her face buried in his chest. Antosha wrapped his arm around her and looked up at Mitya and Sevastyan. There was despair written in every line of his face. Suffering. Determination.
“She can’t keep coming in here. I can’t hold him back forever.” The voice was thin, barely heard. Each word was slurred. The sentences were slow, as if Antosha had to reach for each word, find it and then form it carefully to say it.
Mitya wanted to close his eyes, to turn away from the plea in Ania’s father’s eyes. The man wanted him to kill them both, man and cat. The desperation was there. The need. He knew, as did Mitya, that it was only a matter of time before the leopard won. When that happened, the cat would kill anyone it came across—including his daughter and his caretaker.
“How long has this fight been going on?”
“Too long. Can’t hold out.”
“You can.” Ania lifted her head and looked her father in the eye. “You can hold out. You will. If you die, I’ll be alone, Dad. I won’t have anyone.”
Antosha’s gaze met Mitya’s. “Mate?”
“Her leopard has accepted my leopard’s claim. She soothes him. Just being close to her, she brings both of us peace,” Mitya assured. “Your daughter will be treasured. I will take care of her.”
“Word of honor.”
Ania sat up and looked from her father to Mitya as if sensing more was going on in the conversation than just the words.
“You have my word of honor,” Mitya agreed.
“Protect her. From me.”
Ania shook her head. “Dad. Don’t do this.”
“Protect her from me.”
The words were so slurred and so slow and drawn out that they barely sounded as if they were an actual language. The man was exhausted, and Mitya felt for him.
“I will,” Mitya agreed.
“Leopard take mine?”
“No. No, I won’t have this. Get out.” Ania came off the bed right in front of Mitya and shoved at his chest.
She was strong, but she didn’t so much as rock him. Mitya wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into him. She resisted, pushing against him, struggling for a moment. Mitya held her to him, refusing to allow her to escape. It took several minutes before she slumped against him and then began to weep. He wished she would just cry loudly, but she didn’t make a sound. He knew she wept because he felt the wet tears on his shirt, and from the way her body shook, but she was absolutely silent.
Mitya rubbed her back and stroked caresses down her hair. He looked at her father over Ania’s head. He nodded his answer to the man. His leopard could definitely take Antosha’s in a fight. When it came down to it, Dymka would be able to kill Antosha’s leopard as humanely as possible.
Antosha regarded the couple for a moment and then mouthed “thank you” before he closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.
“I think it is safe for his nurse to return,” Mitya said.
“Annalise was my nanny,” Ania corrected, lifting her head from his chest. “Dad’s been slowly going downhill. The doctors all said he would. We consulted with the best. It was impossible to remove the bullet without killing him, but over time, the bullet would most likely begin traveling on its own.”
“You had three years with him, Ania,” Mitya reminded her as gently as possible. “If the bullet had killed him outright, you would have been alone that entire time. How long has this been going on?” He took her arm, pushed up the sleeves and examined the long scratches.
She squirmed, trying to pull her arm away, embarrassed on her father’s behalf. “His leopard broke free a few times and I had to contend with it. Not all the way—Dad managed to fight it back—but enough that his claws raked me a few times. I’m lucky that Annalise is so loyal, but I’m afraid to leave her alone in the house with him now.”
“You’re avoiding the question, kotyonok. How long has this been going on?”
She moistened her lips, avoiding his gaze. “The last three months he’s been steadily going downhill.”
Mitya shook his head, took her hand and strode from the room. He could feel her reluctance with every step they took back to the main part of the house. He went straight through the formal dining room to avoid the kitchen and continued into the great room. He let her go when they neared the fireplace.
“Sevastyan, have Vikenti and Zinoviy pack up the dinner and remove everything from