Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Dante
Tatiana is in bed when I finish my shower. She lies with her back to me, her face turned to the wall. When I lift the covers and get in beside her, she doesn’t react. She’s wearing a T-shirt that reaches her thighs, the one she washed last night and hung in front of the window to dry.
I always sleep naked, but I’ve put on a pair of briefs.
Sleeping together is intimate, even more so than fucking, and she’s not ready for that kind of intimacy.
Clothes provide a measure of protection from vulnerability.
I may not be able to give her the freedom she wants, but at least I can give her this.
And a little distance between us. For now.
It takes a long time before her breathing turns even. I try to get some shut eye, but it’s useless. I’ve got a lot on my mind.
For starters, there’s Noah and integrating him into my life without causing him undue stress.
Then there’s my plan for Teszner, which I’m finally able to see through.
I’m so close to achieving what I’ve set out to do that I can almost taste the victory on my tongue.
My immediate focus though is on finding the men who’d hurt Tatiana.
She’s a fitful sleeper, tossing and turning throughout the night. Yet the way she stirs in the early morning hours is different. Shaking her head from side to side, she claws at the sheets and mumbles, “No.”
I switch on the bed lamp and touch her shoulder. “Tatiana, wake up.”
Perspiration beads on her brow. “No.”
I give her a gentle shake. “You’re dreaming.”
She wakes with a start, gasping for air. The look in those green eyes is haunted. Terror reflects in their depths. She stares at me as if she doesn’t recognize me.
“You had a bad dream. You’re fine. You’re here with me.”
She pulls away, shaking off my hand, and sits up before hugging her knees to her chest.
I check my watch. It’s four am. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Rocking herself, she shakes her head.
I reach out on impulse but think the better of it and lower my hand. “Can I get you anything? A glass of water? Tea?”
She surprises me by not using the opportunity to berate me again for spiking her tea.
Instead, she throws the covers aside and says under her breath, “I’m fine.”
When she swings her legs over the side of the bed and stands, I get up too. She goes to the bathroom and closes the door. I stare at the barrier she’s put between us for all of one second before I go over and knock.
The water comes on in the shower. I’m a heartbeat away from breaking down the door, but I tap into my hard-earned patience, which is no easy feat when it comes to her, and give her some privacy to find her composure.
No one wants their enemy to know the ghosts that haunt them. Still, she’ll tell me. I’ll make sure of that. Albeit now isn’t the moment. Whatever chased her in her sleep is still too raw. It’s best to wait until she’s not so shaken.
I turn away from the bathroom and get a T-shirt and exercise shorts from the dresser. As I’m awake, I may as well hit the hotel gym to blow off some steam.
A long run on the treadmill and a strenuous workout later, I return to find Tatiana in the lounge. She’s dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and leggings, standing in front of the window and staring at the lightening sky while clutching a silver chain that hangs from her neck.
She gives a start when I stop next to her.
“You gave me a fright.” She drops her hand almost guiltily to her side. “You shouldn’t creep up on me like this.”
A silver Orthodox cross with red stones rests between her breasts. I haven’t paid attention to the necklace before because it’s always hidden beneath her T-shirts.
I motion at the pendant. “Your mother gave that to you.”
I recognize the cross. I never saw Melina without that necklace.
At the mention of her mother, Tatiana’s eyes flash with an emotion I can’t place. She takes the pendant and slips it under the neck of her T-shirt, hiding it from my view. “Noah will wake up soon. I want to get an early start at work. I need my car.”
“Your car is at the scrapyard. I told Ulysses to have it destroyed.”
Her lips tremble with anger. “You had no right to do that.”
“I have more cars than you’ll ever need.”
“That car was mine. I paid for it with hard-earned money.”
“It was a breakdown waiting to happen. I’m not risking your and Noah’s lives.”
“In that case, can I ask Reino to drive us?” Her smile is bitter. “Since you confiscated my purse, we can’t take the bus.”
“There’s no need to take the bus. A car and a driver will always be at your disposal.” The smile I give her in return is amiable. “As I don’t have meetings this morning, I’ll drive you. Give me ten minutes to shower and change.”
From how she balls her hands into fists, I can tell my friendliness only gets on her nerves.
