like my uncle. He was always so stubborn and autocratic like that.

“I saw Lev and Eva at their wedding. I wasn’t a guest, but I wanted to watch them all and get a better feeling for the members at the top of the Baranov family. So I snuck in.”

I couldn’t help a laugh. “You spied on them at their wedding?”

He almost smiled. Maybe it was too grave of a thing to joke about because he sobered quickly. “I did. In my position, I need all the intel and facts that I can get before I act on a job or contract. I prefer to be knowledgeable and form my own opinions and make my independent choices about whom I work with or for. I’ve never formed a loyalty to any one group, not since I left the military. It’s why I’ve been determined to find you myself—before I handled the hit that Lev wants done.”

“And Eva is happy?”

He nodded. “For all intents and purposes, and as far as I could witness, she looks like a happy bride, a willing bride, and a woman very much in love with her new husband.”

I sighed again, unable to stop letting out all the pent-up worries that my sister could be alone and targeted. Ben noticed my relief, hugging me close, and we finished rinsing off.

“The mood changed pretty quickly when Boris fell over, but?—”

I gasped. “He diedather wedding?”

He nodded. “He did. She and Lev didn’t seem surprised, but they’ve taken it in stride.”

Finished with the shower, we got out. Ben steadied me as I stepped onto the mat, then he dried us both off, still speaking.“Lev respected that Oleg wouldn’t stop looking for you. Like I said, he planned to hire me to track you down, but I couldn’t ignore this hunch that you were closer than anyone realized.”

I shook my head, watching him and wondering how I’d ever lucked out to have him in my life. “Not until recently, when I escaped.”

“I wanted to find you because I couldn’t forget you, Sonya. It wasn’t just a duty. It wasn’t just a job. Every time I thought about you, I missed you. I can’t explain it. I won’t try to justify it. It’s just what I felt. But when Lev hinted at hiring me to locate you, it was all I could think about.”

Taking the initiative, I leaned up to kiss him, slow and soft. I hoped that I showed how much his admission mattered to me.

“I never forgot you either.”

He lowered his hand to my stomach, chuckling lightly again. “Well, I doubt you could. Because I left a little something behind for you to remember me by.”

“True.” Dazed and so relieved with this good news about my family, I felt dragged down and even more tired than before. The high of relief, the bliss of coming, and then the heat of the shower. All this promising news. I was on cloud nine, floating and hopeful, and it wore me out.

When I yawned again, he smiled and guided me back toward the bed. First, he flung the messed up top sheet off, then he urged me to get under the covers. “Tired?”

“All the time.”

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