Page 257 of Gilded Cage (Kovalyov Bratva 1)

“Just you and me,” I agree. “And our baby. Our little family.” I pull his hands from around my waist and place them on my belly. “This is what we’d be doing it for.”

I see the conflict rage in his eyes for a moment, but it settles when he looks down at my stomach.

“Our baby,” he echoes softly. He’s talking to himself more than me.

Eventually, he sighs, kisses me on the head, and turns away to make coffee.

“Are you coming into town with me today?” he asks.

I had wanted to, but I can sense that he needs some alone time to process everything we’ve just discussed. I realize I need the same, so I shake my head.

“I think I’ll just stay home and read today,” I say.

He doesn’t argue. Instead, he nods and kisses my forehead distractedly before moving towards the door.

When he’s gone, I try to read, but I can’t focus enough to get through a single page. I need something to clear my head.

Nature would be good. Wind on my cheek, mountains on the horizon—that kind of thing.

I shrug into my coat and head down the slope towards the narrower mountain trails that Artem frequently uses when he’s out hunting deer.

It’s a beautiful day. I spot a bald eagle circling high overhead. I end up following his flight path for several minutes, but I make sure to stick to the trail so that I’ll be able to find my way back home when I want to.

Once the trail tapers off and slopes downwards towards the ravine, I stop walking and find a smooth boulder to rest on for a little while.

I pull out the bottle of water I’ve brought with me and take a long swig.

This place is truly beautiful. The kind of paradise I always dreamed of but never thought I’d find.

“Isn’t that right?” I whisper to my belly.

I started doing this about two nights ago when I first felt a fluttering at the corner of my swollen stomach.

It was so slight that at first, I thought I was imagining things. But when it happened the second time, I knew for sure it was him. My child, moving around inside me, reminding me that in a few months we’d be meeting face to face for the first time.

Above me, I catch sight of the eagle again. He’s circling around and it seems like he’s only inches below the clouds.

“Maybe after you’re born, I’ll bring you right here and we can watch the eagles together,” I say, rubbing my hands back and forth along my stomach. “And when you’re older, I’ll explain how your father and I planned our future together. How this was the place where we realized that our love for you, for each other, trumped everything else.”

I felt another flutter, stronger this time. Tears spring to my eyes.

It’s almost like he’s answering back.

More flutters continue, like morse code coming from the inside of my belly.

I press my palm down against the rippling. “I’m here, little bird,” I murmur automatically.

The fluttering eases and disappears.

“Little bird,” I say again, testing the words out loud. I look out into the oncoming wind. “Cesar used to call me that.”

It’s been weeks now since I learned the truth about Cesar and his connection to Artem.

And it’s been almost as long since I’ve thought about him in any real sense.

In all honesty, I’ve pushed him to the furthest recesses of my mind until I feel strong enough to process his part in Artem’s tragedy.

I hate knowing what Cesar did.

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