Chapter 46 Sienna
SIENNA
I skipped around the house finishing the Christmas preparations—or I would have been skipping if my belly hadn’t decided this was the week to pop and completely alter my center of gravity.
An extra bounce in my step would have to do.
Everyone was arriving today, and the last of the Christmas tree ornaments needed to be finished first.
Finally, I wouldn’t be alone. It was the best Christmas present I could have asked for, besides the one that I’d already been given—the news that baby Burrito was thriving.
She was moving around so much more now, feeling less like gas and more like a little alien creature.
With every fluttering movement, my love for her grew.
The relief I’d felt after the second ultrasound cemented a new determination inside me.
If Dimitri tried to take this baby away, I would unleash absolute hell.
I had already proven that I could easily access all of his money.
Bankrupting him would be easy, and the respect I’d cultivated as the Hedgehog had earned me a lot of allies throughout the years who wouldn’t hesitate to take down the Pakhan.
And if all else failed, Leona and her army of female assassins would fight for me and the baby, no questions asked.
I couldn’t practice my shooting skills while pregnant since the loud noise could hurt baby Burrito’s ears, but I had decided I wanted a gun, just in case.
If it came down to it, I would shoot anyone who tried to take my baby away.
My little snow village display was just about finished when I heard cars pulling up the driveway.
I slid into the foyer on sock-covered feet, earning a stern look from Sergey, who was guarding the front door.
He made me put on shoes and a jacket before letting me out into the snow-covered world where my family waited.
The doors to the first car opened and Romeo got out. Back straight on high alert, he scanned the area for threats, but his face broke out in a smile when he spotted me coming down the stairs.
“Merry Christmas Eve!” I shouted as I bounded towards him, but I quickly changed course when the passenger side door opened, revealing Juliet. I crashed into her with a laugh and she returned my embrace, holding tight. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“I see how it is,” Romeo grumbled. “I’ve known you your whole life and you still choose Juliet over me.”
“That’s right,” I said. “Get used to it.”
The second SUV door opened and Sofiya popped her head out. “Hey, no fair! I want to be part of the group hug!”
Juliet and I laughed while we helped Sofiya out of the car and piled together in a group hug. A lump rose in my throat as I held on tight. I would never take this for granted again.
I wiped my eyes when we pulled apart and grinned when Juliet and Sofiya did the same.
“I’m so glad we made it,” Sofiya said, but her lips twisted in a sad smile.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I just got a text from Mila saying they can’t come.”
“Wait, why?”
“They’re snowed in. I have no idea where their safe house is, but apparently it’s not safe for them to get here.”
I squeezed her arm. “I’m so sorry. That sucks.” I knew how much she missed her sister, and I’d been looking forward to getting to know her better.
My former bodyguard got Sofiya’s rollator out of the car and brought it over to us.
“Dante! I didn’t know you were coming. I thought Angelo was supposed to come.”
Sofiya sighed. “Something came up, and he needed to stay in the city.”
I waited for her to explain further, but she was suddenly very focused on a loose thread in her sweater.
“Okay, then…I’m glad you’re here, Dante. I’m sure you’re relieved, too. Life must be super boring without me.”
He snorted. “Maybe you can embrace the Christmas spirit and tell me where my missing boot is.”
“Oh, that was a good prank. I should do that again.” Before I moved, I had snuck into the boxing gym and stolen six left shoes from our soldiers.
All of them had been found except for one—Dante’s boot.
He’d texted multiple times, trying to get me to divulge the hiding location, but to be honest, I had no fucking clue where I’d put it.
He rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself as he went to get the suitcases out of the trunk.
Matteo rounded the car with Clementine in his arms. The moment she saw me, she let out a loud screech and threw her body in my direction with that confident abandon babies had that someone would always catch them.
I stole her away from Matteo and squeezed her tight to my chest. “There’s my sweet girl.
I’ve missed you so much. Have you missed your favorite auntie? ”
“Things have definitely been quiet without you,” Matteo muttered.
I laughed and leaned into his side. “Aww. You missed me.”
He scoffed, but the tight hug he gave me said it all.
“And here are the guest rooms.” I spread my arms with a flourish.
Sofiya and Juliet oohed and aahed over my design choices while the guys checked for cameras, bugs, and other security threats.
