Page 56 of Born into Chaos

“It’s your brother and Yelena.”

“Val’s here?” I jump up with Samantha and rush to the window just in time to see my brother opening the passenger door of his burnt orange Jaguar to help Yelena out of it. He smiles at her like she’s his whole reason for breathing and then pulls her in for a hug. They’ve been careful to keep the physical aspects of their relationship hidden, but right now he thinks he’s alone, and when he cups her face and kisses her, I turn my head, feeling like I’m intruding on something private.

“Damn,” Vitya mutters. “Once your dad sees that, we won’t seem like such a big issue.”

He laughs at the look I give him and holds his hands up.

“I’m just kidding. I would never throw Val under the bus like that.”

“What are we going to do?” I ask him, looking around at the living room that’s covered in baby items. “There’s no hiding this.” I hold Samantha up, making her smile at Vitya. “Or this!”

“Baby,” he says, cupping my face, and I smile at the endearment even as my heart races in fear. I’m really good at getting my ass in trouble, but I’ve never been so great at handling it when I get caught. “We’re going to figure it out, remember? Look on the bright side, at least it’s not your dad.”

Leaning closer, he kisses my cheek and then whispers in my ear, “No way in hell am I getting my dick cut off before I know what it feels like to be inside you.”

The sound of the front door opening has me sucking in a breath as Vitya kisses my cheek and then stands in front of me. I’m used to him taking the lead, so it’s not the first time I’ve been left staring at his broad shoulders, but he’s not facing a threat. It’s my twin, who would rather cut off his own arm than ever raise it against me, so I step around him, putting us side by side when Val and Yelena walk in.

My brother’s eyes widen as he takes in the sight of us, but when they land on Samantha, he says, “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Sveta?”

I narrow my eyes at him, even though I can tell by his tone that he’s not even remotely angry. My brother is used to my troublemaking ways, and he’s never once gotten upset with me, but that doesn’t stop me from asking, “Why are you just assuming that I’m the one who got us into this?”

He smiles and takes a step closer. “Because you’re my twin, and I know you better than you know yourself.” Looking at Samantha and then at Vitya, he turns his eyes to mine and says, “This has you written all over it.”

“Shows what you know,” I tell him. “I’m actually pretty innocent this time around.”

“She’s not lying,” Vitya says. “You might as well sit down. This is going to take a while.”

Yelena drops her jacket and kicks off her boots before coming towards me. She smiles at Samantha and then pulls me in for a hug while she whispers, “I tried to call, and I texted like thirty times.”

“My phone’s in the bedroom charging,” I tell her, grateful that theyat least didn’t walk in while Vitya had me naked on the rug with his head between my legs.

“You’re such a cutie.” Yelena grabs one of Samantha’s swinging hands and kisses it. “Is she Vitya’s?”

“No, but that’s what I thought at first too.”

Yelena squeezes my shoulder because she knows how much that would’ve gutted me and because she’s one of the sweetest people in the world. She’s perfect for my brother, and I know how much it hurts her to have to hide how she feels.

“Come on,” Vitya says. “I’ll start on lunch while we explain everything.”

Before I go into the kitchen, I stop and do a quick diaper change, and then Val brings the playpen in so Samantha can kick at her piano while we talk. I turn the volume down as low as I can without her getting upset and then take the empty stool next to my brother. Vitya already has a cutting board filled with tomato and cucumber slices, and while he gets out the rest of the ingredients from the fridge, I start from the beginning and tell Val and Yelena everything that’s happened. Vitya makes our sandwiches while jumping in occasionally to add his own bits of the story, and by the time we’re finished, lunch is over, we’ve moved to sitting on the couch, and Samantha is in Vitya’s lap. Her back is against him, and his hand is resting on her stomach to help keep her upright. She’s kicking and flinging her arms and smiling at the new people in the room.

My brother and Yelena smile at how cute she is before Val says, “You don’t have much longer before Dad gets curious and comes out here. I told him I’d come out and check on you, but that’s only going to hold him off for so long. He’s not crazy about you being out here alone with Vitya.” My brother smiles and says, “He suspects that your bodyguard has feelings for you that go beyond work.”

“He’s right,” Vitya says, reaching out to squeeze my thigh. “I love your sister, Val, and I’m done pretending that I don’t.”

I rest my hand on his and thread our fingers together while I look at my brother. We took a gamble by telling him. Val is a full member ofthe Bratva now, and he could make this incredibly difficult for us, but I know he won’t. He loves me too much to do that, so when he just sighs and leans back against the couch, I smile at him and say, “Thanks, womb buddy.”

He laughs at the nickname I’ve used since we were kids and shakes his head at me. “Just because we shared a womb doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to save your ass when Dad finds out.”

“I know,” I tell him. “We just need a few more days to figure everything out.”

“Are you sure her parents are dead?” Yelena asks.

“Her mom definitely is,” Vitya says, “and I’m pretty sure her dad is too. If he is alive, then he shouldn’t be for allowing his daughter to be treated like that.” He kisses the top of Samantha’s head while she squeals and smiles up at him. “She was so dehydrated when I found her that she couldn’t even cry for help.”

Yelena gets teary-eyed at the very thought of it and looks over at Val. “We should get Niki involved. I bet he can find out more about her. If we can find out for sure that her parents are dead, then it’ll make it easier for her to be adopted.”

Val’s face softens when he sees how much this is upsetting Yelena. He reaches out and brushes back a strand of her dark hair. Her eyes widen at the obvious public display of affection, but instead of backing off, my brother mutters a quick, “Fuck it,” and pulls her into his lap.

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