Page 31 of Devil's Vows

“I think we should clean the place up a bit, don’t you think?” It would take their minds off Milana’s outburst, too.

“Clean up, clean up!” Irisha chimes as she picks up soft toys from the bed and tosses them into the far corner.

“Good job,” I say with a weak smile, trying my best to buy into her enthusiasm, even though she’s just moving the mess from one side of the room to another. She might have forgotten what happened ten minutes ago, but my mind is still reeling from Milana’s harsh words…and what they mean for me and my future here.

I have no idea why Petrov would cut her off financially, but he wouldn’t dare do that to me. My brothers are just a call away, and I have my credit card, even if I vowed to never use it.

It takes a good half hour to set the bedroom straight but there’s still no sign of Petrov.

We’ve packed the toys away, made the beds, and plumped the pillows in both rooms. The suite looks so much better; only the carpet needs vacuuming. Cleaning up has calmed me, but I need to keep busy. The past weeks have been a lot, and I haven’t had time to digest most of it. Only I know I’m teetering on a razor’s edge, holding myself in check minute by minute.

Petrov mentioned house rules and off-limit areas, so I don’t feel at liberty to walk around the house without his permission.

“I think it’s time for a story,” I say, hoping to distract the girls until he finds us. There isn’t much else we can do. I haven’t seen a TV or a tablet around, and I have no clue what the rule about screen time is.

“Yes! A story!” Irisha calls out, launches herself onto Petrov’s freshly made bed, scrambles across to the bedside table where we’ve neatened the stacks of children’s books, and pulls one from the pile.

I laugh. “Okay. Where do we read?”

“Here,” Katya says, clambering up onto her dad’s bed and scooting to the other side, making an adult-sized gap in the middle. “We read here and fall asleep.”

“But wake up in our room,” Irisha says. “It’s magic.”

“I see.” More like Papa’s magic, using those strong arms thatlured me in like a real thirst trap to move the girls to their own bed once they’re asleep.

Did you just use the word thirst trap?Chiara chimes up with a giggle, and I just wish she wouldn’t. Not now. Honestly, it’s starting to feel like she’s intruding, but part of me can’t help seeing my new world unfold from her point of view. She’s loving it, and that’s where these unwelcome side quips come from…And now you’re thinking of climbing on his bed?

I hesitate. It’shisbed. The nanny definitely doesn’t belong on it or in it. “It isn’t bedtime now. Let’s sit on the sofa?—”

“No! The bed!” Katya protests.

I second that.

I roll my eyes.No way, my friend.“The sofa, and I’ll surprise you with a very special story.”

My book is right here. It’s my favorite, one that kept me going for years.

“What’s special about it?” Irisha asks as I reach for my satchel.

“You bring us stories?” Katya asks, eyes wide as I pull my book out.

“This one, I can promise you, is by far the best of them all, because you know why?” I say, breaking off to build some tension.

“Why?” two young voices chime.

“Because this one is mine…and it became true.”

16

IVAN

I follow in Milana’s footsteps, giving her space to cool off and go to her own quarters on the first floor, before I head to my side of the house, looking for my girls. My blood pressure still spikes every time I don’t know exactly where they are, with whom, and whether they’re safe.

With Darya’s death, there’s been a shift. Thevorovskoy zakon—the thieves’ law and our code of conduct—has shifted. Maybe I’m to blame, but family is no longer sacred. Wives and children were never to be touched, but with the coup, I’ve learned the hard way that anything goes. Chertnikov made it clear this is no longer the old Pakhan’s Bratva. Adapt or die.

As I head toward my room, since this is where we’ve been nesting for the past few months, voices sound down the corridor: calm, happy, at ease. I slow down, padding over quietly, listening. A fairy tale. Six princes. A tale of courage and valor as they fight a dragon for keys to unlock a princess from her tower. I wait and listen until we’re at prince number six when the girls’ comments make me impatient to see what they’re looking at.

I stop in the door, staring at the picture-perfect scene. Gabriella becomes aware of me first where she’s sitting on thesmaller of the two sofas, a book on her lap, Irisha on her one side, Katya on the other. The girls are totally engrossed in whatever she’s reading to them.