Twenty minutes later, we leave with Noah and Jasper. The four of us take my car. Reino drives. Another eight men follow in a convoy. Reino steals glances at Jasper, who’s flattened herself against the door in the front, staying as far away from him as she can.
We have breakfast on the way. Tatiana still won’t put her mouth on any food I order from room service. At the property where she works, the men check the yard and the house before I walk her in.
I watch her closely as she hangs her tote bag over the back of a chair in the lounge.
Strain mars her features. She’s still tense after the nightmare.
Did she dream about the night her parents died in an explosion?
Or do the events from after the attack torment her?
She was a fugitive, pregnant and alone, chased down by men who didn’t hesitate to hurt her.
Our child was locked in the bathroom while she fought for their lives, for God’s sake.
I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of trauma the experience left.
Clearly, the damage goes much deeper than the mark on her cheek.
She should’ve stayed put. She should’ve let me take care of her.
I could’ve protected her. However, what happened to her is my fault.
She made her decisions, wrong as they may have been, based on my actions.
I’ve never shied away from taking the blame when it’s mine.
I can’t bring her mother back, but I will make those men pay for what they did to her if it’s the last thing I do.
She rounds the table, but I catch her around the waist before she can escape.
My words are teasing, yet underneath the surface, their meaning is serious. “Don’t I get a goodbye kiss?”
Arching her back, she leans away. “Kisses are for people who care.”
It’s true. Since I’ve found her, I’ve fucked her twice, but we haven’t kissed once. The peck I stole in front of Noah doesn’t count. That was just to make a point, staking my claim. Kisses show affection—real kisses, that is.
I cup her jaw, holding her in place when she tries to look away. If my words carry a hint of cruelness, it’s because her rejection gets under my skin. “Sooner than you think, you’re going to beg me to kiss you.”
She laughs through the pout in which my grip forces her lips. “In your dreams.”
I let her go because I’m too close to slamming her chest against mine and shoving my tongue down her throat. The need is a tsunami building inside me, threatening to wreck everything in its wake once that destructive wave breaks.
Noah and Jasper appear in the doorway.
Noah runs over. “Can I play outside, Mommy?”
“Sure, sweetheart.” Her voice sounds a little hoarse. “As long as you don’t go into the street.”
Jasper drops her bag on the table. “The men are in the yard.” She cuts an accusing look my way. “None of us will go far.”
Oblivious to her meaning, Noah takes my hand. “Do you want to play soccer with me?”
A smile tugs on my lips as unfamiliar warmth spreads through my chest. I go on my haunches. “I’d like that, but I have to take care of important business first. How about this weekend? I promise I’ll teach you a few new moves.”
Throwing his arms around my neck, he hugs me with all his might. “Thank you, Dante.”
Emotions overwhelm me. This must be the sweetest moment of my life. I hug his small body back, holding my son against me until he lets go.
Kissing his forehead, I say, “I’ll come by later when I’ve finished my work.”
His whole face lights up. “Promise?”
I remind myself to never disappoint the unconditional trust he’s giving me. I vow here and now not to lie to him or break a promise I make him.
When I straighten, I catch Tatiana’s gaze on us.
The look in those green eyes is tender and sad, yet also frightened.
If I could, I would’ve given her the reassurances she craves—that she won’t get hurt and that she’ll be fine—but how the future turns out depends on her.
All I can promise her is that I’ll keep her safe and that she’ll never need for anything, neither money nor a man who’ll avenge her scars and kill for her.
I can however assure Noah that I’ll keep my word.
I hold out a hand and shake his. “On my honor.”
Leaving Noah and the women with Reino and Ulysses, I take Kent and drive back to the hotel where I email my investigator, giving him the information Tatiana shared with me about the other man who came after her.
Then I work until the afternoon. Or rather, I try to work.
My mind isn’t on the business, though, at least not the legal part of it.
My thoughts are with Lee as the hour of reckoning creeps closer…
and with an adoring, trusting four year-old and a feisty, unforgiving woman.
At four, I give up on trying to concentrate on the new liquor supply contracts that came through.
Even though I busted my balls to secure those deals for Sav, I’m not invested in making sure our potential business partners sign them.
I’m much too eager to get back to the humble house where Tatiana is working.