Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
SAVANNAH
I glared at the door and wanted to rant and throw everything in here at it. Son of a bitch. Nothing had changed. He was still the same arrogant and egotistical man he was years ago. If anything, he was worse, and of course, my body lit up like it was the Fourth of July. So infuriating.
“Mommy, down, please,” Cutter said, jerking me out of the internal rage montage I had playing in my head.
“Sure.” I sat Cutter down but needed to think of a way out of this. What the hell was he planning to do with me? The look on his face told me that there was a good chance that today would be my last.
Picking up the phone on the desk, I put it to my ear, but it was dead. Dammit, they could turn the phones off and on. Even though I knew there would be a jammer, I had to try. I pulled out my cell, but sure enough, there was no signal. Of course, he would take us to the Russian consulate instead of the American one. I had no pull here, no help, and no way to contact anyone. I could fight my way out, but not with Cutter. His safety was paramount to me, and that was way too risky.
There was a soft knock, and then the door opened. A man walked in with a small plate of sandwiches and fruit. He set it down and left without another word. Cutter ran across the room and reached for a grape but stopped and looked up at me.
“Mommy, can I have grapes?”
“May I?”
“May I have grapes?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Wandering over to the window, I looked out at the green grass and the tall gate that surrounded the property. Who was I trying to fool? There was no way out, and if I was honest with myself, my heart and mind had been captured by Nathan long before today. I’d had the perfect excuse not to date. Not only was I a single mom who was a hundred percent focused on my son, but I was undercover as a married woman. Marko went home once a month to visit his family, but I had no one to fly home to, so my weekends were filled with park play dates, going to the museum, and movie marathons.
But the fantasy of Nathan knocking on our door one night and saying he wanted to leave the life of crime behind and be a family was a pipedream. Even if he wanted to leave, I don’t think he could now. He was entrenched in the world.
“These are good,” Cutter said as he picked up the small cut piece of baguette with meat and cheese. He completely amazed me. We were just shot at and then in a high-speed chase, and he’s as cool as James Bond. Who was this kid? If I hadn’t spent nine months pregnant and then over twenty-four hours in labor, I would say he wasn’t mine. Cool and calm were not in my DNA.
“You should eat,” Cutter said, holding out the piece of sandwich, and I bit my lip not to laugh. Yup, there was no denying who his father was. Timing-wise, he could’ve been Shawn’s son, who had just been born a bit late, but the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he was Nathan’s.
“Thank you,” I said, taking the offering, and Cutter’s whole face lit up. He was right. It was good, and as I finished the piece, my stomach growled for more, earning a scowl from Cutter. He grabbed another and a small vine of grapes and handed them to me. “What would I do without you looking after me?”
“Starve,” he said without missing a beat, and I couldn’t hold in the laugh if I wanted to. I gave birth to a little old man.
I needed to be smart about all of this. In my heart, I had to hope that Nathan, as furious as he was, didn’t want me dead. If that was the case, then there was a chance for some common ground or peace between us. At the end of the day, the only thing that mattered to me was that Cutter was safe and that I still got to be his mother. There was no way in hell I was letting whatever mafia princess he was engaged to raise my child as theirs. Nope. Never. Not happening. I would kill her, and then I would kill him for even suggesting it. My hand balled into a fist.
The door opened with a flourish, and I knew it was Nathan before my eyes lifted from the floor. His eyes were feral, and whatever agreement I’d been hoping for flew out the window.
“Cutter, come here,” I said and set my food down so I could pick up my son.
He’d have to go through me to get to him.
NATHANIEL
As I walked into the office, Savannah spun around and looked at me. She reminded me of a wild animal, and I had to commend her for the way she was protecting Cutter as she glared and practically snarled from where she stood. She picked Cutter up as he seemed content enough to munch on a strawberry.
Walking across the room, I picked up the decanter and poured myself a drink. “Would you like one?” I held up the glass, and Savannah shook her head. “You may change your mind in a moment.”
“What are you planning on doing with us?” Savannah stepped around the desk in the opposite direction from me, and I cocked a brow at her.
“Mommy, you’re holding me too tight,” Cutter said. Savannah glanced down at him, and her eyes filled with warmth. She kissed him on the forehead and loosened her grip.
“Sorry, Bud. I guess I’m still upset about what happened.”
Cutter smiled wide and touched her cheek. “Don’t worry, Mommy. We’re safe.”
Savannah looked me directly in the eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. We are for now.”
There was no denying the undertone that she didn’t trust me or what I had planned as far as she could throw me. Her mistrust was valid. She knew I was livid. It was practically pouring off of me in waves. I was capable of anything when I was this angry, and Savannah was lucky I had a much better idea than murder.
My hand shook on the glass, and I gulped down the whiskey to try and calm the storm brewing to toxic levels inside of me.
A soft knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” I barked out, and the Consul General walked in with Goran, Ivan, and the priest I’d requested. “Are you ready to proceed,” I asked the priest, and he nodded. “Good. Goran, take Cutter to a safe room and put all the guards on him.”
“Yes, Boss,” Goran said, stepping toward Savannah, but she backed away.
“Don’t you dare touch my son,” she snarled. “I will rip your fucking nuts off.” Goran’s eyes grew wide as he stared at her with a touch of uncertainty. I held up my hand to stop him.
“Savannah, let me lay out your options. You can do this the easy way or the hard way, but in the process, you will get hurt.”
