Page 77 of All The Darkest Truths (Second Sons Duet #2)

VESPER

The Palace staff and guards bent the knee far more easily than I could have imagined.

Clearly loyalty didn’t run as deep with Victor’s staff as he imagined.

Though the men guarding my son will likely be far more loyal than the servants at the Winter Palace.

After a few hours of patching everyone up, we leave for the hunting lodge.

The drive to the northern hunting lodge stretches before us like an eternity compressed into miles.

Though the twins insisted on accompanying me despite their injuries, I can see the pain etched into the tight lines around Z's mouth each time we hit a bump in the road.

Oz isn't much better, his breathing shallow to avoid aggravating his broken ribs.

As the Russian countryside blurs past the windows, my mind drifts to the child waiting at the end of this journey—my son.

The thought still feels surreal, almost dreamlike.

What will he look like? Will he have my green eyes, or Dmitri’s deep, shadowed orbs staring back at me?

Blonde hair like mine, or rich chestnut like his father’s?

I press my forehead to the cool glass, watching my breath fog the surface. Will he have Dmitri’s jawline? My stubborn chin? I try to picture him, but the image shifts and refuses to settle.

Will I even recognize him as mine when I see him? Or will he be a stranger who shares my blood?

The most terrifying question lurks beneath all the others. Will I be able to love him instantly? He's half Petrov, created from my stolen eggs and the DNA of a family I've just decimated.

“You're thinking too much,” Z's voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts.

“Hard not to,” I admit, turning away from the passing landscape to face him. “I’ve dreamt about him, wondering what this moment would feel like. What if bringing him into this world is a mistake?”

“You're scared,” he finishes for me. “That's normal, moya koroleva.”

I shake my head, forcing back the tears threatening to form. “What if he hates me? What if he's bonded with his caretakers? What if?—”

“What if he's perfect?" Z says, his hand finding mine despite the obvious pain the movement causes him. “What if he has your smile and your spirit? What if this is the beginning of something beautiful instead of the end of something terrible?”

His fingers tighten around mine. The simple contact pulls me back from the edge of panic.

“I don't know how to be a mother,” I confess. “I wasn't exactly given the best examples.”

Oscar leans forward from the seat behind us, his face appearing between the headrests. “You don't have to know everything right away, solnishko. No one does.”

“He's right,” Talon adds from the driver's seat. “Kids don't come with instruction manuals. We’ll figure it out together. Unlike most kids, this one has an incredible mother, and three men who will love and protect him like he’s our own.”

“They’re not wrong,” Luca chimes from the third row next to Alex. “He has a hell of a lot better chance than we did, Ves.”

I appreciate their attempts at comfort, but the fear gnaws more than they understand.

“We're almost there,” Talon announces, slowing the vehicle as we turn onto a narrow road flanked by towering pines. “Ten minutes out.”

The forest grows denser around us, ancient trees swallowing the last traces of daylight.

Snow begins to fall in gentle flurries, dusting the landscape in a deceptive blanket of innocence.

In the distance, I catch glimpses of a structure through the trees—sharp angles and chimney stacks rising above the canopy.

The hunting lodge looms ahead, a sprawling construct of timber and weathered masonry, as if it had grown from the forest itself.

Talon pulls off a couple of hundred feet from the lodge in a dense tree line. We funnel out, some easier than others, and stand behind the SUV while he surveys the lodge ahead. Alex deploys a drone that he confiscated from The Winter Palace.

“Security patrol, two o'clock,” Talon points out beside me, his breath forming small clouds in the frigid air.

“How many?” My fingers tighten around the grip of my gun.

"I count eight external," Z responds, his voice tight with pain despite the field dressing on his shoulder. He refused to stay behind, insisting that a "scratch" wouldn't keep him from finishing what we started. The stubborn fool. "Four on rotation, four at fixed positions."

"And inside?"

"Based on the thermal imaging, at least four more," Alex replies. "Clustered near the east wing. That's likely where they're keeping him."

My heart pounds against my ribs at the thought of my son, a child I've never met, just yards away behind those walls.

“Is it just me, or does that seem like overkill for an infant?” Luca remarks. “He’s a few months old. It’s not like he can crawl away.”

“Two words: Victor’s heir. Paranoid bastard, remember?” Z snaps back at my brother.

