to your father?” he asked once he moved back to his side of the boat and resumed his rowing.
I nodded. “He sounds more rested, but the healing is still going to take some time.”
Not healing from his physical injuries.
From his emotional ones.
Batya had been devastated to learn that his beloved Claudia had not only hidden their child from him, but that Dimitri—his son—had been under his nose all that time and he never knew. More, that his only son had hated him so vehemently, enough to revolt against him and threaten his life. And now, in another cruel twist of fate, that son was gone. Batya felt both guilty and betrayed at the same time, and I couldn’t begin to imagine what he was going through.
Part of me wished he’d never learned of Dimitri’s true identity.
His heart had never fully mended after Claudia left him, so for this to happen… He had a long, painful road ahead of him.
But at least the old syndicate was back to rights. Dimitri’s death had more or less balanced the scales in the Russian organization. Effectively cutting the head off the snake, the Voiny were no more.
Batya was back to ruling as the unequivocal vor.
Not to mention, he was exuberant about being a grandfather. He hadn’t acted the least bit surprised when I’d informed him that Nico and I were staying married and that I would not be returning to Russia. The distance between us saddened me, of course, but Nico assured me that after the baby was born, we could visit Moscow as often as I wanted.
It would also give me the opportunity to check in on my kids at the Red Gate Orphanage. With Nico’s financial assistance, I’d commissioned an entirely new facility to be constructed in a nicer, safer part of Moscow. The building was now across the street from a park with a playground and had comforts and luxuries, the likes of which those kids had probably never seen. And it was large enough to take on as many kids as it needed.
As much as I wished I could see those kids every day and missed them terribly, I took solace in the fact that they were comfortable and being well taken care of. Plus, I had the children’s center in Brooklyn. Val and I had been hard at work developing new programs and expanding.
Not to mention…I’d soon have a child of my own.
Which was why this surprise trip to Capri was the last time I’d be flying for a while. At least, that’s what Nico had said when he’d announced where we were going.
“You know doctors say pregnant women can fly up until their seventh month,” I’d informed him, amused.
He’d shaken his head hard. “Something only has to happen once for them to change their minds. Why take the chance?”
I shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised that Nico was already proving to be the extreme in overprotective fathers.
“What about the distillery renovations?” I asked, steadying myself when the boat tilted on a larger wave. “Are we still on schedule to open in two weeks?”
He nodded. “The company I hired to install all the exterior signs should be finished by the end of this week. Then it’s just getting the staff ready.”
The fire from a month ago had ravaged the interior of the Brooklyn Armor House, but thankfully hadn’t caused unrepairable structural damage to the building itself. Nico certainly hadn’t wasted any time in cleaning and renovating the place. In fact, he’d gone through four different contractors when each had tried telling Nico that he couldn’t meet his narrow time frame.
Nico’s motive had been clear.
He didn’t want the reminder of what had taken place inside that building. Both of us had nearly lost our lives. My father had nearly lost his. We had nearly lost our baby. So much blood and violence, and that place was supposed to be about friends and family and making memories. The first time I went back inside, I’d worried that everything from that night would come rushing back.
But somehow, it didn’t. I couldn’t explain it, but the place just had a sense of new beginnings about it now.
Much like the rest of my life. I stared down at my hand as it slid over my still mostly flat stomach.
I was completely in awe of my good fortune.
When I lifted my head, I was shocked to see that we’d entered a…cave?