Chapter 46

Yaroslav

I pace the hospital corridor, feeling helpless and desperate. Kim was rushed in to be examined with fears she was losing the baby. Since we arrived, I’ve been left without information, only told that they’re doing everything they can. No amount of threats or bribes can do the impossible. Either they will make it, or they won’t.

Just as I feel as though I might go mad, the tired-looking doctor finally appears. Her face is neutral, and I try to suppress the panic I feel, does that mean she’s bringing good news or bad news?

“How is she? How is the baby?” I ask frantically.

“Mother and baby are both stable,” she says, and I breathe a sigh of relief. “But they’re not out of the woods yet. Miss Walsh has been through quite the ordeal, she is severely malnourished and exhausted. She should never have been discharged so soon from the hospital she was admitted to before,” she says chidingly, giving me a meaningful look before continuing. “It’s a miracle she didn’t lose the baby, you’ve got quite the little fighter. But that doesn’t mean the risk of miscarriage is over. I want to monitor her closely and keep her in for a couple of days, and she will have to be very careful throughout the pregnancy with frequent checkups,” she warns.

“Of course,” I reply willing to agree to anything at this point as long as it saves her. “Can I see her?”

She nods, “Yes, but not for too long, and you mustn’t distress her, she needs rest,” she says forcefully.

“I promise,” I reply, eager to see her.

In the hospital bed, Kim appears even more fragile than before. She looks up at me and I cannot believe that there is still love in her eyes after what I put her through. I pushed her too hard, and we almost lost the most important thing. I think back to the haunted expression in Marta’s eyes as she told me of her miscarriages and vow to do everything in my power to make sure this baby survives. To give them the best childhood I can possibly provide and be the best man and father I can be.

“Kim, I’m so sorry,” I say, my voice thick with emotion as I cautiously approach her bedside.

“We almost lost him,” she says softly, her voice filled with fear, sadness, and relief.

Without thinking, I go to her, taking her hand in mine and stroking it gently. She doesn’t stop me, and that in itself is a miracle.

“Him?” I ask.

She gives me a small, weary smile, “I don’t know yet, of course, but I can’t help thinking it’s a boy.”

“All I want is a happy, healthy baby,” I reply truthfully.

“Me too,” she says softly.

I stroke her cheek, looking her deep in the eyes. “I’m so sorry I caused this,” I choke out, my voice thick with emotion.

She shakes her head, “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I wasn’t telling you the whole truth. I should have trusted you.”

“Yes, you should trust me, but I’m sure you have your reasons for holding back. I just want you to let me help you,” I say truthfully.

She nods, a small tear escaping from her eye as she finally gives in and decides to tell me the truth. “They have Gran.”

Finally, it all pours out of her, the full unabridged story, the truth. I can’t believe I didn’t see it, that I didn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together. I feel like an asshole for doubting Kim. When she explains her concerns about a mole or even multiple moles in my organization, I realize we can’t let anyone else know that she’s told me. We have to pretend she’s following Bogdan’s instructions.

“Thank you for trusting me, I promise, I will get your grandmother back safely. I will come up with a plan,” I swear.

“We’ll come up with one together. No more hiding the truth or not working as a team, we have to be united one hundred percent,” she insists.

“Okay, I agree. But right now, you need to rest.”

She nods and I can tell she’s already about to succumb to sleep. I kiss her forehead, watching as she drifts off. I quietly slip outside and weigh up my options, I can’t find Kim’s grandmother without help, but who can I trust? At this point, I just don’t know. I decide that until I have found out who the mole is, I have to treat everyone as a suspect. As with the shipment, I will give different information to different men to try to weed out the culprit.

I instruct Vova to work on interrogating Roman Sharkozi, if anyone can crack that tough son of a bitch, it’s him. I also have him head up the team surveillance on Bogdan Sharkozi now he is running the Sharkozi empire in his father’s absence. I don’t tell him what, or rather who, I’m looking for, only to report back everything.

Artem was the one who found out about Noah Walsh blackmailing Kim, and that he was the one who signed Emma Walsh out of the care home. As he’s already leading the team tasked with finding out where Noah went, I keep him on that, informing him to tell me and only me what he finds out.

Artem is the only person in my organization who knows of Amelia’s marriage to Bogdan, so naturally, it’s him who is tasked with monitoring her. As with Vova, I don’t tell him about Emma, only to monitor and let me know what he finds out. Artem is to undertake this task alone with the help of some of Gillihan’s men. This piece of information may be the only thing Bogdan wanted to keep secret from us and that no one else within my team knows. If there’s a mole in my organization, I’d rather seek assistance from Gillihan than risk word getting out that I know about the marriage. There must be a reason Bogdan wants it kept a secret.

I don’t let anyone know that Kim has told me the truth about the blackmail, to do so would be to risk Emma’s life and any leverage we may have. This means that, for now, Kim will have to feed back information to Bogdan as instructed to keep her grandmother safe. I can throw in some falsities, but I will also need to provide accurate information to make it believable.

Perhaps the hardest part is that Kim and I will still have to pretend. Everyone needs to believe that I am still suspicious of her and that she is genuinely spying on me. If I let her in too soon, Sharkozi would expect more information than I’m willing to give and my men would see me as weak, risking further defections.

I think keeping my distance from Kim is going to be the hardest part of all when all I want to do is be by her side. At least I can keep her safe and closely monitored using the excuse that I’m worried about our baby and that I don’t trust her.

This is going to take some delicate finesse to pull off. Like walking a tightrope, if we fall, all of our lives are at stake.