Page 80 of The Enemy's Defector

“Mr. Ivanov,” the doctor greeted me while she typed on a computer attached to a scan. As my brothers entered, she raised her brows and said, “Uh, times three, I suppose.”

Maxim and Damon stepped back, but it wasn’t like my brothers could ever fade into the background.

The doctor filled us in about the tests and scans that had been done. Sloane wasn’t talking out of her ass. Katerina really was okay. The blood was just some spotting and Katerina and our baby really were okay.

“Perhaps you could count on participating in less strenuous activities for a while,” the doctor added as one last tip before leaving the room.

As soon as she was gone, Katerina squeezed my fingers. “None of that panic, now.”

I gritted my teeth, hating how out of control I felt. “I’m not panicking.”

“Then dial down that anger,” she said.

I bit my tongue.

“You can’t ask him not to be angry,” Maxim said. “I’m just as angry. No one should’ve gotten in that far.”

Katerina nodded in agreement as she sat up more. “If I can get my laptop, I can see where?—”

“No.” I shook my head. “You aren’t doing anything.”

She frowned, giving me a scathing stare. “Fine. Then I won’t. But don’t you dare be mad at me for defending myself. And the others.”

I leaned over to press my forehead to hers. “I’m not. I can’t be mad about the fact that you’re brave and smart and observant. I love that you are this strong. But I hate that you have to be.”

“Then make it so I don’t have to be,” she replied. “Kill him—for me. End him. End all of my uncle’s men so they won’t be a threat to my starting the rest of my life with you.”

I kissed her, closing my eyes and relishing how well we understood each other.

“Tonight,” Maxim said. “It will happen tonight.”

The wait for Katerina to be discharged was a long one. Instead of crowding the room, my brothers filed out.

Alone with Katerina, I sat on the bed and held her hand, relishing the miracle that she was alive.

“You can’t treat me like they do Sloane and Lucy,” she said mildly. “I’m not an outsider.”

I looked down at her, getting lost in her calm blue gaze.

“I’m not new to this life, Nik. I learned how to use a gun from you and my father. I’ve killed before, and I will kill again if I have to.”

I exhaled a long breath, knowing she meant every word. In her, I’d found my match, my queen, my partner in crime. She was right, yet I didn’t like it. “My job is to protect you.”

“And you have. You will. I have faith in that.” She reached up to kiss me. “And that’s why despite being annoyed that I’m left out of the assassination of my uncle tonight, I’ll be worried about your doing just that. Be careful, okay? Come home to me.”

I framed her face and kissed her soundly, committing this truce to memory.

“I will. I promise.”

I couldn’t wait to take out at least one of the main enemies who’d challenge my family.

And I would take supreme satisfaction in killing the man who’d dared to put a hit on my wife.

33

KATERINA

Instead of going back to the building after my discharge, Nik arranged for me to stay at another Ivanov location. While it almost seemed like I was losing the security and stability of being “home” with my husband, I knew this wasn’t a return to life on the run.