Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4) (32 page)

He soon forgot about everything but the incredible act he was witnessing. As society continuously tried to instill, Sacha’s breast was much more than something for him to sexualize. He realized it the minute his daughter’s gaping little maw latched on and began pulling. An emotion unlike anything he’d ever felt before shot up his throat. His eyes stung and his fucking nose burned at the innocent beauty of it.

“Maybe you can sit?” Sacha said quietly. “I feel as if I should charge you an observation fee.”

He forced himself to chuckle through his tight throat, and he had to clear it a couple of times before he could speak. He went over and sat next to them. He could see now that her breasts were slightly bigger than he remembered, which was only natural considering she was producing milk that provided his child with the nutrients that had kept her alive for the first months of her life. Incredible.

“I’m sorry. I’m finding this weirdly mesmerizing.” He placed his hand on his daughter’s head and swallowed hard when her pale eyes flipped up and met his. And didn’t she get him completely when her lips stretched into a smile? A soft click sounded when it broke the suction and milk ran down the side of her cheek. She immediately forgot about flirting with him and got her grip again.

“You’ve stolen my heart,” he whispered in Russian as he watched her throat work as she swallowed. Jesus Christ, this tiny human was killing him.

“She does so very easily.”

He nodded to acknowledge that. “How is she? As a baby, I mean. From what little I’ve seen, she’s damn near perfect.”

“Close. She is quite exceptional. She has slept well from the beginning. She is a good eater.” The pride in Sacha’s voice was unmistakable. “In the hospital, they had me feed her shortly after the birth, and she took to it as though she had been feeding for months. The nurses were very impressed.”

Of course, they were, he thought, suddenly desperate for information. “What else? Tell me about the pregnancy.”

The pain that flashed in her eyes was stark. It reminded Alek of how she’d looked when she walked into his office that night. But, forever gracious, she pushed past it and answered his question.

“The first few months were effortless. I would never have known I was having a child had the doctor not told me. There were no drastic changes until I neared week twenty, but even then I was able to manage with clothes that were a few sizes larger than what I normally wore.”

He nodded, staying in the moment and out of his head. Kept thoughts of Sheppard and when he’d come on the scene buried deep, as he’d been doing for the last while.

“I eventually appreciated the maternity wear. Particularly in the final weeks,” she was saying. “I was tired more then, being on my feet all day, and carrying around thirty extra pounds.”

“Why were you on your feet all day?”

She smiled when Lekzi yanked on her hair. She patiently unraveled it from little fingers and kissed the baby’s hand. “I was doing double shifts waiting tables to save enough money so I would not have to work for the first couple of months after her birth. I knew I would be babysitting afterward as my primary source of income—so that I could avoid childcare costs and stay home with her—but I did not want to bring the other children into the apartment until she was old enough to handle the germs that would come with them.”

Protective right from the start. How could he not admire that? “Were you afraid?” he asked, even though he didn’t really want to hear the answer. He’d realized after Sydney’s lecture that he’d been so busy thinking about himself, he’d skimmed over what Sacha must have gone through.

“Yes. I was terrified.”

Fuck. “The labor?”

“My due date was the last day of April. Everything I had read indicated she would come after that, but she came early. Right, my sweet sunshine?”

She was rubbing her hand over the pink elephants on Lekzi’s white sleeper. Alek couldn’t look at them. He only saw her do so in his periphery.

“I was at work during the early dinner rush when my water broke. I could not afford an ambulance bill, so I had to catch two buses to get to the hospital. I remember being so worried I would not make it in time, but I did. She was born at 7:42 in the evening, not an hour after I arrived. So I guess the labor went quickly for my first.”

“Jesus Christ, Sacha,” he whispered raggedly through the massive regret crushing his chest. He reached over to cover her hand. “I am so fucking sorry you had to go through that alone. Why didn’t you tell me?” He felt as if the words should be shouted, but they came out barely audible. “By then, could you not have told me?”

“By then I was afraid you would take her from me. Plus, I thought you would be too busy with your women to want to bother with us. I had no idea what I saw that night was not real. And…I was
so
angry with you.”

Yeah, his fault.

But hers, too. She was not some conniving bitch. She was tender-hearted. So that meant she’d struggled with herself, and had still made the decision she had. To keep him and his child apart. To rob him of the joy of being a father. He couldn’t discount that because it was fucking huge. It wasn’t her. Not the woman he knew.

The worst part was, he’d brought that out in her.

He squeezed her knee and got up. “I’ll bring the bags upstairs and make sure everything is ready. Vasily had a couple of the boys move much of what was in the nursery into the room next to ours.”

“What nursery?”

Alekzander’s smile was wry. “My uncle is pretty anxious for his grandson to arrive. He’s had a fully functional nursery ready to go for weeks now.”

“That’s very convenient.”

Their eyes clashed. “Hmm. Very convenient.” He broke the connection. “Go on to the kitchen to prepare her cereal when you’re done here. I’ll meet you there.”

“Alekzander?”

He stopped and looked back with one foot out the door.

“Thank you. I know you are trying not to be angry with me, and I appreciate that.”

The picture she made with her hair flowing over her shoulders, her expression open, their baby cradled to her breast…he’d never seen her appear more angelic.

Justin Sheppard. Gay. The guy never touched her.

Alek went back and lifted her face. He kissed her twice, and then a third time. “Every time you open this mouth, I’m finding I don’t have to try so hard.”

He left her with that.

♦ ♦ ♦

Sacha was finally winding down after the long day when the sound of approaching footsteps had her straightening in her chair. Lekzi was strapped into her highchair, and her face and hands were, as always, sticky with cereal. At least she hadn’t gotten any in her hair yet.

