Paper (3 page)

He didn’t like it when she asked about
that
side of his life, but he never lied to her anymore. After nearly losing her over the summer, he would never be that stupid again. “Things are tense between certain factions. It will work itself out, but it couldn’t be happening at a worse time.” He touched her belly. “I wish I could take paternity leave like a normal man, but if I step away for too long…”

“Kolya, I understand. I knew what I was getting into when I married you. After everything we’ve been through? We’ll figure out a way to make parenthood work. But when you’re here with us? When you’re home? Be
here
. Give us your full focus. That’s all we need. The amount of time doesn’t matter.” She burrowed into him and rose on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “We love you, Kolya.”

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to rejoice in her love.
I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve this at all—but I’ll fight to the death before I give this up.

She stepped out of his embrace. Standing back, he watched with an amused smile as she tipped her head over and shook out the loose curls. He loved the sexy, carefree look and couldn’t wait to grab onto a handful later while she rode him hard and fast.

After checking her reflection in the bathroom mirror and dabbing on a little lipstick, she turned toward him and put her hands on her hips. “This still doesn’t solve the issue of shoes.”

“What did you wear today while you were out running errands with Ten and Boychenko?”

“My gardening clogs.”

“The orange ones?”

She nodded. “Hot, right?”

He laughed. “So sexy.”

“Well it’s gardening clogs or I can see if Ten left some of his giant shoes in the mud room.”

“The clogs are fine.”

She suspiciously narrowed her eyes. “Where exactly are you taking me?”

Snatching her hand, he planted a quick kiss on her mouth and tugged her after him. “It’s a surprise.”

“Hmm,” she murmured skeptically as he pulled her through their bedroom and into the hall. “The last time you took me out for a surprise I ended up pregnant and with a tattoo on the back of my neck.”

He paused at the top of the stairs and turned around to smile at her. “I really set the bar high for surprises, huh?”

She giggled and then made a measuring gesture with her thumb and forefinger. “Maybe we could set the bar a smidge lower tonight?”

“Done.” He gave her hand another tug. “Come on.”

After grabbing her coat and shoes, they left the house. The drive to their secret destination took a little longer than he had expected because of the weather and an accident. He didn’t mind. Sitting in traffic gave him a chance to text Boychenko and to simply enjoy holding her hand while they idled and waited for the cars in front of them to inch forward.

“It’s good to see Artyom behind the wheel again,” she said as she traced her thumb over one of the tattoos on his hand. The street captain and his crew were in the SUV in front of them. “I’m glad he’s back with us.”

“He seems recovered physically, but I worry about him. Getting shot like that? Seeing Erin kidnapped and his crew killed? Bleeding out on the floor? That changes a man.”

Nikolai still carried the guilt of what had happened that awful night in October. Artyom had nearly been killed trying to protect Erin. His failure to keep his family and friends safe that night still haunted him. It had been a painful lesson to learn, but it wasn’t a mistake he would make again.

That night, during his long drive to Mexico to deal with Lorenzo, he had realized that the people around him were safer when he was the brutal, ruthless gangster who cut first and asked questions later. Vee had softened him in so many good ways, but sometimes a man had to be hard. She could never know of the things he would do to keep her and their family safe. Those were secrets and burdens he would carry to his death.

“We should do something nice for him,” she said, completely and wonderfully oblivious to the dark turn his thoughts had taken. “We should send him on a vacation some place warm.”

It was a sweet thought but…

“He hates the beach.”

“Oh.”

Not wanting her to feel as if she had been shot down, he suggested, “We could send him to San Francisco or Seattle. He’s always talking about visiting the West Coast. He likes big cities.”

“I’ll talk to him about it after the baby comes,” she decided. “If you talk to him, he’ll say no, but if I tell him I want to send him away on vacation, he won’t be able to turn me down.”

Nikolai’s lips twitched with amusement. She had learned very quickly that the men who were part of her personal guard were simply incapable of hurting her feelings. Boychenko would walk barefoot across broken glass for her, and Artyom would do anything to keep her from crying or being upset. “Yes, I think it’s best if you bring it up.”

Still holding her hand, he navigated the dark streets to the Galleria district and found a parking space in the empty lot across from the building Alexei owned. The area was under development still, but it would be open soon enough. For now, the parking lot was a ghost town.

Clearly confused, Vivian glanced around the upscale retail center. “Is there a new restaurant you want to try?”

“We’re having something delivered.” He leaned across the center console of the Continental and opened the glove box. When he withdrew the black sleeping mask, she looked at him in surprise. “Trust me.”

“I do.” She unlatched her seatbelt and moved her head closer to him so he could put on the mask. “Always.”

Very gently, he slipped the mask into place and kissed her cheek. Of all the people who had trusted him, he cherished her the most. “Wait here,
solnyshka
.”

“Okay.”

He got out of the car and took the umbrella from Artyom who stood ready to guard them. The city had been quiet the last few weeks, but it would never truly be safe for Vivian or their son to walk alone on the streets, especially not at night. There were too many power hungry men and too many low-level street thugs with grudges to ever let their collective guard down in public.

“Boy set everything up,” Artyom informed him. “I called him right before we got here. He’ll wait for you two to enter and then hit the lights before he sneaks out the back. He’ll be watching the rear exit with Danny.”

“Good.” Walking around to Vivian’s door, he opened the umbrella to shield her from the hazy drizzle and reached in to help her out of the car. With a hand on the small of her back, he guided her across the parking lot and onto the wide sidewalk. He stopped in front of the double doors adorned with Bianca’s red bow. Safe under the awning, he handed the umbrella to Artyom who smiled with anticipation of Vee’s reaction.

