Page 47 of Owned By Shadows

“I’m keeping this separate from The Enlightened,” he tells me, his tone hinting that he knows that he just gave me something I could use against him. “Plus, we’re partners in this, are we not, Nikolai Petrov?”

“Da, Alexei,” I reply, wanting this alliance and for more than just the immediate need to dispose of our fathers. “I have one more request.”

“Da, Nikolai?” he parrots back at me, and my lips twitch, just for a moment, because this next request is too important to not say it.

“If anything were to happen to me, I need you to take care of them. Make sure they’re all okay and that my father isn’t alive to get to them.”

My heart thrashes inside my chest, wanting to deny a future where I can’t hold Iris, can’t make love to Roman, won’t be able to explore this thing with Hunter, or cradle our baby, my own brother. But I need to know that they won’t have to face this alone.

“I swear it, Nikolai. I will help them, and if you don’t manage to kill theKusok idiota,the piece of shit, I will gladly slit his throat for you.” His words have the gravitas of a vow, and they further loosen the tension that gives me headaches most days.

“Thank you, Alexei, and I promise you the same if anything should happen to you,” I reply, my tone just as solemn.

“Okay, now that’s out of the way, I can have identities delivered to your location within 48 hours,” Alexei says. “Medical supplies will be trickier but doable. Your father’s watching the usual channels.”

“Do you have a list of his surveillance capabilities?” I question. “And which of his men are leading the search?” My phone buzzes with a notification, and I pull it away to find the information has just been sent to me. “That was quick.”

“Not what she said.” Alexei cackles in a slightly deranged way at his joke, and I roll my eyes. “Come on, that was funny!”

We move on to talking about resources and information. I need to keep us here and hidden for as long as possible in order to keep working on getting allies and putting my plan into place. About halfway through our conversation, my phone buzzes, and pulling it away from my ear, I see it’s a text from Hunter.

She’s asking for you.

“I need to wrap this up,” I tell Alexei, my tone changing subtly, becoming softer as it often does when I think ofMoye Solntse.

“Your woman?” Alexi inquires, a note of amused confusion in his tone.

“Yes.” My answer is simple and to the point. Iris will always take priority.

A moment of silence reaches me from the other end. “My father never allowed such...attachments. He considers them weaknesses.”

“As does mine,” I reply, my voice becoming hard. “But then he can’t see what a strength it can be. To have something more than yourself to fight for. To live for.”

“Maybe one day I will be so blessed.” There’s a touch of wistfulness in his comment. “I’ll be in touch in a few days when the papers have been sent. Good luck, Nikolai.”

The call disconnects before I can say goodbye. Crazy fucking Russian.

Pocketing the device, I head back to the villa at a brisk pace, the sand shifting underneath my feet as I walk.

Wasting no time, I head towards the master bedroom to find Iris awake, propped up against pillows, her hand resting on her swollen belly. She looks stunning, the very picture of fertility, like a goddess of spring.

“Everything okay?” I ask, my voice soft as I cross to her side, sitting down on the edge of the bed and staring into her beautiful hazel eyes.

“He’s kicking up a storm,” she says, taking my hand and placing it where our son and my brother is clearly most active. “I think he knows something’s wrong.” Her brows furrow, and it guts me to see the worry on her face. Her life should be full of smiles and happiness. She’s suffered too much already, all at the hands of a madman who is obsessed with someone he can never have.

I feel the powerful movement beneath my palm and something twists further inside my chest. “Nothing’s wrong,Moye Solntse,” I inform her firmly, staring into those eyes that mean so much to me. “We’ve just hit a complication in the plan. A bump in the road. That’s all.”

“Nik…” Iris gave him a knowing look. “I know that face. What aren’t you telling me?”

I consider how much to share, balancing her right to know with my desire to protect her from additional stress. Plus, I know she’ll be pissed at being kept away, but I just can’t risk anything happening to her or our baby, and he’s due not long after New Year’s Eve. “Alexei’s still on board. We’ve been finalising details, strengthening our position.” I pause. “He’s going to help me find someplace safe for you while we deal with Sergi.”

Her hand tightens over mine as she inhales sharply. “What do you mean, Nik? I want to be there. Ineedto be there.” Hereyes fill with tears, and I know they’re from anger as much as hurt, but I can’t let her near him.

“It’s too dangerous,Malyshka,” I plead, begging her with my eyes to understand. “I can’t have you hurt. It would break something inside me if anything were to happen to you or the baby.”

“But Rowan promised I could be there,” she says, her voice small, and I hate the defeat in it. “Don’t I deserve vengeance for everything that man has done to me?”

“What’s going on?” Hunt asks as he strides in, Roman at his side, and their eyes immediately land on Iris. “Why the fuck is she crying?”

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