“Hi!” she said enthusiastically. “Who are you?”
I would normally laugh at the bluntness of my little girl, but I was too shocked as I stared at the two of them. Dmitri’s stoic face softened as he looked down at my daughter.
Hisdaughter.
“I’m Dmitri,” he said as he crouched down in front of her, holding out his hand. “What’s your name?”
“Alexis.”
She took his hand, and the sight of his big fingers wrapped around her tiny ones made my chest ache. I’d often felt guilty about the fact that Alexis didn’t have a dad, but I didn’t have a way to remedy that situation. I didn’t know how to contact Dmitri.
Now, Ididknow, but I was too scared to even consider telling him that he was her father. How could I? All I knew about him was that he was potentially a dangerous criminal.
But keeping it to myself felt wrong, especially as he shot her a smile that was so full of warmth that I could envision him as a great, loving father. Would he be thrilled to learn that he got me pregnant that night? Or would he be angry with me, feeling trapped?
My emotions were all over the place, and it made me feel like my life was even more out of control. How had so much changed for me in just a few short months?
“I’m a friend of your mom’s,” Dmitri said, releasing Alexis’s hand but staying crouched down, “and I’m going to take you guys somewhere to stay for a while.”
“No, you’re not,” I said, but he ignored me and kept talking to Alexis.
“Would you like to have an adventure with me?” he asked, and I swore I saw a sparkle in his eyes. What the hell was he doing?
“Yeah!” Alexis said.
I marched over to them, but Dmitri suddenly scooped Alexis up into his arms. My heart stuttered at the sight of them like that. She fit perfectly into his arms, and there were similarities between them. They had the same nose and long eyelashes.
“Come on, Sarah. The little girl wants an adventure. You’re not going to deny her that, are you?”
“How dare you use my daughter against me.”
My harsh voice startled Alexis, and she looked scared for the first time since she came into the room. Regret slammed into me, a feeling I was becoming way too familiar with lately.
“Stop fighting this, Sarah,” he said sternly. “It’s not going to do any good. I’m used to getting what I want.”
“I wonder why that is,” I muttered, shaking my head. Of course, he was used to getting his way. He was a mafia leader. “Why are you doing this? Why would you want to keep me safe?”
Was it possible that he somehow knew Alexis was his kid?
“I might not be a good guy, but I’m not completely heartless.” His eyes shifted to Alexis, who was poking at his cheek with her forefinger, and then he looked back at me. The concern I saw in his eyes shocked me. “I’m not going to let my enemies get to you.Eitherof you.”
He wasn’t going to budge, that much was clear. I still didn’t like the idea of this, it felt reckless. But there was something that seemed sincere about Dmitri as he held our daughter and proclaimed that he wanted to keep us both safe.
A part of me knew it was a bad idea to go along with this. He might not have ordered the killing of my boss, but he was still on trial for it, and I was a witness.Andhe clearly had ties to the Bratva.
All of that should’ve had me calling the police to get him out of this apartment and away from me and Alexis. But I’d been terrified all evening since those men threatened me in the parking lot. No matter how many times I told myself that I couldn’t trust Dmitri, I had to admit to myself that the fear had faded a little since he arrived. Knowing that he was here to keep us safe allowed me to breathe easily for the first time in hours.
It wasn’t much to make me place my faith in him, but I decided it had to be enough. None of my options were ideal, but I had a feeling Dmitri was my best shot at keeping my daughter safe. It was better to take protection from the devil I knew than to hope the men stalking and threatening me wouldn’t follow through.
I would go with him for now and hope I wasn’t making a huge mistake. I still didn’t trust him, but I didn’t have to. I’d keep an eye on him and only think of this as temporary.
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms and meeting his eyes so he’d know I meant business. “Let me get Alexis’s car seat. I doubt you have one. And I’m bringing my cat.”