Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
REBECCA
In the last hour, since Tobias left me standing in the middle of his living room, I’ve worn a hole in the carpet with all the pacing I’ve done.
Poor Isla must wonder where on earth I’ve got to considering I had Maisie come back almost as soon as I’d let her go.
I can’t have Isla with me when Tobias returns, though.
I’ve no idea what kind of a state he’ll be in.
It worries me, all this trauma, and the lasting effect it could have on a man who is built only of goodness.
In the last few months, he’s been shot, saved me and my daughter, married me (a virtual stranger), discovered he was abused as a child by someone in a position of trust, launched an investigation to find other potential victims, and now he’s somehow got to deal with the fact his aunt was responsible for arranging the kidnapping of his brother and sister, and for poisoning his mother and watching her drown in the bath.
Even with therapy, it’s too much for one person to deal with and not suffer some kind of long-term emotional damage far worse than an aversion to touch. I only hope Lilian can help him find a way through.
I jump when the door opens and Tobias walks in. His hair is disheveled, he’s got dark circles beneath his eyes, and there’s a slope to his shoulders borne of sheer exhaustion.
“What can I do?”
He holds out his arms.
I run across the room and into them, the place where I feel the safest, and I hope he does, too. I squeeze him hard, and we simply stand there, taking comfort from one another. It’s a few minutes before we break apart.
“Couldn’t get me a brandy, could you?” Tobias asks, sheepishly glancing at the clock. “It’s evening somewhere, right?”
“Time is irrelevant.”
I pull the stopper off the decanter and pour him a generous serving.
I’m not a huge fan of hard liquor, but I pour one for myself, too.
Even when we’re situated on the couch, he holds my hand, his fingers threaded through mine as he sips his drink in silence.
I’m dying to know what’s happened, but I refuse to ask him, to put more pressure on a man bowing under the weight of it already.
“I’m sorry to take you from Isla again.”
“No apologies. She’s fine. Maisie is spoiling her.”
“I really want to hug her, but I can’t see her yet.” He puts his drink on the table, then runs a hand over his face. “When do you think the hits will stop coming?”
“I was only thinking that a few minutes before you arrived. What you’ve had to deal with lately, it’s a lot, Tobias. You should book a session with Lilian as soon as possible. Don’t wait for your scheduled appointment.”
“Probably have to fight Xan for her time now.” His lips tilt up into a smile that doesn’t last. “Can’t exactly tell Dad about the Southalls, now, can I? Not after today.”
“Well, maybe not today, but he’d want you to tell him eventually. You’re his son, and he loves you.”
“That’s the problem, though. He loves me, which means he’s going to blame himself, and after this fucking nightmare with Alice, I cannot do that to him. Not yet.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses me. “Thank God for you.”
“What happens now? To Alice, I mean.”
“Alice and George will be gone by Tuesday.”
“Gone where?”
“Siberia.”
“Alive?”
“Yeah. A week with the Volkovs, though, and they’ll wish they were dead.”
I shudder, his meaning clear without further explanation. “Who are the Volkovs?”
“One of the ten families who make up The Consortium.”
My nose wrinkles. “What’s The Consortium?”
He shifts, looking up at me. “There’s so much I haven’t had a chance to tell you about this family.
” He pulls me close. “The Consortium was formed a long time ago. My ancestors were founding members, and now, ten families are a part of the organization. We’re the…
I guess you could say we’re the power behind the vast majority of the world’s governments.
We work together on pretty much everything, from supply chains to laws we want passed that work in our favor.
Don’t get me wrong. We’re still competitors, and sometimes adversaries, but when push comes to shove… ”
“You stick together.”
He nods.
“Which is why there’s no comeback on what you did to those men for me?”
“Exactly. Even if I was arrested—and believe me, there isn’t a police commissioner alive or dead who would dare to give such an order—not a single judge in the country would take the case.
” He sits up straight. “But, and this is important, we do fervently believe in law and order. We don’t go around poking our nose into government business unless it’s deemed necessary. ”
“And these Volkovs…?”
“Are Alice and George’s worst nightmare. Anatoly Volkov, the heir to the Volkov Dynasty, is not a man you want to cross.”
I rub my lips together, then reach for my brandy, needing something to do with my hands.
All this should scare me. Instead, it empowers me.
I’m a part of this, and nothing and no one can hurt me as long as I’m living in this bubble.
After everything I’ve gone through, it’s comforting to know that I’m truly safe.
“I thought Alice was my friend. I trusted her.” I sigh, tracing the rim of the glass with my fingertip. “Yet one more I trusted who turned out to be a bad person.”
Tobias covers my hand, stilling me. “Bad actors take advantage of good people. You trusted me, and I promise, I will never let you down.”
“I know.”
He releases me and sits back. His fingers drum once on the arm of the sofa before he stills them.
“Listen… I’ve been thinking. Is it too soon, do you think, for us to talk about moving in together?
I don’t want to sleep apart from you anymore, but I understand if it might be too soon for Isla, and for you. ”
Heat radiates throughout my chest. After Marcus, I thought I was done with men for good, yet here I am, married and about to move in with my husband.