I’d been up way too late last night putting on the finishing touches, and their compliments made it all worth it.
I left everyone to unpack while I followed the strains of Christmas music through several still half-finished rooms.
I hadn’t seen Dimitri at all since the incident.
I was pretty sure he hadn’t stepped foot inside the house at all the past two weeks.
I told myself I only cared because we needed to keep up the pretense that we were in some sort of real relationship, but there was a part of me—a small, stupid part—that missed him.
I had allowed myself to hope that the two of us could have something.
Not a real relationship, but a friendly co-parents-with-benefits situation had seemed possible.
And then he’d just gone and fucked it all up by not having a sense of humor or the ability to listen before jumping to conclusions.
I entered the kitchen to find Sveta and Polina wearing the colorful sweaters I’d bought them—both featuring the cutest drawings of little baby wolves.
They were wrapping up a few last-minute tasks before heading to Michigan with Sergey to visit his family.
I was sad they wouldn’t be here for Christmas, but Sergey’s parents had been looking forward to celebrating with them since they drove up last year.
It was so rare in this world for someone to have two happily married parents, but it helped explain Sergey’s lighthearted energy.
I wrapped my arms around Sveta. “You all packed?”
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Polina made me pack last night.”
The woman in question huffed as she wrapped up sugar cookie dough. “Yes, because packing five minutes before we left worked out for you so well last year.”
Sveta grinned. “I might have shown up with a single sock and toothpaste with no toothbrush, but it was all fine in the end.”
A thump at the French doors had me peering around the corner to find Vovchyk.
I opened the door and rubbed his ears. “Hi, sweet boy,” I cooed. “I need you to be on your very best behavior for the next few days because we have a dog in the house. His name is Noodle. You’re going to behave for me, right?”
“He should be okay,” Polina said. “There were dogs at the compound, and he just ignored them.”
“The compound?” I asked.
“That’s what we called it—where Dima, Maxim, and I lived in Russia.”
“Oh, right.” Moments like this were an uncomfortable reminder of what an outsider I still was in this home. “Well, that’s good to know. Hopefully, he gets along with Noodle. Otherwise, he’ll have to stay outside for the next few days, and that’s no way to spend Christmas.”
“No, it’s not.” Polina stared out of the window with glazed eyes before shaking her head. “After last year, I’ve been determined to make sure no one’s alone this Christmas.”
I cocked my head. “Who was alone last year?”
“Dima. Sergey’s parents invited all of us, but he stayed here alone.”
My brow furrowed. Sofiya had invited her brother to celebrate with us, but he’d said he wasn’t able to come. “Why?”
She busied herself with wiping down the already clean countertops.
“His excuse was that he had to work, but really it’s just a hard time of year for a lot of us.
Those first few years at the compound, I tried to do something festive, but I eventually gave up.
That place sucked the color out of everything and everyone until we were just…
cold.” She shook her head and smiled tightly.
“Sorry, that’s way too depressing. Do you need anything before we go? ”
I wrapped her in a tight hug and pulled Sveta in, too. “All I need is for you to have a fun, happy, and warm Christmas.”
“We’ll see you in a couple of days,” Polina said, giving me a final, tight squeeze. “We’re going to do New Year’s Eve big this year.”
“Can’t wait.”
Once they’d left the kitchen, I turned to Vovchyk. “I think it’s cookie time.”
I turned up the music, grabbed a wrapped disc of cookie dough, and started rolling it out.
It wasn’t long before my family joined me in the kitchen.
Sofiya and Juliet cooed over Vovk while Romeo, Matteo, and our guard, Dante, scowled from the other side of the kitchen.
Soon, Noodle was flirting with a grumpy Vovchyk, Romeo was mocking Matteo’s decorating attempts, and Juliet and Sofiya were creating bakery-worthy decorations.
I had teamed up with Clementine to start our cookie empire.
“Are we going to win the cookie decorating contest?” I asked, bouncing Clem on my lap. “We sure are. Yes, we are.” She giggled, shoving her frosting-covered hands in her mouth.
“It’s not a contest,” Sofiya said, frowning as she looked up from the cookie she was icing to look like Noodle—Christmas sweater and all.
“Scared you’re going to lose?” I taunted.