Page 40 of The Enemy’s Defector (Ivanov Syndicate #3)

NIKOLAI

A few weeks after Katerina and I came home from the little day trip we’d had after she killed Anton, we enjoyed a rare evening at home. No meetings. No unboxing and nursery planning. No doctor appointments or girls’ dinner dates.

It was just the two of us.

At home.

Lying in bed after making love and being lazy with each other.

I wouldn’t trade this for the world. This deep contentment, this real satisfaction of knowing this was where I belonged. Who I needed in my life.

“I’m telling you, it’s just gas.”

I chuckled at Katerina’s insistence.

“You’re caressing my bubble of bloating and gas from dinner,” she quipped.

She wasn’t persuading me from stopping. I stayed right where I was, with the love of my life, caressing her stomach and smiling down at her as she lay next to me.

“This isn’t gas. This is my son or daughter.” I cradled her belly and admired how unbelievably sexy she was like this.

“I’m not showing yet, Nik,” she protested.

“I say you are.” And she was. This was not a little extra cushion after dinner. A small bump was forming where our future grew. She had just passed the first trimester mark, and I couldn’t wait for the appointment with the ultrasound techs.

We’d been debating whether we wanted to find out the gender, and we were both still too indecisive about that yet. But the time was soon approaching for when we could find out—if we wanted to.

Whether it was a girl or a boy, it wouldn’t matter to me. Just as long as he or she was healthy and happy, and Katerina and I would do all that we could to make that possible. Our baby would want for nothing.

“Some days, I wake up and I still can’t believe that this is real. That this is my life,” she admitted softly. “That I’m here, that I’ve got you, and that I’ll be a mother.”

“Why, because it sounds too good to be true?” I asked.

“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just because I never let myself believe that dreams ever came true like this. Like my life could be perfect.”

“Perfect?” I grunted then laughed. “You didn’t seem to think anything was perfect about your life or this world when you were trying to get that crib assembled yesterday.”

She laughed. “That thing was torture.”

I wouldn’t argue with her on that point. It had taken four soldiers to troubleshoot those instructions. “I’m glad I can help make your dreams come true.”

“You’ve surpassed all my dreams, Nik.” She kissed me, letting me see all the love she had for me burning in her blue eyes. They captivated me as always, enticing me to stare at her and marvel at the wonder that I had the girl of my dreams, the woman who held the key to my heart.

“Are you sure you’re not hoping this baby’s a boy?” she asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “Boy or girl, it doesn’t matter.”

“But I know we’ll need at least one son to carry the name.”

I laughed, rolling with her until we lay side by side, facing each other.

“A son to carry the family name? Bullshit. We’ve got three babies in the family on the way.

Saul will find someone and start his family sooner or later.

I know you said maybe three would be a good number, but I still think five would be a good fit for us. ”

“Five!” She laughed. “Let’s start with the first one and see how it goes.”

Hell, whatever she wanted, that was what we’d do. I had a hunch I’d convince her to up the number of children she’d want.

“Even if we just have this one,” I said, framing her face and admiring her beauty as she smiled again, “he or she will be proof of our legacy, Katerina. Our child won’t just be another heir to marry off.”

She nodded, in total agreement. After her almost being forced into a marriage and then ending up my wife anyway, she had bitter opinions about offspring being shoved into relationships. It seemed like a miracle that my brothers and I had lucked out as much as we had so far.

Maxim and Sloane were in love.

Lucy had tamed Damon and rounded him out.

And I had nothing but love and dedication to offer Katerina.

Love matches weren’t always expected in our world, but we were making our own rules to hold on to, anyway.

No matter what, I knew that this baby Katerina carried for me would be born out of love, not betrayal.

Our child would be brought into this world as a sign of survival, us surviving all the odds stacked against us.

He or she would be a testament to how Katerina fought to save me and be with me because she truly loved me, and I loved her, not because she prioritized thwarting Anton and betrayed the family she was born into.

“I like the sound of that, our legacy,” Katerina agreed. “Our love.”

The next afternoon, when we joined my family to celebrate my father’s birthday, it seemed like that theme was on everyone’s minds. Love and legacy.

Father was feeling better and was experiencing more good days more often, but I could tell that Maxim was losing hope that he’d resume his position as Pakhan .

Honestly, stepping back was probably best for all of us.

My older brother was filling big shoes, but he was taking on the responsibility well.

He was adjusting, and he was well-suited to remain the boss of the Ivanov Syndicate.

Father was more relaxed without the title on him. He could take it easy and look forward to the next generation coming into the family.

As we all sat around and finished lunch, then waited for the cooks to bring out his cake, I watched as he and Lucy talked off to the side.

Sloane and Katerina sat together, laughing and whispering, probably about something raunchy and inappropriate, knowing how Sloane could be sometimes.

Saul and Maxim chatted with Damon. We were all here, one big, happy family, and I was glad that no conflicts could linger for long.

Lucy was well on her way to accepting Father after he’d nearly had her killed—accidentally.

Sloane was no longer alone and had two sisters-in-law for company after being the only woman for a while.

And Anastasia looked awfully pleased as she, too, surveyed the people in the room. She couldn’t nag us about finding women now. And she had no grounds to complain about no heirs to count on.

Katerina made her way back to me as the cake came out and slices were cut.

Father thanked us all for celebrating with him, and he promised this birthday was the best one yet since he’d had his bad days of doubting he’d live to even have another one.

The “party” died down, and I welcomed my father to sit closer to us.

“You know, this is what Thomas wanted,” he told us, smiling at Katerina. “I think he could tell from way back then that you two were meant to be.”

I laughed once and shook my head. “Then why leave that marriage arrangement so open-ended? It had only said that she’d have to marry one of us brothers.”

Father dismissed me with a wave. “We knew. We knew that you two would be the ideal fit, and we had hope that would hold true. Besides, that arrangement was more like a joke, a pastime when the times were good. I don’t think either of us would’ve remembered it.

I sure didn’t, and that’s not just because of all I’ve suffered that way.

” He shook his head. “And times were always good back then. Thomas and I were serious about always staying friends, to being as much of an alliance as we could be without complicating details. Anton was never a fan of that concept, clearly, but just seeing you two together now, with a child on the way, I feel like we are doing the memory of Thomas justice.”

Katerina leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I like to think so too.”

“I suppose Anton wasn’t a fan of Thomas aligning the Kozlov name with the Ivanovs,” Saul said, “because he was already plotting to align with the Romanos.”

I thought so too.

“It’s obvious they counted on reaping rewards of some kind,” Maxim said. “All the Kozlov properties have been shifted into Romano ownership. They’ve expanded their turf by taking on all the assets Anton had.”

“Good riddance to it all,” Katerina quipped dryly.

“But they won’t have long to enjoy it,” Saul predicted as he sat back. Propping his ankle on the opposite knee and draping his arms along the top of the couch he sat on, he looked far too debonair and chill, too laidback, to sound ruthless and like a threat.

But I saw the determination in his eyes. I believed that he’d meant it when he said he’d oversee the mission to bring down the Romanos and have an end to all serious enemies who could threaten us.

We could count on him.

We had to.

Because we were too busy starting all of our own legacies.

Katerina was counting on me to help her welcome our child into the world.

And I was counting on her to always let me love her and show her every way she made my life worth living.