“
Normally, I would protest, but I’m afraid that you’ve exhausted me,” she said as he picked her up.
“
That’s my job,” he said, opening the door.
“
Aren’t you going to put on some clothes?” she asked when she noticed that he was naked.
“
My house, my rules,” he said, carrying her down the dark hall.
Chapter 29
Behind the doors of her master bathroom, a nice bath had been drawn for Royal in her large claw-foot tub with the windows opened to let in fresh air and the breaking dawn and candles lit to calm her spirit. Dmitry sat beside her in a chair, leaned over tending to her every need. The warm water rushing over her body and soothed the sore spots that had been thoroughly used by her husband. Dmitry ran the sponge over her neck and back slowly, making circles around the red spots on her skin that he had held too tightly too.
“
Does that feel better?” he asked, moving the strands of her hair that had fallen out of her clip.
“
It feels amazing,” she said, eyes closed.
Pulling the clip out of her hair, he put shampoo in his hand and massaged it into her scalp. Dipping her head back, he washed it out and then did the same with the conditioner. The smell of mint wafted up to his nose and he dried her hair off with a towel and helped her out. Wrapping her body with a terry cloth robe, he led her in the bedroom and put her in the bed to rest with the fireplace to keep her warm.
“
I’ve missed this,” she said, eyes shuttering closed.
“
So have I,” he said with one arm across her on the bed. As he was about to bend to kiss her, the baby monitor rang with the sound of one of his sons crying. He winked. “I’ll get him.”
“
Bring him to me,” she said, resting her head back on the pillow. “He just wants to be held. It’s Max. He always wakes up first. Konstantin is a late sleeper. We have another hour before he gets up and then they’ll both be starving.”
Dmitry thought of her breasts again and had to fight an erection. “Breast milk takes like liquid gold,” he said, slipping a hand into her robe to rake over her nipple.
“
You’re so bad,” she whispered before he kissed her.
Dmitry looked her in her eyes and rubbed his nose against hers. “You have no idea.”
With that, he stood up, threw on a pair of pajama bottoms and left the room with a little more swagger in his step than before.
It was a good start to what promised to be a very long day. Something about being with his wife again gave him the strength that he would need to see it all carried out. Six weeks he had been made to wait. Six long, miserable, teasing weeks. But Royal had made the wait worth it. She was a good wife, true and honest. He knew that even if he had not touched her in six years, she would never let another. He knew that every time that he tasted her, he was the only one. She had never given herself to another
willingly,
and there were very few in this world who could say that. That fact completed him, made him feel like a real man through and through. He knew that others wanted her, coveted her, dreamt of her, but Royal Medlov was his and his alone.
As Royal had said, of the pair it was Max who had stirred awake. Eyes averted to the hanging toys above him, he waited on his mother to hear his cry and come to him as she normally did. Dmitry walked into the children’s nursery, now lit with a golden hue from the sun on the horizon and dipped over the crib to pick his son up in one large hand. He held him up in the air and looked at him, inspecting the boy with proud appreciation.
Maxim cracked a smile when he saw his father’s face. They shared the same blue eyes and but different hair. However, Max had his mother’s lips. Dmitry drew him in and held him close to his bosom, kissing the crown of his head. He still couldn’t believe that he had boys. Two beautiful, strong, brilliant boys.
“
Daddy loves you so much,” he whispered to him in his little ear. “You know that, eh? I would do anything for you and your brother and your sister and your mother. Anything. Do you know why?” he asked the boy. “
Potomu chto vy mne zavershit
ʹ
. You know what that means? It means you complete me.
Potomu chto vy mne zavershit
ʹ.
”
Royal sat up in the bed and listened to the baby monitor with a serene smile on her face. “You complete us,” she said, even though she knew that he could not hear her.
“
Now, let’s get you to your mama,” Dmitry said, peeking in on Konstantin to make sure that he was still asleep. He was. Snuggled under his blanket, dreaming and resting quietly, the baby boy looked the most peaceful that Dmitry had ever seen a person. He envied him slightly to be able to sleep so well without a care in the world.
Walking back into the bedroom, Dmitry handed Max to Royal and then tucked them both under the covers. He stood by the bed, looking at them both and trying to remember this moment just as it was. Perfect. Serene.
“
What?” Royal asked when she noticed his stare.
“
Nothing,” Dmitry said, hearing his cell phone ring.
She immediately went rigid.
“
Relax, the kidnappers wouldn’t be calling on this line.” Dmitry picked up the Blackberry on the nightstand and answered it. “Da,” he said, sitting on the bed.
He knew that Royal wouldn’t be able to bear being taken out of the conversation. Listening for a minute, he looked over at her and nodded. “Good job. Money has already been sent to you for your troubles and a shipment of some very useful equipment will go out to you today.” Hanging up the phone, he leaned in and kissed his wife’s lips. “Ding, dong, the dictator is dead.”
Royal let out a sigh. “I’d nearly forgotten about that,” she said, swallowing hard. “I thought that they had Anya.”
Dmitry felt bad for her. Running a hand over Max’s head, he sighed and stood up. “No, baby. I have to go and get Anya. And now that this is done, I can.”
“
Thank you,” Royal said again. She knew that she had said it a hundred times, but she meant it to her core.
