21. Mikhail

Viviana is quiet in the passenger seat. She's been quiet since the second she told me Agostino was in my house and I told her at once to pack a bag.

Probably because I didn't tell her so much as I violently roared at her to pack her things while I demanded Anatoly and Raoul check the cameras and secure the mansion.

Agostino was in my house.

He was with my wife.

And I had no fucking idea.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel again. I've been white-knuckling it most of this trip. No matter how hard I try, I can't unsee the last time someone broke into my home. It didn't end well for my family.

The thought that I could lose Viviana and Dante in the same way is maddening.

"How much farther?" Viviana asks softly.

I force myself to loosen my grip. "Half an hour."

The road is narrow and surrounded by trees on either side and has been for the last twenty minutes. I didn't buy a safehouse in the woods for it to be easy to find.

"Do you think this is necessary?"

"He was inside the house," I grit out. "He was in our bedroom, Viviana."

You could have died, I want to add. But I don't want to scare her. Not when I can tell she's already terrified enough. She was still shaking when she told me her father had come to see her.

Her hand is steady now as she reaches out to touch my elbow. Her fingers are gentle. They settle some violent, stormy part of me. I feel like I can breathe a little easier.

"I know. Believe me, I was there." She holds me a little tighter and I get the sense I'm not the only one who needs the comfort. "It was terrifying. I just mean… You have guards at the mansion. Can't they just increase security and make sure this doesn't happen again?"

"We are going to increase security and this will never happen again. That's what they're doing right now. But until I know it's safe, you and Dante aren't staying there."

Part of me wonders if we shouldn't stay out in the woods permanently. It was Agostino breaking into my house this time, but Christos isn't going to be satisfied with burning down Cerberus. I left his daughter at the altar. I ruined his hopes for her future. He won't stop until he's ruined mine, which means Viviana and Dante are likely targets.

It's why I need to keep them safe and strike out at him first.

Viviana is staring straight ahead, her full lower lip pinched between her teeth. I can see the anxiety etched in her face.

I release the wheel and turn my hand over, twining my fingers through hers. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Viviana."

She blinks and the cloud of fear dissipates. "I know. I trust you."

I reach over, laying both of our hands over her stomach. "The stress isn't good for the baby."

"Are we talking about that now?" she asks softly. "I didn't want to bring it up again with so much going on."

I've thought a lot about how I reacted. I never even told her how happy I was. How happy I am.

"I was scared. For you and the baby. I just—" I blow out a breath. "I hate that I put you and our child in danger when I sent you away."

"You didn't know." She frowns. "Which I guess is kind of why you were mad, so maybe I shouldn't bring that up again."

I chuckle. "I'm just glad you're safe now. And I'm going to do everything I can to keep it that way. So you need to relax and try to take it easy. For the baby's sake and Dante's."

She turns around, peeking back at Dante snoozing in the backseat. "I don't want him to know what's going on. I don't want to scare him."

"Agreed." I nod. "As far as he knows, this is another adventure we're going on."

"Perfect. But maybe, after this, we try to have fewer adventures." She grimaces. "I wouldn't mind testing out a normal, quiet life for a change of pace."

I squeeze her hand. "I'll do my best."

Dante's eyes pop open as soon as I shift the car to park in front of the cabin. He undoes his booster seat and jumps out.

"This is our new house?" He gawks at the A-line roof and sprawling screened-in porch.

Viviana wraps her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Temporarily. It's an adventure."

She peeks back at me, a knowing smile on her face. And for the first time since she told me her father broke into our house, I can take a deep breath.

No one is going to get to them out here.

Dante inspects every room inside, loudly declaring "dibs" on the room with bunk beds. I snap my fingers in sarcastic disappointment. "As much as your mom and I would have loved sleeping on top of each other in the bunk beds, we'll let you have them, bud."

Dante is digging through the bags of food looking for a snack when Viviana sidles up next to me, her lips pressed against my ear. "No bunk beds, but I vote we still sleep on top of each other."

My cock perks up at that idea. But there's still so much to unpack. And after his nap in the car, Dante probably won't be asleep for hours.

I readjust my pants and keep settling in. There will be plenty of time to perfect our sleeping arrangements tonight once Dante is asleep.

"Do bears live here?" Dante turns away from the large picture window. "The three bears from the Goldilocks book lived in woods just like this."

"Some bears live out here, but they won't bother us inside the cabin."

Dante's eyes widen. "What about when we're outside?"

There's fear there. If I don't handle this correctly, he'll wake up terrified and end up in our bed. And I cannot have that. I have plans for his mother.

I stay calm as I explain. "Black bears aren't very aggressive. They hardly ever attack people. As long as we are alert and keep our distance, they won't bother us."

"What if we don't keep our distance?"

"If we run into one in the woods, we just stay calm and back away slowly. And if that doesn't work—" I flex my arm and wag my brows at him. "—I can take any bear."

Dante laughs. "No, you can't. Bears are ginormous."

"Are you saying I'm not ginormous?" I sweep an arm out to scoop Dante up by the waist. Then I lift him over my head and roar like an animal. "What do you have to say now?"

He can't say anything. He's too busy giggling until he's red in the face and panting.

As much as I wish the circumstances were different, I'm excited to have some time to solely spend with Dante. We haven't had good quality time since Costa Rica. Plus, sending Viviana away took our relationship back a few steps. It's nice that we can all be together again.

When I finally plop him down on his feet, he's grinning from ear to ear. I get the feeling I'm going to make up ground fast out here.

"If all else fails, there's this." Viviana pulls a can of bear spray out of a bag and tosses it to me. "Any time you are out in the woods with Dante, I want you to have that with you."

"You don't trust that I can fight a bear?" I tease. "Do I need to toss you around to prove it, too?"

She presses her lips together, biting back a grin. "Prove it to me later tonight, Mikhail."

Again, I strain against the front of my pants.

It's going to be a long afternoon.