“I’m just saying that it’s over the top. Our parents gave us one guard and a nanny. Not an entire army to guard us.”

"Victor wasn't guarding a baby," Alex interjects. "He was guarding the future of his bloodline. Plus, he was a psychopath. It tracks.”

I swallow hard, the reality of my son's existence still surreal despite everything we've sacrificed to get here.

A child conceived in captivity, born to a woman who wasn't his mother, raised by people who stole him before I ever held him. After today, my son will only know me as his mother and the love of the men around me. God, I hope that’s enough.

"We need to move," I say, pushing aside the emotion threatening to overwhelm me.

I pull Victor’s severed hand from the insulated bag at my side, grimacing at the cold, waxy texture of his skin. The ultimate key card.

"Remember," Oscar warns, "we go in quiet. No gunfire unless absolutely necessary. We don't know where exactly the child is, and I won't risk a stray bullet."

Z checks his pistol, his movements slightly hampered by his injured shoulder. "Four teams. Talon and I take the perimeter guards on the east and north. Alex and Luca handle the west and south. Oz and Vesper move directly to the east wing once we clear a path."

I nod, the plan we formulated during the drive north solidifying as the moment approaches. My body thrums with a strange combination of exhaustion and hyper awareness.

"The moment we're spotted, they'll move him to the panic room," Alex reminds us, checking his own weapon. "So stealth is paramount until we secure the child."

"We'll need exactly seven minutes to neutralize the external security," Talon adds. "You two wait for our signal before approaching the east entrance."

I feel Oscar's hand squeeze mine briefly, a gesture so gentle it nearly shatters the composure I've been desperately maintaining.

"We'll get him, solnishko. Today your son comes home.”

Z clears his throat, drawing our attention back to the task at hand. "Comms check," he says, tapping the earpiece nestled against his skull. One by one, we confirm our connections.

"Alpha team moving," Talon relays, his voice clear in my earpiece as he and Z slip away. The snow muffles their footsteps as they disappear among the trees, heading toward the eastern perimeter.

I watch them go, a knot of anxiety tightening in my stomach. Z's injury makes him vulnerable, but I know better than to voice my concern. He'd sooner cut off his other arm than stay behind while we retrieve my son.

"Beta team following," Alex confirms, nodding once to Luca before they, too, vanish into the twilight. My brother moves with newfound purpose, his steps lighter since our escape from the chapel. Freedom looks good on him, even as he heads into danger.

Oscar and I remain crouched in the tree line, watching as our teams position themselves around the lodge.

The wind picks up, sending icy fingers through my hair and numbing my cheeks.

I should feel the cold more keenly, but all I register is Victor's severed hand in my bag and the rhythmic pounding of my heart.

"Your grandfather was a monster. But he was right about one thing."

I turn to him, eyebrow raised in question.

"You are remarkable," he continues. “You’ve taken over your family, toppled the largest crime family in the world, and now, you’re getting your son back.”

"Thank the men who believed in me enough to help," I retort, touched by his words despite the gravity of our situation. "You all sacrificed everything."

Oscar's lips curve into a pained smile. "Not everything. Not yet."

A crackle in our earpieces interrupts the moment. "Alpha team in position," Talon's voice comes through, steady and professional. "First guard neutralized. Moving to the second target."

"Beta team approaching south fence," Alex confirms seconds later. "No complications."

I check my watch, counting down the minutes until we can move. The waiting is excruciating. My fingers brush against the outline of my weapon.

"What will you name him?" Oscar asks suddenly, his question catching me off guard.

I blink, realizing that I've never allowed myself to think that far ahead. Names meant attachment, and attachment meant vulnerability, which I couldn't afford until now.

"I don't know," I admit, watching my breath form crystalline clouds in the frigid air. "I've been so focused on finding him that I never thought about it.”

"You'll know when you see him," Oscar says softly. "The right name will come to you."

A soft crackle in our earpieces interrupts the moment. "Perimeter secured," Z's voice comes through. "East entrance clear. You're good to move."

I exchange a glance with Oscar, both of us immediately shifting into action mode.

We rise from our crouched positions, keeping low as we move across the snow-covered clearing toward the lodge.

My heart thunders in my chest, each step bringing me closer to the child I've fought so desperately to reach.