Page 112 of Brutal Reign

“I have dinosaurs in my room,” Alexei offers. “And robots too.”

Kin looks up at me, silently asking permission. I nod, despite the nerves in my gut.

It wasn’t long ago I swore I’d never let Kin play with the Belov kids. But Pavel is right; the children are innocent in all this.

“They’ll be fine.” Pavel gives my shoulder a squeeze. “There’s a nanny upstairs.”

Kira reaches over to take her adorable toddler from Pavel. “I’m going to put her down for a nap. Be back in a few minutes.”

Pavel’s hand links with mine as three men approach from across the terrace. They’re all tall, intimidating, and absurdly good-looking in that dangerous way that seems to be a requirement for all these Russian men.

“Hope, I’m sure you remember Roman Vasiliev,” Pavel says, gesturing to the man I met briefly on the plane from Hong Kong.

Roman gives me a polite nod. “Good to see you again.”

“And this is Nikolai Zhukov,” Pavel continues as a man with short dark hair and tattoos creeping up his neck steps forward and shakes my hand.

His intense eyes assess me carefully, and I can feel the wariness radiating from him. It takes me a moment to realize why. This is Sofiya’s husband. The woman Simon abducted.

There’s a moment of recognition between us. I don’t know what to say, but I decide to go with the truth.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “For what happened to your wife.”

He nods once, and some of the tension leaves his shoulders.

“And I’m Vadim Lazarev.” A man with curly brown hair and an easygoing demeanor—at least compared to the others—offers me his hand with what seems like a genuine smile.

“Pleasure,” I say, though I’m feeling a little uneasy with all the attention on me.

All the men maintain a careful distance that feels like a wall of masculine suspicion, while Pavel stays close to my side, his presence protective and unmistakably territorial.

Before the awkward tension gets too heavy, two women sweep in like a warm breeze, practically elbowing the men out of the way.

“Oh, for God’s sake, excuse our husbands,” says a tall, willowy woman with auburn hair and the slightest baby bump visible beneath her flowing sundress. “I’m Liza,” she continues with an easy smile. “And this is my sister, Sofiya.”

Sofiya is a little shorter than her sister, with more of an athletic build.

I’m not sure how I expect her to respond to me, but it’s definitely not to link her arm through mine and say, “Another woman to balance things out is exactly what we need.” She throws Pavel a mischievous look. “And someone has to keep this guy in line.”

I scoff and roll my eyes playfully. “God knows I’m trying, but it hasn’t been easy.”

Pavel huffs a laugh beside me. “Don’t scare my wife in the first five minutes of meeting her, please.”

Kira reappears beside me. “We’ll wait until she has alcohol in her system to share the worst stories. Now, you go play with the boys.” She flicks her hand in the direction of where Maxim and the other men are gathering.

Pavel catches my eye, a silent question asked. I give him a small nod, letting him know that I’m okay on my own.

“Look at you being all cute,” Liza teases. “I’ve never seen Pavel be all protective like this.”

I sigh. “Like a bossy mother hen.”

“Oh my God,” Kira shrieks. “That will never not be funny to me.”

Pavel grumbles about being ganged up on and finally makes his way toward where all the men have gathered.

“Ladies, it’s officially cocktail hour,” Sofiya declares, steering me toward a table set with a pitcher of something pink and fruity looking. “They need to discuss boring business things, and we need to properly welcome you without them hovering.”

“A drink sounds fantastic,” I admit. I’m not eager to stand around with a group of men who clearly have reservations about my presence.