Spooning another portion into a mouth that was still accepting it, Sacha turned and waited with a familiar anticipation to see Alekzander come through the archway into the large kitchen that housed a massive old-fashioned stone hearth and enough cupboard space to please any woman.

But it wasn’t Alekzander. It was the Pakhan of the Tarasov Bratva and his grim-faced byki who’d touchingly come to her rescue earlier.

She quickly scrambled to her feet, which put her in front of Lekzi.

“Hello, Sacha.” Vasily’s gaze swept the room. Looking for his nephew? Yes. Now would be a good time for him to appear.

“Hello, Vasily.”

She could hear Lekzi kicking her legs and babbling in her darling voice to show her displeasure that her supply had come to a halt.

Dmitri expression darkened as he made his silent exit while Vasily approached her. “I hear you are not alone. Would you mind making introductions?”

She looked up from the steeple she could see tattooed at the base of his throat where the top two buttons of his white dress shirt were opened. Her face cooled as the blood drained from it. So much history would be on this man’s body. That was hair-raising.

Too nervous to bother with English, she spoke Russian. “If you would rather Alekzander introduced you to his daughter, I would understand. It is probably a moment you would like to share—”

“I am finding myself too anxious to wait any longer. Besides, I do not mind sharing the moment with you.” He smiled encouragingly.

“Oh. Er, okay.” Her heart was racing.

A loud screech from behind her had her jumping.

“Perhaps she is also anxious.” Vasily chuckled.

Sacha nodded and stepped to the side and back. When she saw Lekzi looking up at her, she smiled a reassurance, even though it meant nothing to the baby.

“Oh, my goodness,” Vasily whispered as he closed the distance between them.

The sound of his voice had Lekzi’s attention shifting, and the sharp breath Sacha heard let her know he’d recognized his nephew’s eyes. He cursed in Russian and apologized almost immediately. “Forgive me. I tried to keep it clean.”

She waved it off. “This is Alekzandra Liliya.” She bent to the baby’s ear. “Lekzi, this is your
dedushka.
”

If she wasn’t mistaken, there was gratitude on his face when he smiled his greeting at the baby. Sacha was glad she’d never thought of her child as anything other than an extension of the man she loved—even when she hated him. To give her son or daughter Alekzander’s name hadn’t even been a conscious decision. It had just been something she’d known she would do. She’d also known the second name would come from her parents.

Vasily took the baby’s chin in a gentle hold. He turned her face toward the light and his smile widened when little Miss Sunshine’s gums made an appearance. A gooey hand landed on his wrist and slipped a couple of times before it made purchase.

“Hello, beautiful.” He sat in the chair Sacha had been using.

Without taking his eyes—which were wet; Maksim won his bet—from the baby, he held out his hand for the spoon. Sacha didn’t think twice about giving it to him and then watched as he picked up the small bowl of cereal and began feeding her daughter.

“You two certainly make gorgeous babies.” He was speaking English once again. “Eva is going to be excited about this development.”

Sacha pulled a chair over and sat. This wasn’t as bad as she’d been expecting. “Sydney and Maksim were able to meet her when they accompanied us here. Alekzander told them to bring the others for lunch tomorrow so introductions can be made.”

“That will be nice. There is not much I enjoy more than having everyone together for a happy occasion. Alek is upstairs?”

“Yes. He went to ready our rooms.”

“Forgive the personal question, but how many are you using?”

Her face did the opposite of only moments ago, heating up as though she was standing too close to a campfire. “Two,” she murmured.

He appeared to stiffen. “If you are not comfortable with that, I would be happy to arrange a room of your own.”

Oh, God. Could this be any more awkward? “Forgive me for saying so, but I am happy with the arrangement as it is.”

He glanced over, his brow quirking, and she looked away. He wanted to laugh. She could tell. “You don’t have to ask my forgiveness, Sacha. Your answer is a relief. Despite this hiccup, it is my wish that you and Alek find your peace again.”

That made her feel teary. “Thank you. That is very generous of you considering what I have done to him.”

“Not so generous considering what he did to you.”

Something passed between them at that moment. Forgiveness on both ends? An understanding? Sacha didn’t know, but she was grateful to this generous man for whatever it was because she knew it was in his power to make her life miserable, and he had no intention of doing that.

“Thank you,” she repeated in a whisper.

“And I thank you,” he returned with a gentle pat to Lekzi’s head.

“I thought I heard your voice.”

A tremor started up in her lower belly when Alekzander padded into the kitchen wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of black Adidas warm-up pants. His feet were bare. Oh, God. His feet were bare. Had he done that on purpose? He had to remember how much she liked when his feet were bare.

Vasily got up and congratulated his nephew with a robust, affectionate embrace. They spoke quietly, and even though Sacha went to the sink to wet a cloth so they’d have some privacy, she still caught snatches of
congratulations, son
, and
you’re a father
, and
she couldn’t be more precious
. As she went back and cleaned Lekzi’s hands and face, for the first time in their acquaintance, Sacha was pleased to see her baby’s pale eyes were sleepy.

“It is time you went to bed, my angel.”
Mummy and Papa are going to have some alone time
, she added silently. Was the excitement thrumming through her what most women felt when putting their children to bed at night? Knowing it was time for them and their partner to enjoy each other?

“Sacha?”

She blinked to attention and looked at Vasily. It was apparent he’d called her name more than once. “Yes?”

“I would like to ask you to think back over the last year. Have you come into contact with any of our people?” He reclaimed his seat. “Not formally, but in passing. On the street. Maybe seen someone in a car.”