Page 42 of Owned By Shadows

“You are the light I never knew I was missing, Princess,” I say, cupping her cheek in my hand and pressing our foreheads together. “I seriously don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I can’t even remember the time before you and the others. It’s like I didn’t exist until you all came along and showed me how to breathe,” she answers, and my heart clenches.

She’s right. I didn’t breathe, was hardly living before she crashed into our lives. Not only did I get her, but I also got Hunt back and now Nikolai. Plus the change in my brother is something I’d never dared hope for. My heart is so fucking full now I don’t know how it ever beat before.

And no one, especially not some fucking mafia kingpin, is going to take any of them away from me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“UNSTEADY” BY SAMANTHA POTTER

NIKOLAI

The sound of Iris being fucked by the twins after a few hours’ rest was enough to make me hard as fucking steel and heading outside onto the veranda, otherwise I was about to storm into the bedroom and join in. I don’t doubt they’d welcome it, but we must secure this island retreat while planning our next steps. Plus, I need to get in touch with Alexei and update him on the fact my father is now aware of my betrayal. It’ll make things harder, but not impossible. There’s always a solution. We just need to find it because leaving Sergi alive and unpunished is not an option.

The secure phone in my shorts pocket vibrates, and when I pull it out, I see it’s an image and encrypted message from one of my tech specialists who I left behind. I’ve spent the past few years gathering loyal men to my side, knowing that this moment was coming. I open the message and look at the image. It’s usgetting off the Knights’ plane in Bali, and my blood turns to ice in my veins at the implications.

Unknown

It seems Sergi is working with a private military contractor, XY, who operates surveillance satellites. They took this and sent it to him a couple of hours ago.

Fuck!

“Roman!” I holler sharply as I stride into the house, rereading the message. “We need to talk. Now!”

Hunt, Bubby, Andrei, and Dima are out doing things around the island for security, so it’s just me, the twins, and Iris. And fuck, I don’t want to worry her, not after the panic attack she had earlier, but we also can’t keep her in the dark about the genuine threat my father poses. Especially as he clearly has more resources than we expected.

Footsteps pound from the direction of the bedroom, Roman entering first, his hair wet and in a messy bun, which at any other time I would admire because it allows his sharp cheekbones to be truly appreciated.

“What’s happened?” he asks, his brows furrowed as Iris and Rowan hurry into the room after him. My stomach clenches seeing the way her forehead is creased, the way her chest rises and falls faster than I’d like. Walking up to her, I pocket my phone and take both her cheeks in my hands, looking into her worried eyes.

“I need you to remain calm,Moye Solntse, okay? We can’t focus on keeping you safe if we’re also worrying about you going into another panic attack.” My words may seem brutal, but it’s the truth, and I know she worked on how to deal with panic when she was at Serene Haven.

“O–okay,” she agrees, her lips trembling, but I watch as she takes a deep inhale, some of the tension leaving her shoulders as she releases it.

“Good girl,” I whisper, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, then letting go of her face and reaching into my pocket. I tuck her into my side, knowing that the closeness will provide comfort for her. “Sergi knows we landed in Bali,” I tell them, handing my phone to Roman so he can read the message. “He’s employed an ex-military team to use satellites to find us.”

The phone buzzes and Roman’s eyes scan the message, his brows dropping lower.

“It says he’s getting the company to scan all surrounding islands within a fifteen-mile radius,” he tells me, and adrenaline floods my veins, making everything seem sharper.

“At least he doesn’t know where we are exactly,” Rowan adds, brushing his hand through his hair, the skin around his eyes tight. “That’s good, gives us an advantage.”

“Yeah,” Roman adds, handing back my phone and walking over to the table where he set up a laptop earlier. It’s on the secure network the Knights have, and Roman is a tech wizard, so I’ve no doubt he has some ideas flooding that beautiful brain of his. “We can set up some electric countermeasures, make them miss this island completely even.” I watch as his fingers fly across the keyboard. “I’ll see if I can mask our heat signatures, just in case they can use thermals.”

Iris is still focusing on her breathing, and I’m so fucking proud of her because I can’t imagine how scary this is for her. It’s bad enough for us, knowing that he will stop at nothing to get her and his baby, but to be the focus of all that evil attention must be overwhelming.

“You’re doing so well,Solnishko,” I whisper, placing a kiss on her damp hair. “Keep breathing, and we are here. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

She nods, wrapping her arms around me and snuggling into my chest.

“I’m going to devise and put into place a rapid evacuation plan, just in case. Plus sort our weapons now I know the safe code,” Rowan tells me, stepping up behind Iris and wrapping her between us. “I won’t be far, okay, Lamb?”

She nods, murmuring her acceptance, and I can see his hesitation at leaving her in the way his lips thin and his eyes refuse to look away from her.

“I’ve got her, you do what you need to and I’ll stay with her,” I tell him. He looks up at me, gives me a sharp nod, and then a look that promises a slow and painful death if even one hair on her head is harmed. I can’t blame him. I’d do the same.

Then with a kiss on her head, he’s gone, and it’s just us and Roman, who is completely absorbed in his task.

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