Chapter 184 184

Chapter 184 184
She smiles down at Benjamin’s pink face for another second before she can pull herself away and step back into the shower.

He really is exhausted. He barely moves as I take him. “Get your rest,” I whisper. “You’re safe now.”

He yawns and then settles into a nest of clean towels I set up on the floor.

Once I’m sure he’s content, I go back to the shower. Really, I’m drawn there. It’s a compulsion. A better man than me might have given Piper her privacy, but I lean against the tiled doorway and watch her shower.

When she sees me, she blushes. “Is Benjamin sleeping?”

I nod. “He’s as tired as I feel.”

“He had a big few days. I doubt anyone was sticking to his sleep schedule.” She frowns as if the idea just occurred to her. It probably did. Worrying if he was alive took precedence over whether he was napping. “I just hope he doesn’t remember any of this.”

“He won’t.”

Her brow pinches. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“How?”

There’s a haze of anxiety around her like heat off an asphalt road. All I want to do is clear it.

I step closer, the spray from the shower misting onto my face. Piper leans her head back to look into my eyes. I can’t help but wrap my hand around her delicate neck, rub my thumb along her pulse point.

“Because we are going to give him a life filled with miraculous, beautiful memories,” I whisper. “There won’t be room left in his head for the chaos he saw here today.”

Her eyes flood with tears. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were the wrong choice to be his father. Timofey, you’re… He’s going to love you so much. I know I do.”

I smirk. “I caught that earlier. I hoped you weren’t just saying it for Kreshnik’s benefit.”

“Fuck him,” she hisses with a shocking amount of animosity. “That was for you, Timofey. I wanted you to know the truth just in case…”

I lean forward and press my lips to hers, ending the terrible thought before she can voice it. Her naked body arches into mine. I feel dampness soaking through my clothes, but I could care less.

I slide my hands down her arms, gripping her elbows. When I draw away, there’s blood on my hands.

“Oh no, I’m sorry.” Gently, Piper tries to scrub the blood from my hands.

But I shake my head and turn her to face the shower head. “Let’s take care of you first.”

I want to say I’m being selfless by washing the blood off of her, but there is no sacrifice at all involved in running my hands over her supple skin. She is warm and delicate in my large hands, and I never want to let her go.

When she turns to face me and then tips her head back into the spray, working her hands through her auburn hair, I have to bite my lip to keep from groaning.

Fucking hell, this woman is incredible.

I reach out with a finger and draw a line down her sternum to the barest hint of a bump in her lower abdomen.

She looks up at me sheepishly. “I’m sorry I told Kreshnik about our baby. I’m sorry I put your child at risk. I just wanted to be useful. I wanted to help.”

I switch off the shower and grab the towel hanging behind me. I lay it over her shoulders and start drying her off. “Piper, you don’t have to do anything to earn your place in my life. You help me by existing.”

“I know.” She lowers her head, staring down at her feet. “But your life is different. I don’t want to be a burden. I don’t want to be extra weight that you have to—”

“I don’t have to do anything,” I grit out. “I’m here with you because I want to be. You don’t have to earn that, Piper.”

“Neither do you,” she says softly. “You have taken such good care of us, Timofey. You take care of everyone. But that’s not why… I love you because of who you are. Because of how you make me feel. Even if one day, you aren’t there when something bad is happening or—”

“I will be,” I growl. “I’ll always be there.”

She lays a damp hand on my shoulder. “Even if you aren’t, I’ll still love you. Always.”

I turn and kiss her knuckles. “Always.”

Rooney was right on the phone. I am in a good mood. I have everything I need right now. Everything I could ever want.

Which is why I finally know exactly what I’m going to do next.

“Get dressed and be ready to go when I get back,” I tell Piper. “I have one more thing to do.”

As I turn, she grabs my arm and pulls me back to her. Our lips meet in an easy, sensual kiss. Then she pushes me towards the door.

“Give them hell.”

I smile and hurry back into the hallway.

53

TIMOFEY

There isn’t a single other sound in the long, echoey corridors. Whoever Kreshnik paid off to get into the building is doing their job. They are keeping the employee areas quiet.

I check three supply closets on my way back to the room where Kreshnik is lying dead. The first two are a bust—mostly seasonal wreaths and candle holders—but the third is precisely what I’m looking for.

Shelves and shelves of bulk chemicals sit in front of me. Industrial tubs of powdered bleach, dish soap, furniture polish, and other cleaning agents are stocked from floor to ceiling.

I grab any container I see with a flame printed on the side. It’s meant as a warning, but it’s a green light for what I have in mind.

I carry the containers all the way down the hall to the room where Sergey first took me. The door is cracked open. I see his legs splayed on the carpet, one of his shoes untied. I unscrew the cap from a metal container of acetone and splash it through the open door. Then, carefully, I trail it down the hallway to the storage room where I found Kreshnik holding Piper and Benjamin hostage.

The smell of the mixed chemicals is strong. My eyes burn, and I try to take shallow breaths.

When I finish one bottle of acetone, I toss the empty container into the room with Kreshnik and open another. I continue the trail down the hallway until it’s a reasonable distance from the locker room where Piper and Benjamin are getting ready to leave.

The lighter slips out of my pocket like it’s nothing. A flimsy piece of plastic, but one capable of toppling empires. I flick the lid open and press my thumb to the igniter.

Sergey did everything to protect his legacy. To lay claim to the company and the Bratva he built. It feels right that it should go down with him.

He’ll be swallowed by his own creation.

And I’ll be free.

I snap the flame to life and toss it down the hallway. Almost instantly, the bloom of heat is oppressive, sending sweat stinging down my spine. But the moment I see Piper step out of the locker room with Benjamin tucked into her arms, I don’t feel a thing.

“Timofey,” she breathes. “What did you—”

I squeeze her hand and pull her towards the door. “This place can burn. None of it matters as long as I have you.”

She smiles, and we walk into the cool evening air as a family.