My tear glands began charging up, yet I wouldn’t break eye contact. “How long, Artur?”
“I’m not sure,” he answered. “Hopefully just a few days.”
“Hopefully?” I raised my brows.
“It’s no longer safe here, Celine,” he said. “Right now, you and this baby are my top priorities. I can’t function knowing that you’re in danger.”
“How sure are you that we’ll be safe wherever you’re sending me to?”
“Youwillbe safe,” he answered, his voice laced with assurance. “I guarantee you that.”
My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was afraid. Not for me. For him. This was war, and in war, anything was possible. As much as it scared me to admit, there was a chance he might not come back alive.
I wasn’t sure I was ready for that right now.
“Do I really have to go?”
He reached out, tucking my hair behind my ear with a small smile on his face. “I thought you’d be happy to leave. This is your chance at a proper escape.”
“It’s not funny!” I playfully slammed my fist into his buff chest.
“I know,” he whispered. “But I need to know that you’re safe, both of you.” His other hand found my belly. “It’s the only way I can focus and win this for us.”
I threw my arms around him, my head resting on his chest. Clinging tightly to him, I hoped to God that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d see him.
Crazy how a few months ago, all I wanted to do was get away from him. But now, the thought of losing him scared the shit out of me. I’d grown so used to him, so attached that it was difficult to picture my life without him.
When he stroked my hair, I realized just how much I was actually going to miss him. After everything we’d been through, our connection had deepened in ways neither of us was prepared for.
That feeling I’d been suppressing for a while now came washing over me like a flood. Considering the way he held me in the silence of the room, I concluded that the feeling was mutual.
He cared about me, but he just wouldn’t admit it yet. I saw it in his eyes whenever he looked at me. Even in the way he held on to me like I was something that would break if he let go.
The emotions we kept hidden—buried in a shallow grave beneath the surface—were already digging their way out. Although we had yet to speak our truths, we both could sense it in the tension around us.
I never thought a day would come when I would almost weep at the thought of being separated from Artur Tarasov. But there I was, fighting back the tears that welled in my eyes.
When he finally let go, I lowered my head, sniffling.
“I’ll have the best of my men escort you to a safe house at a secure location,” he whispered softly. “They’ll protect you until I come back.”
I locked my jaw, nodding as he spoke. My fingers wiped the tears that dotted my lashes before I met his gaze again. “Youmake sure you return home to us in one piece.” I placed a hand on my belly.
He nodded, his huge hand covering mine. “I will.” Artur kissed my forehead first, then my lips.
I threw my hand around his neck, pulling his head closer as I deepened the kiss. A few seconds later, his lips separated from mine, his fresh breath warm against my skin.
His forehead was resting on mine when I looked into his eyes and said, “Do me a favor, will you?”
He listened.
“Kill that son of a bitch.”
His reply was a wicked smirk, faint and almost imperceptible. He planted another kiss on my lips and then walked out of the room.
He joined the soldiers waiting in the hallway, and together, they left the building. From the window, I watched them get into their armored vehicles, a long convoy that screamed danger.
In a single file, the convoy set out toward the estate gates, ready for whatever lay ahead.