Page 117 of Convenient Vows

Maksim.

Tear tracks glisten on flushed cheeks. His tiny chest jerks with the last shiver of a sob—but the second his eyes meet mine, the world stills.

It’s like being hit by something primal. A thread snaps taut inside me, recognition flaring bright and unrelenting. I don’t just see a child. I see mine, my blood, my boy.

He stops crying.

I close the distance in two strides and drop to my knees beside the bed, scooping him into my arms. He’s trembling, stiff at first—then he just melts against me. Tiny arms lock around my neck like he never wants to let go.

His voice is scratchy, hesitant, but full of something that guts me.

“I want my Mama,” he whispers, in a voice that cracks like glass.

“You’re safe now,malen'kiy volk.”I say, holding him tighter. “And I’m going to get your mama now.”

Just then, the door swings wide open behind me. I spin, twisting my body to shield Maksim just as a guard bursts in with weapon drawn.

I don’t flinch because Lev moves like a bullet, and with one clean shot, his muzzle flash flares like lightning, and the bastard hits the floor. I hold Maksim tighter, feeling his little heart pounding against mine.

Viktor steps into the room a second later, calm and lethal as always. He glances at the body on the floor, then at me, and the boy clinging to my chest like I’m the only thing holding his world together.

Something soft flickers across Viktor’s face, and he gives me a quick nod as if to say phase one is done.

I rise, adjusting Maksim in my arms. “He’s alright,” I say softly, even though my voice feels scraped raw.

Maksim nestles in closer, his fingers tangling in the fabric of my shirt. I shift him, brushing the damp curls off his forehead. He gazes up at me, tired but calm now.

I look at Lev. “Take him.”

Lev reaches out, and for a second, I hesitate to let my son go. I kissing him on the forehead, and reluctantly pass him over.

The boy wraps his arms around Lev’s neck like he’s known him forever. Lev blinks—but then his hands move automatically, cradling Maksim with surprising care. He tucks the kid close like he’s done this a hundred times before, and adjusts his stance. His gun steady in one hand, the other supporting the boy.

“Tell Anton to get him out,” I say. “Ask him to take one of the men as cover, and if anything comes between them and that gate, they should kill it.”

Lev nods, already moving.

As I watch them leave, my mind focuses on the next phase of the operation, and that is getting my wife out of here.

We push deeper into the building, Viktor on my left and Roman covering our flank. As we turn at the end of a hallway, four of Cristóbal’s men confront us. I lunge forward as another one rushes at us. He’s fast, and cocky, but not faster than I am.

I catch him mid-swing and drive my knife into his gut. He gurgles, and I slam his body into the wall before letting him drop.

“Lights,” Viktor mutters, before aiming at the pendant lighting ahead of us. Glass shatters as he shoots out the overhead lights. Darkness swallows us immediately, and I hear Roman let out a sigh of relief, because we operate and move better in the shadows.

The red glow of the emergency lights is faint. Just enough for us, but not sufficient for them.

We make quick work of the guards and press forward, boots slipping slightly in the mess pooling beneath us. My chest is heaving, not from exhaustion, but from urgency.

Mara’s close. I can feel it in my bones, and I’m not stopping. Not until I have my wife safely in my arms.

44

Chapter 35

Xiomara

I hear sounds of commotion before the door is kicked open to reveal Cristóbal.

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