Page 96 of Scarlet Promise

The pressure changes in the room. I reach for my gun as I spin, only to see the sweetest sight in the world.

“Malyshka,” I say. “Are you all right?”

Her mouth thins, her eyes bright with worry. “Are you? What’s going on? Did something happen? It’s a hive of activity out there.”

I rub my eyes. “Someone attempted to send a team to ambush me, but things are under control now. We got them.”

“Ilya—”

“For the time being, I think it’s best for you not to stay here. I want you safe,” I say, going to her so I can hold her.

Sending her away is going to kill me, but my ego doesn’t matter. Only Alina matters.

“But I don’t want to,” she says. “It’s fine now, right?”

“Alina.” I kiss her gently. “If I had my way, you’d never leave my side again, but you and our baby come first. I need you safe, and that’s not here.”

She frowns. “Was that Demyan you were arguing with on the phone?”

“Demyan’s opinions have no bearing on my decision.”

She nods. “So it was him.”

“Yeah, but like I said?—”

“I’m staying.” Alina takes my hand and looks up at me.

I sigh. “You can’t. That’s my ego at work, thinking you need to stay. You’re better off somewhere else, and we both know it.”

Her eyes narrow. “Talk me through what happened.”

I do. From the new alarm to the added men, to how they chased off others and caught two.

“Sounds like what happened here was handled as well as if it had been at Demyan’s place, and you know it,” she says to me. “And telling me what to do? Please don’t do that. It makes you just like Demyan, who seems to think he’s suddenly my father and I’m a small child.”

I take her face and kiss her again. “The last thing I want is to put you in danger.”

“My choice. I don’t feel in danger when I’m with you. I feel safe.” She kisses me with a long, passionate kiss, one that makes me melt, down to my toes. “Besides, I can take danger. I’ve been around it my whole life.”

“So, you’re not leaving?”

“I’m not leaving.”

For a sweet, accommodating girl, Alina’s stubborn as fuck. Which I’ve always known, but now she’s turning it full blast onto me.

“Okay,” I say reluctantly. “You can stay.”

I’ll just have to trust in my own ability and the new measures in place to keep her safe.

Chapter Twenty-Two

ALINA

I wake in a warm cocoon.Albert’s in the middle, and Ilya’s legs are over mine. My head rests on his chest.

When I move, Albert makes a sound of disgust at being disturbed and jumps down, wandering off, no doubt in search of food. I bet his doggy ears pick up Svetlana moving around in the kitchen below.

I don’t hear her, but he’s a dog, and food is up there on his list of interests.