I set the brandy glass on the coffee table and rest my head on his shoulder. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. I don’t want to sleep without you, either. I want you to be the last thing I see at night and the first thing I wake up to in the morning.”
His shoulders visibly relax. “Probably better if I move in with you. Isla’s had such a lot of upheaval, and she’s just got used to her own room. I don’t want to uproot her.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “See, this is what I love about you. You’re always so thoughtful, especially when it comes to Isla.”
His eyes sparkle. “So, we’re doing this?”
“Yeah, we’re doing this.”
I take in the boxes littering the living room, the clothes piled up on the bed, and groan.
“Hmm, if I’d know you had this much stuff, I’d have thought twice about saying yes to you moving in.”
Tobias slides his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder. “I told you, the staff will unpack it all. We can take Isla out for a walk, or drive into town and grab a bite to eat, and when we return, it’ll be like it never happened.”
“No.”
I’m not sure why I’ve chosen this hill to die on. I do know I’m still struggling with having staff who will literally do anything they’re asked to. One day, I may get used to it. Today is not that day.
“You hang up your clothes, and I’ll start sorting through these boxes.”
He turns me in his arms. “Are you trying to make an honest man out of me?”
I laugh. “No. I’m showing you what the real world is like.”
He pouts. “Not sure I like this real world you speak of.”
“You’ve had it too easy. Now, scat.” I slide out of his arms and slap his bum. He really does have a great backside.
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am.” He salutes me and saunters off, wiggling his arse.
That’s funny enough, but when Isla toddles after him, imitating his moves, I fall about laughing.
Tobias glances over his shoulder. “I’m being ganged up on.” Swooping Isla into his arms, he kisses the end of her nose. “You’ll help me, won’t you, sweetheart?”
“No.”
I laugh harder. “She’s her mother’s daughter.”
“Hmm.” He puts her down. She follows him, anyway.
A few seconds later, I hear them both giggling.
My heart doubles in size, and I actually press both my hands against my chest. This is what I dreamed of when I was a kid and thought about having a family.
Then I landed myself with Marcus, and surviving each day while protecting Isla as best I could became my sole focus. I never thought I could be this happy.
Kneeling on the floor, I get to work on the first box. My phone buzzes from where I left it on the coffee table. I pick it up, and the happiness slips away like warmth leaving a body in the cold.
Felicity.
I guess I should’ve expected her to reach out sooner or later. Sighing, I open the message.
Felicity
I don’t want to put pressure on you, but have you thought anymore about letting me see Isla?
It’s nothing like the Felicity I used to know.
For one thing, it’s polite. The mother in me can’t help feeling a bit of sorrow for her loss.
Despite Marcus’s cruelty to me, he was her son, and he’s dead.
If Marcus had any good parts, then every one of them is stitched into Isla.
Would it hurt to let Felicity see her granddaughter?
Especially now I have Tobias’s support and protection?
“Haven’t you finished yet, slowcoach?” Tobias stands by the door to our bedroom, one hand casually slipped inside his trouser pocket, his boyish grin making my insides twist.
I brandish my phone in the air. “Text from Felicity distracted me.”
“Ah. Chasing you for a decision?”
“Yeah.”
“And have you made it?”
“I think I have.” I look down at her message again, then up at the kind eyes of my husband. “I’m going to let her see Isla.”
He pulls in his lips, rubbing them together. “I thought you might come to that decision.”
“Why?”
He’s quiet when he answers, his reply preceded by a quick glance at the bedroom door where Isla is. “Because, unlike your dead piece of shit husband and your vile former mother-in-law, you are a good person. You think of others and their feelings when making decisions.”
I rub the back of my neck. “You think it’s the wrong one?”
“I think it’s the right one. For you.”
“You’d choose differently?”
He chuckles, moving farther into the living room. “Oh, yeah, I’m far more vengeful. I’d tell her to fuck off and smile while I did it.”
“It just feels like the right thing to do for Isla. You’ll come with us, won’t you?”
He crouches beside me and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’ll be right by your side.”
I prop my forehead on his shoulder. Having his unwavering support means everything, especially with my background, where I’ve always felt alone. I’m not alone anymore. “Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me, Wren. I’m your husband. By your side is where I’m supposed to be. Always.”
“I… I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Uh-oh. I wondered what the grinding noise was.”
I stick out my tongue. “Funny.”
He rises to his feet and throws both arms out to the sides. “That’s me.”
I get up, too, wincing at stiff legs from sitting on the floor for too long. “I want you to adopt Isla. Only if you want to, of course.”
His lips part, and he looks at me, then behind him into our bedroom, where the sound of Isla humming drifts through the door. When his gaze returns to mine, his eyes are glistening. “It would be the greatest gift of my life, and the greatest honor. I’ll do my best to be a good dad to her.”
“She couldn’t wish for anyone better.” I press a kiss to his cheek. “Love you.”
“I love you. So much.” He stares into my eyes, his soft and warm and all Tobias. “Now, get back to work, lazy arse. You have boxes to unpack.” I grab a cushion and toss it at his head.
He easily palms it away. Laughing, he returns to the bedroom. Five minutes later, I’m still staring at the empty doorway, thanking God for good fortune and Tobias De Vil.