Page 105 of Mountain Daddy

Checking for injuries. For trauma. For anything those monsters might have done.

“Are you okay?” I pull back just enough to see his face. “Did they hurt you?”

He shakes his head. “Nikolai saved me. He made the bad man go away. And he looked after Rosa. She was hurt.”

A sob tears from my throat. I bury my face in his hair, breathe in his scent.

“I was so scared,” he whispers.

“I know, baby. I know. But you're safe now.” I kiss his forehead, his cheeks, the crown of his head. “You're safe.”

Over Chleo's shoulder, I see Maksim. Standing quietly by the window. Watching us with eyes that miss nothing.

“Thank you,” I say. The words feel painfully inadequate. “For watching him. For keeping him safe.”

Maksim nods. There's respect in those eyes. Understanding.

“He's a good kid,” he says simply. “Smart. Like his father.”

His words hit like a physical blow. I look away, unable to meet his eyes.

Nikolai moves beside me. His hand finds my shoulder. Squeezes gently.

“We can't go back to your place,” he says. “Not safe.”

I nod. I know. After everything that's happened, there's no going back. Not to my house. Not to my old life. Not to the lies.

“My cabin,” he says. “Just until we figure things out.”

What choice do I have? Nikolai's enemies—they know where I live. Where I work. They know about Chleo.

“Okay.”

Chleo's eyes are already drooping. The adrenaline crash hitting him hard. I scoop him up, and he curls against me like he did when he was a baby.

“Let's go home, buddy,” I whisper.

But where is home now?

The driveto Nikolai's cabin is quiet. Chleo falls asleep almost immediately, his head in my lap.

Nikolai drives in silence. His knuckles are bloodied. His jaw tight. The darkness in his eyes no longer scares me. I know it's what kept us alive tonight.

The blood on his hands? I’m grateful to him for it.

“Thank you,” I say finally. “For finding me. For saving him.”

His eyes flick to me, then back to the road. “You don't need to thank me for that.”

“I do.” I swallow hard. “I was wrong, Nikolai. About Maksim. About... a lot of things.”

He doesn't respond. Just keeps driving, the trees thickening around us as we head deeper into the woods.

The cabin appears, dark and hulking in the headlights. Log walls. Wraparound porch. Same as I remember.

The last time I was here? We had fucked each other senseless.

“Spare bedroom's on the left,” Nikolai says as he kills the engine. “For Chleo.”

---