Page 63 of Taming a Ruthless Heart

Her laughter slices through the quiet, the sound too innocent for the weight of our reality.She’s still outside, talking with Pete about pirates and mermaids, under the watchful eyes of Nadya.

My heart stutters with guilt and yearning.My little girl has no clue how much danger lurks just beyond the safety of these walls.

Stepping outside, I call her, “Rose, it’s getting dark, sweetheart.”My entrance breaks their animated conversation.“Nadya, could you take Rose upstairs, get her a nice bath, and dinner later?I’m sitting this one out.”

Nadya’s gaze flickers toward me, and for a heartbeat, I see a question simmering in them.She’s too discreet to ask it, though.She nods.“Of course, Mrs.Lenko.”She turns to Rose, a soft smile curving her lips.“Come on, little bunny.And you as well, my fearless king of the seas,” she adds, including her son.“Let’s get you two ready for dinner.”

Rose’s wide emerald eyes search mine as if sensing the storm roiling in my head.“You coming, too, Mama?”

The fragile hope in her voice shatters me.

Kneeling in front of her, I force a smile.“Not tonight, moy zaychik.Mama’s tummy is hurting.”

Her tiny brows knit, making her seem far wiser than her four years.With a little sigh, she presses her warm lips to my cheek.“This will make you feel better.”

“Already am,” I state, heartache blocking my throat as I kiss her forehead, inhaling the comforting scent of lavender.

It takes all I’ve got not to cling to her, not to allow my own despair to spill out like the tidal wave it is.

Nadya places one hand on Rose’s shoulder and another on Pete’s, turning them toward the house.Before the nanny leaves, her gaze catches mine.“Is there anything I can do, ma’am?”

Her sincere concern for me cracks my brittle armor, but I tighten it again.I won’t collapse in front of my child.“Thank you, Nadya, but there’s nothing.”

She studies me for a beat longer, reading the unspoken words in the tight set of my mouth and the faint tremor in my hands.With a gleam of quiet understanding in her eyes, she leads the kids away with a gentle touch.

I return to the sunroom, where I allow my knees to finally buckle.I sink into the nearest chair, staring out at the gathering dusk as if it holds answers to questions I’m too scared to say aloud.A sudden creak from the floorboards behind me snaps my gaze to the doorway, but there’s nobody there.

As the last rays of sun die outside, the scent of old wood mingles with the faint tang of lemon from the candles.The house is quiet with a kind of silence that threatens to unravel me.

My head spins, the rush of blood in my veins deafening.I cover my face with my hands, straining to block out the roaring chaos.

It does not, obviously.

I can’t think straight with a category-five hurricane churning in my mind.

Dropping my hands to my lap, I sweep my gaze across the room, desperately searching for an answer, for something that could actually help me out right now.

My eyes land on the cellphone I left on the side table when I picked up a book to read, before Dave came home a lifetime ago.

I grab it, find Olivia’s number with trembling fingers, and push down the call button.I press the phone to my ear and lean back against the wicker chair.Each ring tightens the knot in my stomach, stretching out time just enough for panic to take root.

Before it can bloom, Olivia answers my call, “Alexia?”Her voice comes out breathless, strained.

“Olivia, I need to talk to you.”

“I’m so sorry.I’m in the middle of something.I need a second, Lex.I’ll call you right back.”The line goes dead before I can reply.

The silence on the other side of the line hits me like a slap.

Seconds stretch into minutes, the ticking of the antique clock on the mantel increasing my sense of doom.Sweet relief floods me when the phone buzzes again.

“I’m back,” Olivia says when I pick up the call.Her voice sounds softer now, despite an edge that’s not common for her.

I’m just so thankful to have her on the phone, I won’t overthink this.It might just be my own desperation coloring her reactions in the darkness that surrounds me.

“I told him, Olivia,” I gasp, feeling the band of steel crushing my chest loosening slightly.“I told Dave about Rose.”

Her sharp intake of breath crackles through the line.“And how did he take it?”

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