Chapter 29 I hold Ava in my arms, equal parts relieved and afraid. I've got my sisters. My woman. It's almost everything I hoped for. But my father has escaped. I have no idea how wounded he is, there is blood but until the light of day, I won't be able to tell how much. His men closed around him, leaving my sisters as they made their escape. Tazz was shot, and Gris nearly so, but that's the total of our damage. All in all, it's a win, but I wanted to end this. I take solace in the fact that he can't hurt any of the women I love, but that doesn't mean he won't try again. I've won a battle but not the war and the next time we fight, there will be nothing holding either of us back. "What do you mean you didn't do it?" Ava asks, her eyes wide with her fear. "He means," Sasha scoffs, "that our father still lives. Unfortunately." Her disdain is completely evident. Who can blame her? He just held a gun to her head. Sasha has always been...special. Intelligent beyond belief, she lacks a certain filter that other people inherently have. I agree with her, of course. But perhaps everyone doesn't need to know we want our father dead. Then again, if ever a crowd of people would understand, it's this one. "We're still in danger?" Ava asks. Katarina looks over at me and asks me in Russian, "You couldn't have chosen a Russian woman? She'd be able to fight, not just hang on your neck like a child." I grimace, but don't answer. I don't need to explain to my sister the choice of my heart. "You're welcome," I say in English. "I've thought of little besides your safety." Katarina narrows her eyes at me. These past five years of being trapped with my father have hardened both my sisters, and I hurt for them. What they've lost will be nearly impossible to replace. Gris steps in next to me, his sleeve singed from the bullet that almost landed in his arm. "We should find somewhere hidden and secure to take all of you until we know your father isn't in the city any longer." I nod, taking one hand from around Ava to clap Gris on the shoulder. "Thank you, brother." It's my way of telling him I know what he's done for me. For us. And that we are bonded now. Gris gives me a single nod. He understands. His phone rings and looking at the screen, he picks up, speaking quietly. When he's done, he waves me toward him. I set Ava down, reluctantly, as I take a step toward him. "It was Killian." "Yes?" My heart begins to race in my chest. "There was an attack at your apartment." My chest grows so tight, I can't even push out words. "He wants to know what he should do with the bodies." "Which..." Gris eyes me, his voice dropping, "He killed them before they even entered the building." Relief makes me limp. But Triston was right before. My home isn't safe. I turn to Gris. "Have you got somewhere in mind we can go?" Tazz enters the small space too, making it beyond crowded. "I'm going to need rubbing alcohol and some bandages." "You were shot," Gris scoffs, watching the blood drip down Tazz's thigh. "Right. That's why I need the alcohol." He pushes past me toward the bathroom. I watch him disappear with a shake of my head. He's as tough as any Russian. I might just hire him. Gris watches him too. "If I get shot, I'm going to need more than rubbing alcohol." "I'll make sure you've got whisky," I answer with a small wink. I like Gris. While Triston is the head of the family and often prickly, Gris has an ease about him. It's why he's in charge of public relations. He smiles back. "In terms of where we tuck you and your family away, the Kincaids keep a few buildings empty and under shell companies for just these kinds of situations." Noted. It's a move I'll make in the future, to have secret holdings for hiding out when necessary. For now, I start shuttling everyone from the house out to the cars. Every able-bodied man sets a perimeter, though it's an unnecessary precaution as no one attacks. We load into the cars and speed off toward Vegas. Tomorrow, we'll have to clean up this whole mess. Tonight, though, is about keeping everyone safe. It feels like it takes all night, but Anna is collected, bags are packed, and we're moved in small batches to a state-of-the-art, empty, apartment building. Several of the Kincaids are there, along with most of the Smith family. Ryker Smith stands in the line of Smith brothers, his dark eyes assessing both of my sisters. He looks more like Killian with rougher, harsher features, rather than the smooth good looks of Triston and Gris, but I hear one of my sister's gasps, nonetheless. I turn to them, wondering which it might have been, but both have pulled their features into expressionless masks. Who reacted? Was it fear? Or did one of them realize he's the man who's been promised to Katarina? I can't attend the puzzle now, as we're moved into several apartments. The building, I've