Page 70 of The Enemy's Defector
She groaned. “Go figure. I’m the only one with it.”
Joann offered advice about dealing with morning sickness, which prompted both of them to inquire about her children. Sadly, she shared her story of losing her son—something my uncle considered “collateral damage” and also something I’d never forgiven him for.
“Anton’s guards shot him when they thought he was breaking in,” Joann said. “There were some soldiers arguing and drinking and being rowdy, so when he came to visit me from college, they reacted and…”
I patted her hand, hating my uncle all over again. I swore that if I could have the chance to kill him, I’d want to bring him back to life all so I could kill him again and again.
We fortunately moved on from the topic of Joann’s son being killed. Both Lucy and Sloane offered their condolences, but I was glad that no one else carried on talking about Anton. Bringing up my uncle at all was a risk for me because I felt like I would always have to counter the prejudice of being a Kozlov and then automatically being the enemy. It was a case of one step forward and two steps backward, but there was nothing I could do but be myself and hope that others would realize I had no loyalty to that murdering asshole and never would.
My marriage to Nik and my time here in this house felt like a test, and I couldn’t wait until Anton was dead and I wouldn’t have to deal with him or his “legacy” as the enemy of the Ivanov family.
Sloane and Lucy left before too long, giving me a chance to catch up some more with Joann. It felt good to spend time with her, but in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but miss Nik. After spending so much time with him on the run and having no break from him, I was subjected to withdrawal from him now.
Since learning that he had given in about the details of my prenatal care and where I could deliver, I wanted to thankhim for being able to budge like that. I also wanted to express my gratitude toward him for bringing Joann here and giving Malcolm a place to stay and protect them from Anton.
Nik had a heart. I knew he did.
But could I view his gestures as a sign that he loved me?
“Katerina,” a woman said as she entered the living room where Joann and I were catching up.
We both turned to the newcomer, and I couldn’t help but smile. It hadn’t been that long since I’d seen Anastasia. I saw Nik’s grandmother at that wedding earlier in the year, but watching her beam at me felt good. That test to win over all the Ivanovs’ trust and welcome was wearing on me, but this woman wouldn’t be an issue. Anastasia Ivanov was someone I’d always known. She knew me as a young girl. She watched me from the background. Whenever I’d come here to play or visit with my father meeting up with Grigory, she entertained me and seemed so fond of me.
I had her approval before.
And it was so comforting to realize she still approved of me now.
“I can’t believe it,” she admitted with a light laugh, shaking her head as she crossed the room toward me. “When Maxim mentioned in that call that Nik had come home and was married…” She let out a dramatic sigh while still appearing as regal and proper as ever.
I closed my eyes as I hugged her, almost moved to tears that I had another woman in my corner.
Joann smiled from the side and backed up, pleased as well. “I’ll excuse you two,” she said.
I paused her to introduce her to Anastasia, and I was glad that despite the differences between them—a Mafia matriarch widow and a former housekeeper—she wasn’t judgy.
Anastasia and I sat and she smiled again. “I just couldn’t believe it. I’d wanted to see all those brothers at least in the process of settling down this year, and now look at it. Three married and every one of you pregnant!”
“That’s quite a family expansion,” I agreed.
“I hope I didn’t miss out on too much,” she said. “I was away for a function with the governor’s wife for a few days. That’s business as usual, but if I missed your wedding too…” She slanted her brows and gave me a stern look.
“Ah. About that.”
She groaned lightly. “You didn’t have one either?”
I raised my brows. “Sloane and Lucy didn’t?”
She pressed her lips together. “Well. Maxim and Sloane hurried through one. And then Damon and Lucy…” She winced. “It was more of a contractual thing, where we thoughtyouwould be showing up.”
I nodded and knew I’d need to hash this out all over again. She was patient and attentive as I gave her my reasons for why I sent Lucy in my place. I admitted my sorrow and regrets for duping them all, but then I followed up with what else was going on.
My search for the truth about my father’s death. Looking for Nik and saving him. Realizing I was pregnant. It was a lot, and it took an hour to update her about it all.
“You don’t have to apologize to me.” She shook her head. “When Lucy showed up, I figured you had a plan. You had a reason to stay away.” Patting my hand, she softened her expression. “I’m sorry you had to see the truth about Thomas’s death. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t,” I agreed. “It still isn’t easy. I’ll always miss him. He was all the family I had.”
“Not anymore,” she countered with a gentle smile. “You’ve got Nik now, but if you were to ask me, you’d always had him. Plus, a baby on the way!”
