Page 38 of Drawing Dead

The board met earlier this week. They voted to keep me on staff and still running the shelter. My father didn’t even make it to that meeting. It’s a good thing he’s not a voting member. The other members didn’t have a problem with Dmitri being my husband. They’ve seen how much he and the Bratva have brought to Clare’s House. They’ve helped us get multilingual staff members and extra security.

Dima promised me that if nothing else happens between now and the New Year, he will relax the security. I’ll always have Nikita and Anton because they are my own personal guards. There have been no new flower deliveries or attempted break-ins. I’m happy about that because my nerves are already shot.

I’ve been tired so much lately and feel like I’m coming down with a cold. I can’t wait until all of this holiday stuff is over with so I can just relax. I think I’ll take a week of vacation in January and just sleep.

Dmitri’s fight he has to do because of me is later tonight. My husband has bulked up so much that it’s not only more of a turn-on, but it scares me that he could really get hurt. I’ve heard the rumors about these underground fights. I can’t be with him, but after the party tonight, I’ll go home and Sparrow will come over to hang out with me. I wanted to go to her house, but Dima insisted she come to ours.

“Ready?” Sparrow breaks through my musing.

I turn from the mirror I was staring into and smile at her. Holding my hand against my stomach, I pray I can hold myself together.

“Are you okay?” She points to my hand, and I shrug.

“I’m exhausted. All this has me feeling like I’m coming down with something.”

Sparrow walks over to me and takes me in her arms. With us both in heels, she is still quite a few inches shorter than me. She hugs me tight, and it’s just what I needed.

“He’ll be safe. Andrei will make sure of it.”

“Thank you.”

I pull away and reach for the little white clutch that matches my jacket. I take it downstairs with me because we are leaving from here to head back home after the party. The guys didn’t want us to stay upstairs in the condos without them. Andrei said the houses would be safer. There are more guards and gates people have to get through.

I’ve heard rumblings that something is going on back in Eastport with Andrei’s sister, Ridley. He can’t say more and has stated that he’ll be heading there after the holidays to check on her.Babushka, as she likes to be called by everyone she considers family, is home from spending the last few months there. She said she doesn’t like the cold and snow of Rhode Island.

We take the elevator all the way down to the kitchen level and then move out to the main dining room. It’s festively decorated. Only staff, their family members, and members of the Bratva are here tonight.

“My girls.”Babushkamoves across the room.

I was so nervous to meet her after what happened with Sparrow, but she has been nothing but kind to me.

She hugs Sparrow and pats her belly. “When are you going to give me a great-grandbaby?”

Sparrow chuckles and says they aren’t preventing it. Which gets me thinking. We aren’t either. If anything, Dima is more determined than ever to get me pregnant.

WhenBabushkaturns to me, I want to pull away from her and not let her put that stress on me too, but I take her hug and she smiles at me.

“You look radiant tonight, Lennon.”

I smile and thank all the holy deities that I was able to make my makeup look right so she doesn’t know how sick I am.

“Thank you,Babushka. You look amazing too.” I wave at her crushed velvet pantsuit. She shrugs.

“I got this when I was back East. Erika took me shopping in Boston. Grayson was so not happy she left town, but that girl likes to yank his chain.”

Both Sparrow and I laugh as a whine breaks through the room. I look around, and coming at me is my husband with a large, fluffy puppy in his arms. When I say large, I mean the dog probably eats wild rabbits for a meal.

“What is that?” I ask in shock.

“Merry Christmas,kukla. Since we don’t have a baby, I thought you’d like a furry baby to take care of. Plus, he’ll protect you with his life. He’s a Caucasian Shepherd breed. He’ll get as big as Sparrow.” He jokes. He’s always teasing her like he’s her big brother.

“Watch it,suka,I’ll unman you so you don’t give me a niece or nephew.” She laughs as she smacks his arm. Both she and I are meeting with a Russian tutor to help teach us how to speak, read, and write the language. Russian is hard with its Cyrillic letters, but I’m enjoying it.

The puppy looks at me with cute deep-brown eyes. The amount of fur on him is so much that I worry he’s hot in the warmth and how he’ll handle the summers here in Nevada.

“He’s going to melt with all that fur,” I say as I take him in my arms, but he’s so heavy that Dmitri has to take him back.

“He’ll be fine. We can make accommodations for him in the backyard.”

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