Stepping behind his wife, he put his hands on her shoulders. He lowered his face and whispered against the shell of her ear, “I had a hard time wrapping this one, but I hope you like it.”

“Kolya…” Slight censure filled her voice. “You’ve already given me so much this year. You gave me presents on the 25
th
and on the 6
th
! I didn’t need anything else for our anniversary.”

“I’m your husband. It’s my prerogative to spoil you.” He kissed her cheek. “And this is different.”

Very carefully, he tugged free the mask and pocketed it. He heard her sharp intake of breath when she spotted the bow on the front doors. “I don’t understand…”

Stepping beside her, he withdrew a key from his pocket and pressed it into her hand. “Open the doors.”

She glanced nervously in his direction before stepping up to the tall, wide mahogany doors he had commissioned. She touched the iron filigree on the front before pulling on the bright red ribbon and handing it to him. When she unlocked and pushed them open, he trailed her into the dark space. On cue, Boychenko flipped the lights—and Vivian gasped.

“Oh my—! What did you do?” She whirled on him in shock and disbelief. “Is this…? Is it
mine
?”

Loving her reaction to his biggest surprise yet, he cupped her face, the ribbon still dangling from his fingers, and nodded. “This gallery is yours.”

She hopped up and kissed him hard, wrapping her arms around his neck and damn near squeezing the air right out of him. Grinning like a little girl on Christmas morning, she spun away from him and walked in slow circles as she took in the renovated gallery space with its gleaming hardwood floors, smoky gray walls and professional lighting. “What in the world possessed you to do this for me?”

“When we were in London at your show, I realized that you needed your own space to show your paintings. You need a place that you control and that only showcases your works or other artists you handpick.”

“Kolya, this is too much.” Seemingly in awe of her new gallery, she shook her head. “This is so high-end.”

“You’re high-end.” He grasped her hand and interlaced their fingers. “You are an amazing painter. You’re going to be famous. You need a gallery that supports you and your growing career.”

Before she could protest the expense or the challenges of staffing the place, he said, “Let me show you the rest of it.”

Her eyes widened. “The rest of it? How big is this place?”

“Big enough,” he answered cryptically and led her off the main show floor. He pointed out the reception and cashier desk before taking her into the three offices in the rear. “I figured you would need a manager and probably an assistant. You’ll also need someone to work up front and maybe someone to handle the online side of the business.” He waved dismissively. “But we can work out the details later.”

“What’s back there?” She pointed to a set of double doors at the end of the short hallway.

“Back here,” he guided her into the wide open space, “is a place for you to paint and work. I thought there might be days when you need to be here instead of at the house studio. I had them bring over all of your furniture and shelves and supplies from the warehouse.”

He didn’t bring up the fact that they had closed down her old warehouse studio after the attack on her life in October. She couldn’t face going back there, and he didn’t blame her. “I thought you would be able to do a backdrop over here for photographing your paintings. You can frame over there and package and ship things here.” He gestured to the different stations. “And that’s for Lev.”

She smiled sweetly at the corner space he had outfitted for their son to play and sleep while his mother worked. There was a small playpen and a padded and very colorful floor covering plus toy bins and a comfortable chair for her to nurse. She had tears in her eyes when she hugged him again. “It’s perfect, Kolya.”

Burying his face in the curve of her neck, he inhaled the wonderful scent of her hair. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I feel a bit silly now. I made you something with paper. You know, like all the books say?”

“I know,” he said, pulling back to gaze down at her. “The first anniversary is paper—and that’s exactly what I got you.” Saving the best for last, he slowly disentangled himself and backed away from her toward the worktable. He picked up the stack of papers there and handed them to her. “Happy Anniversary, Vivian.”

Guardedly, she took the papers from him and started to read through them. Her eyes widened a few times, and she glanced up at him with shock. “Is this…? Are you serious? It’s
all
mine?”

“This is all yours. This is something that is
clean
and outside the family. I want you to build a business for yourself. I want you to have something that is yours and only yours. You deserve this.”

“Kolya…”

Gesturing around them, he explained, “This whole street belongs to Alexei. He snatched up all of the retail space on these three blocks when the developer lost everything in the recession. Kazimir is going to relocate to the shop space right next door, and the other shop on the corner? That’s going to be a luxury boutique for handbags and dresses.”

“You certainly chose a high traffic area.”

He nodded. “Sergei’s construction crews did all the work here. He’s given you a fair price, and Alexei’s agreed to make you a very good deal on the rent for the first five years.” Not wanting her to worry about the cost of running the gallery until it became profitable, he said, “Turn to the back two pages.”

Shooting him a strange look, she did as told and scanned the contract. Looking completely taken aback, she asked, “Are you serious? No.” She shook her head. “You
can’t
be serious.”

“You’ve earned it. Samovar isn’t Samovar without you there. You became the soul of that place, and everyone loves you. It’s only right that you own half of it with me.”

“But you built that restaurant! You made it what it is, Nikolai.”

“And I want to share it with you.” He dropped the ribbon onto the worktable and placed his hand against her soft cheek. “You’re my wife. We’re already partners in life. I see no reason why we shouldn’t also be partners in business.”

“But you already share everything you have with me!”

“Yes, but this makes it legal. This gives you the right to take your partner draw and spend it however you like. It will give you some breathing room until your gallery is established and profitable.”