been told, was built like a bomb shelter. My sisters are in one, Anna, Ava, and I in another, and Gertrude into a small unit at the end of the hall. Despite being dragged to this place in the middle of the night, she gasps when she sees the place and promptly offers, "I'll stay as long as you need, Mr. Ivanov." I nod my agreement. Under the circumstances, it suits all of us best that Gertrude stays for as long as possible. In addition, Ryker and Rush Smith plan to stay on the floor below us, and tomorrow, Killian and his wife will join them to help create a bubble of protection. "Ava and Chloe have a lot in common," Triston assures me. I'm not surprised. Killian instantly understood Ava's problems and he had ready answers to put her at ease. I shake my head. The hitman that is an advocate for abused women. It has...a certain poetry. Much like my own situation, I suppose. Ava takes Anna to put her to bed, and I meet with Jake Kincaid, head of their security, and now mine. Jake leads me to a small room on the first floor of the building where three men sit with twenty screens in front of them. "I have workers who will watch the cameras twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I've added your number to the alert list. But in the case of most emergencies, you should just stay put. The Vendettis bombed this building and it didn't move. In addition, I've turned the elevators into vaults. If we stop them, no one is getting in or out." I give a curt nod. "And the stairwells?" He hands me a key card. "Reinforced steel, a bullet can't puncture them, and a bomb won't touch them. Locked tight." "Why don't you and your family just live here?" Jake gives a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. "We tried. Nearly killed each other. It turns out, we need a bit of space. Family that works together is hard enough. Living together too..." He leans closer. "Mason and Leo dented up one of the elevators so badly, I had to replace it. It's when I came up with the idea to up the security in them." "I see. Thank you," I respond with a nod. "We keep the building for emergencies though, and you are welcome to stay for as long as you like." I'm not sure how I'm going to repay the Smiths and the Kincaids, but I know I'll spend a lifetime trying. By the time I make it back upstairs, Anna is sound asleep. I watch her for a moment, before I begin searching for Ava. I find her curled under the covers of the king-sized bed, naked, her hair still damp from her shower. I step into the bathroom, rinsing myself off too. Then, naked, I crawl into bed next to her. She wakes as soon as my weight depresses the mattress and I've barely laid down, when she presses into my side. "You're here." "I never left, milaya," I murmur into her temple as I wrap my arms around her, pulling her on top of me. "I know, but you weren't in bed with me, and I just worried you'd decided this was all too much..." she tapers off, her lips finding mine. The kiss is achingly sweet, and her mouth just makes me desperate for more. But I have this moment where I understand...this whole time, she's been afraid I might reject her. That I wouldn't be willing to accept her fears, her limitations. But it's my past, my shit, that almost destroyed us both tonight. "Ava," I say against her mouth. She picks up her head. Looking down at me. "What's wrong?" My jaw hardens as my hands splay out on her back. "You were nearly destroyed tonight and that was before you were nearly killed." She looks down at me in confusion. "But you saved me." "Maybe." I look away then, pain pulling my mouth down into a frown. "What do you mean, maybe...." "Ava," my throat fills with pain. "I'm the reason all that trouble happened. Without me⁠-" "Without you, I'd still be locked inside a prison of my own making." I look back at her, knowing that I should argue. "Men tried to hunt you tonight." "That did suck," she nods, her elbows coming to my chest as she props herself up. "But it was also a bit like facing my worst fear and living through it. I'm not seventeen anymore. I'm a grown woman who can rewire her neural pathways or whatever. And..." She stops to draw in a deep breath, and I take that opportunity to shake my head. "Who told you about neural pathways?" I demand, my college studies feeling like some distant life. But before she can answer, I push the question aside. It doesn't matter. "I'm at the beginning of a war, Ava. I hoped to end it tonight, but I should have known...it's just beginning." "You're going to need me, then," she says simply. I choke on the emotion that rises in my chest. "I don't want to see you hurt, sweetheart." "What happens if something happens to you? I'm an orphan, Dimitri. Anna needs to be protected, at the very least, I can help you with that." I stare at her at a complete loss for words. This woman...