Page 62 of Forgotten Vows

I opened my eyes and found Emil striding up close. He had one hand on his hip, rubbing the other over his mouth.

“No. Please don’t tell me?—”

“Daddy’s coming.”

I stopped short, looking down at Lev.

Daddy.

I knew this moment was coming. When he’d be so attached, it would be natural for him to call him his father. We hadn’t pushed it, but of all times for him to state that connection.

I pressed him back to me in a hug as I looked at Emil. “Is he okay?”

Emil nodded as Lev answered. “He said I was brave.”

“Youarebrave,” I replied in unison with Emil.

I furrowed my brow, wondering what my son had done for this dangerous assassin to declare it too.

“You are brave and safe.” I licked my lips, daring to believe Ivan would be unharmed as well. “And so is Ivan. Your father.” I frowned. “He is very brave too. But is he safe? Is he hurt?” I volleyed my gaze between my son, Emil, and Luka. Someone had to know.

“He is.” Emil nodded. “He’s handling… uh, the perps.”

“That means the bad guys, Mama,” Lev told me.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.I wanted him to hold on to this innocence for as long as possible. He didn’t need to explain what a perp was or who the bad guy was. I’d shock him if he ever found outIhadtaken out two of these bad guys myself in the name of protecting our family.

“He’s getting answers, and he’ll be here soon,” Emil summarized.

Luka sighed, watching Lev hug me. Then meeting Emil’s gaze, he tipped his head toward the study, a silent instruction to follow him there and talk.

I didn’t care about being excluded right now. In any other circumstance, I would demand to know every single detail about violence near my son. But in the wake of such a fright, I could only hold him and reassure myself that Ivan would be here soon.

I’d come here knowing he would protect our child, but I hadn’t wanted him to personally be caught in the line of fire.

Because I cared.

No. Because I loved him. I was so far down the path of resuming the pattern of our previous relationship, but I was too scared of the unknown about our future. They’d already been investigating why the Riveras targeted me, or Lev. But now this was something else. Or maybe it wasn’t.

Is this another attempt from the Italians?

Or someone else?

Gabriella walked us toward the lounge, telling Lev how proud she was of him to be so brave. I wasn’t sure what it was about this woman, but he was comfortable turning right into a chatterbox. He began detailing the morning. How he had gone in the car with Ivan and Emil. What they talked about on the ride. Then how he liked seeing his new friends at school. Then how masked men came in and the tutor began the process of calling for help and locking down the school.

Just when he was through telling us about how he and his classmates crouched in the corner, like they were instructed to, the masked man came in and fired his gun.

“I didn’t see Mr. Gerrold, so I worried he was shot,” he said as I held him on my lap, my arms around him.

Over his head, Gabriella looked at me with a worried wince.

I closed my eyes briefly.Dammit.I wanted to keep him far from this violence. A child his age shouldn’t witness a murder.

“So I got up and grabbed the fire extinguisher to bash it on the masked man’s head when he was bent over.”

Gabriella’s eyes popped open wide as she continued to look at me over his head. I felt my eyes bugging out too.

Holy shit.