Page 226 of Gilded Cage (Kovalyov Bratva 1)

Esme gets to work on breakfast, humming as she cooks. I go out to the car to check our supplies.

We should be good for another week or so up here. I wonder if there’s a possibility we might stay longer. I know Esme loves the peace and quiet of the mountains.

But it’s also more than that.

She’s desperate to avoid the chaos that awaits us the moment we leave this cabin.

My memories unfold suddenly as I step into the crisp mountain air. I remember a conversation I’d had with Marisha what feels like a lifetime ago now.

“Where were you?” Marisha asks, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

“I was working, babe.”

She flinches back from my touch, a hand falling to her growing belly. “I waited for you.”

“Marisha,” I sigh, “you know I have to work.”

“Work,” she spits. “You say that like you have a real job.”

I frown. “What’s gotten into you?”

She’s never this combative. The woman is unflappable. It was one of the reasons I’d been so attracted to her in the first place.

“What’s gotten into me?” she repeats. “Are you serious?”

“Marisha—”

“I’m terrified, Artem!” she says. “I’m terrified to bring a baby into this world. It’s not safe.”

“I’ll keep him safe,” I assure her. “I’ll keep you both safe.”

“One of these days, Artem, you’re going to wake up and realize you’re mortal, same as everyone else. You can’t stop death, and you certainly can’t reverse it. I don’t want to lose my child to this life.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you married me then,” I snap back at her.

She flinches away from the bite in my voice.

I regret my tone immediately.

She deserves more than a short-tempered husband who disregards her fears.

“I’m sorry,” I say, reaching for her hand and pulling her to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

She sighs. “I’m so scared for my baby, Artem.”

“Ourbaby, Marisha,” I correct her. “And I told you, I will protect you both.”

“You promise?” she asks, looking up at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

“I promise.”

I meant that. I really did.

61

Artem

I force myself out of the memory and close the trunk of the car. I look up through the front door of the cabin to see Esme moving around near the kitchen.

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