“
You don’t owe me a thank you,
moya malen
ʹ
kaya zhenshchina
.”
“
For all that you do, Dmitry, I do owe you.”
“
Well, pay me by continuing to take such good care of my children,” he said, standing up. “I’ve gotta go. This was what I was waiting for.”
***
Langston and his team had not left the compound since the day before. Sitting in his office flipping his pen through his fingers, he watched the reports come in from Belarus with a smile on his face. Dmitry Medlov had fucking did it. Hitting the desk as he read the report, he threw his pen and picked up his coffee.
“
Hey Tomely, get in here,” he screamed through the door. “I need you to write up a statement for me regarding the hit in Belarus,” he said, kicking his feet up on the desk.
His administrative assistant came through the door quickly with a pen and pad in her hand. She was slim, redhead with a conservative bob and simple black skirt and white button down. Sitting down in front of him, she adjusted her black-framed glasses on her nose and placed her materials on his desk.
Just as he was about to start his correspondence, one of his junior agents walked in and tapped on the door. “Hey boss. It’s Medlov on the line for you.”
“
Right,” Langston said, sitting up straight. He looked over at his assistant and dismissively waved her off. “Gimme a minute, will you?”
She stood up, annoyed, and walked quickly out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Picking up the phone, Langston turned down the television with the remote and cleared his throat. “Dmitry,” he said with a smirky grin on his face. “Fucking awesome, man. You came through.”
“
I’m glad that you’re ecstatic,” Dmitry said, sucking his teeth. “Now, I think that you have something for me.”
“
Right.” Langston picked up a document and put it in his fax machine. “Coming to you right now. Look, you plan to handle this discreetly right?”
“
What is it to you?” Dmitry asked, loading his weapons. Slipping one gun, fully loaded into the holster under his arm, he picked up another and started to prep it.
Langston turned up his lip. “Well, we have good relationships in Croatia. Should you be caught during the commission of your…”
Dmitry cut him off. “I’ve never been
caught
doing shit, and I have the same relationships that you do. It’ll be quick and quiet. Does that keep your diaper dry?”
Langston rolled his eyes. “Happy hunting,” he said, hitting send on his fax machine.
Hanging up the phone, Dmitry snapped his fingers at the fax. “As soon as it arrives, make about 20 copies and distribute them to the teams.” Cocking back his Glock, he looked at his weapon carefully. “Liv, call all the teams up. We’re going in together, all except the boys who have gone to collect Vladimir from the Escobar brothers.” He smiled at the thought. “I want him here in the fucking barn waiting when I return.”
“
Yes, sir,” Liv said, placing more weapons on the table to distribute. He looked over at the fax as it rang and then back at Dmitry. This was what they had been waiting for since they arrived. He ran quickly over to retrieve it. He read it and then walked it over to Dmitry. “There in
Mali Ston in the Peninsula Peljesac in Croatia. It’s only about 40 minutes from Dubrovnik and about one hour from Dubrovnik airport. We can fly right in.”
Dmitry looked at the paper and nodded. “Fucking CIA had it all the time. I could have had her days ago. And they want me to act like I’m grateful? Fuck them.” Passing the paper back to Liv, he nodded. “Get my son and nephew. We have to leave for Croatia immediately.”
***
Renee was slipping on her clothes when the knock on the door came. Anatoly, exhausted from the night before, lay flat in the bed on his stomach asleep. As soon as he heard the door, he jumped up. “I’m up!” he said, eyes puffy from laying on his face.
Renee went to the door and opened it slightly. Liv apologized for the interruption and asked her to tell Anatoly it was time to go. Nodding, she closed the door and turned to look at her boyfriend as he sluggishly pulled himself to the end of the bed. He picked his watch up from the nightstand and looked at it. His hair was a wild, bushy nest above his head. “I can’t believe I was able to sneak in six hours of sleep,” he said, standing up.
“Liv said your father wants you downstairs in ten minutes,” she said, walking over to the bed. She sat down in front of him and reached out for his hand.
“How long have you been up?” he asked when he realized that she was fully dressed.
“About an hour. I had morning sickness. You didn’t hear me jump up? I nearly puked in the bed.”
Anatoly felt bad for her. Bending down, he planted a kiss on her lips and rubbed the top of her head. “It’ll get better,” he said, reaching beside her to pick up his clothes. After he slipped back on his tactical gear, he grabbed his guns and holster and headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth and shave.
“Are you going to get Anya?” Renee asked, lying back down in bed. Suddenly, she felt lightheaded.
“That’s the plan,” Anatoly said, running water in the sink.
“Please be safe.” There was no way to hide the worry in her voice.
“Think of it this way,” he said, hitting his razor on the side of the sink, “after today, it’ll all be over, and we can all go back to life being a little more normal.”
Renee raised her brow. Normal was relative in this family. “I just want you to come back home safely, Ana. If something were to ever happen to you…” her voice trailed off.
“Nothing will happen,” he answered, running the blade over the stubble that had grown while he slept.
“Promise?” she asked.
He smiled. “Promise.”
Chapter 30
Croatia
Three Medlov planes touched down on the private air strip, one right after the other, all full of Dmitry’s men, all with the same directive: capture the house, secure the child, take Manon and Balthazar alive and kill everyone else.