She glanced around the room as more of my men filed in. “Is there a third option?”
Rubbing my bottom lip as I walked toward her, I was impressed when she didn’t bolt. Instead, she held her ground with a fire burning in her eyes. I didn’t think I could find her any sexier, but right now, she reminded me of everything that made a mother so special. They loved like no one else. Blood or not, they would raise hell itself to protect their children, and I respected that…no…it fucking turned me on.
“The third option is that you never see our son again,” I said, knowing she wouldn’t take the third option unless she were dead. Savannah stepped back but bumped into Goran.
“No, you can’t take him from me,” she said, panic making her voice waver.
“I can, and I will, if you don’t cooperate.”
She was quiet and looked around the room. I knew she was playing out her options for killing her way out, and even if she survived by some miracle, she’d still have to deal with the Mancinis.
“If I do what you want, do I get to keep my son?”
“Yes, you will resume life as his mother. Nothing will change there.” Her body shook as she looked at Cutter, fear evident in her eyes. “I give you my word on that, Savannah, and it is as good as blood signed on a contract.”
She closed her eyes, and I could see her mentally taking a leap of faith. “Okay.”
“Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Bud, but I do need to speak to Nathaniel alone. So, you’re going to go with Goran here, and he might even find you some paper and pens to color with.” It was as if she was cutting off her own limb as she handed Cutter over to Goran. He turned to leave, but she grabbed his arm. “Please keep him safe.”
“With my life,” Goran answered, and she nodded.
As soon as Cutter was out of the room, Savannah rolled out her shoulders and squared off with me. “What do you want from me?”
“It should be pretty evident.” Blatant lust dripped from my words as I pointedly looked her up and down. I smirked as she swallowed hard. She might not remember our time together, but I’d relived every single moment so many times that they were tattooed on the furthest reaches of my brain. “Not only that but….” I flicked my gaze over to the priest.
“No…you don’t mean…Nathan, have you lost your mind? I can’t marry you, and I’ll never be your mistress.”
I snatched her by the throat and pushed her up against the wall, my body pressing into hers. “You stole my son from me. I didn’t get to be there for any part of the most momentous moment of my life. Not the appointments, getting to hear his heartbeat for the first time, his first kicks, laugh, words, steps. It was all stolen from me. He is my son, my flesh and blood, my heir. You had no right, so we’re going to fix the problem. I will not miss any more of my son’s life. Do I make myself clear?”
“I…can’t….” She wheezed, and my body trembled with rage, my fingers tightening a little more on her delicate neck. Savannah smacked my arm. “Breathe.” I loosened my hold, and she sucked in a gasp of air and coughed, but I didn’t let her go. How could I still desire someone so much and want to snap their neck at the same time?
“What about your father and my work?”
“I’ll deal with my father, and I don’t give a fuck about your work. As of today, you’re no longer an FBI agent. Before we leave this room, you will be Mrs. Nathaniel Mikhailov, and you’re going to fly back to California with me, where I can protect you and stop the hit that’s out on you.” Her eyes widened, confusion filling her pretty blue depths. “Oh, you didn’t know about that? Yes, Aldo Mancini has placed a very large bounty on you and our son. It is the reason I found out about him at all.” I leaned in close to her ear and whispered. “And you better be fucking grateful you did this to me and not my brother Ronan or my father. They would’ve shot you on sight, left your body for the Mancinis, and took Cutter without losing a single night’s sleep.”
Being pressed up against Savannah like this was dangerous. My rage was fueling the desire that had never left, and once more, my body craved to be buried deep inside of her. My cock brushed against her, and Savannah shivered in my hold. Fuck. I hated that I wanted her like this, and I pushed her away. Cracking my neck, I undid my suit jacket and tossed it on one of the chairs as I nodded to the priest.
“Nathan, I….” I turned my head and glared at Savannah. She sucked in a deep breath as she played with the wedding ring on her finger.
“Where the fuck is your husband? I’ll have him brought here and killed in front of you first.” Savannah’s mouth fell open. “No one touches you but me from now on.”
She rolled her eyes at me and pulled the ring off. “Jesus, Nathan, get a grip. He’s not my husband or lover or anything else. We were undercover together, and no, he never touched me. Here.” She smacked the ring down on the desk with a bang. “Do what you want with it.”
“No one else has either?” She glared up at me, her jaw twitching, and I thought she was going to take a swing.
“Oh yes, I’m sure you have been the paragon of chastity since I last saw you. How many women have you been with, Nathan? Ten, twenty, a few hundred? Don’t ask me such stupid questions again. You don’t own me. Not even in marriage will I be your possession. You can keep all your mafia princesses for that.”
I had no idea what she meant by mafia princesses, but Savannah had a point. There was no reason to hold her to an unreasonable standard when we weren’t together, no matter how much I wanted to know all their names and kill them with my bare hands.
“Then what were you going to say,” I asked as I picked up the cheap, fake ring. Could the FBI not splurge for something that at least looked authentic? I tossed it in the trash and rolled up the sleeves of my dress shirt.
Savannah crossed her arms. “Never mind, let’s get this over with.” She stepped up beside me at the desk. Get this over with? She had to be kidding. Anyone else in her position would be groveling at my feet with thanks, but instead, she stood there looking like I was sentencing her to death.
She thought marrying me was so horrible? Fine. I’d show her just how horrible I could be.