Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War (84 page)

“I’ll think about it,” she replied softly.

“That is all I’m asking for, dear daughter. That is all.”

Carter nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “I need to go.”

“Please tell your brother …” He paused, and an expression of aggravation flashed across his face right before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter.

Cocking her head to the side, she contemplated the piece of paper. After a moment she reached out and took it. “You prefer writing over talking, don’t you?”

“Silas has always been very gifted in writing,” her father answered from behind him.

Silas nodded his agreement. “It is a passion your brother has as well, but he is more secret about it than I.”

“Gabriel doesn’t offer much information about himself in the first place,” Carter stated. “You have to watch him in order to really know him.”

“You both get that from your mother,” Silas said.

Carter reluctantly smiled at his words. “I should go now.” She began slowly backing away … until one last question popped into her mind and stopped her in her tracks. A frown fell over her face as she once again looked at her biological father. “Why
did
you do it, Silas? And don’t lie to me …”

He paused for a moment, but Carter knew he was aware of what she was talking about. She wanted to know if her theory of why he’d killed Dmitry was true. When he began speaking, he surprised Carter by doing so in French.

“He became obsessed with my brother. Robbie thought it normal for a father to be so enamored with a child he considered a son, but I knew different. It was almost like Dmitry was courting Robbie, and he just didn’t get it. I would ask him all the time if Dmitry ever touched him the way master used to touch us, and he’d yell at me. Tell me that Dmitry would never do such a thing to him, that he was like our father. After we were saved from our master, I had night terrors, and I would often sleep with Robbie in his room. One evening I was waiting for Robbie to return to the bedroom with refreshments for us to have before bed and there was a knock at the door …”

“It was him,” Carter whispered, making sure to also speak in the language she knew her father didn’t know.

“He had never done it before that night because the entire time he was raping me, he was telling me how long he’d waited for the moment that we’d finally get to make love. Of course he thought I was Robbie at the time …”

“You never told my father any of this?”

“I thought about telling Robbie, but decided it not wise. Robbie had a father. It was what he wanted. All I had to do was keep up the charade and meet with Dmitry three nights a week in his bedroom. I never missed a night for fear he’d seek out my brother if I didn’t show.”

“How long?”

“It started when I was fifteen, and I killed him when I turned eighteen. It took me a while to build the strength I needed. Robbie and I suffered from malnourishment when we were first saved from our master. It took me two years to get us in good shape. It was important that he and I remained identical. If we hadn’t Dmitry would have caught on.”

“Why have you never told him the truth, Silas?”

“Because he
mourns
daughter,” Silas said passionately, as if the words meant everything. He took a step toward Carter and placed a hand against his heart. “The sadness he experienced was real, Carterina, it was genuine. It broke my heart when he left, but I couldn’t take that loss from him …”

“But wouldn’t that have helped him? That way he wouldn’t have been so sad.”

He shook his head. “You’re wrong, daughter. He would have been in more pain. The sense of loss would have been joined by betrayal, grief, guilt. I love my brother far too much to do such a thing to him. I did what I did to protect him, not to boast.”

Carter slowly nodded in understanding, and something akin to pain flashed through her eyes. She didn’t feel like thinking about all of this now, but she knew she would most likely have an upsetting dream about it later.

After another second she cleared her throat. “How is the day after tomorrow for you … for lunch?” She’d spoken the words in English, as to no longer leave her father out of the conversation.

She saw a million different emotions flash through Silas’s eyes as he nodded. “Yes, that would be perfect, daughter. Thank you.”

Carter nodded and looked back to her father once more. “I’m going now, Daddy.”

Robert walked past Silas and went to Carter, pulling her into a tight hug. He squeezed her as tightly, pouring all of his love in to it just as she planned to with her babies when she finally got home. It brought tears to her eyes. It was clear that her father had felt the same thing she’d felt tonight after finding out Aleksandr and Maksim were in danger. He’d thought he’d lost her.

“I’m okay, Daddy,” she whispered.

He nodded. “I know, I know. Just one more hug, then I’ll let you go I promise.”

Carter nodded and rested her head on his shoulders. “Daddy, you’re going to make me cry, then you’re going to be mad at me.”

“Carterina, you wouldn’t be my baby girl if you weren’t crying about something.”

Carter laughed softly. “I love you …”

“As do I.”

“Promise you’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Just call my apartment, baby girl, I’ll be there.”

She kissed her father’s cheek and he returned the gesture. After another moment of holding her, he released her from his tight embrace. “Call me in a couple of days, sweetheart. We’ll spend some time together and talk.”

After one more kiss to her father’s cheek, Carter nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”

When her father turned away he said something to his brother in Arabic before they began walking toward the door. Silas looked over to him with a deep frown and said something angrily, but her father simply nodded at him and gave him a calm response. They kept switching sides as they continued to walk, so much so that Carter had gotten lost and no longer knew which one of them was her father and which one was Silas.

Disturbed by their resemblance, Carter went over to her husband, who stood at the reception desk waiting for her. He met her eyes, an expression of confusion on his face. “Which one of them was your father?” he asked.

Carter shrugged. She had no idea.

When she neared him, he held out his hand for her and she took it. “Your mother’s men took Shadow.”

“Good,” she whispered. She didn’t know what they were going to do with him nor did she care.

“Are you okay, baby?” he asked, pulling her to him.

Shaking her head, Carter moved to wrap her arms around his waist. “No. I’m ready to go home, Nathan.” She closed her eyes and kissed his still bare chest softly.

“I know.” He gently kissed her forehead as his fingers glided over her hair. “I am, too. I need to see that they’re okay with my own eyes.”

“I won’t be happy until we’re home holding our babies, bubby.”

He cupped one side of her face, leaned forward, and kissed her lips. “Me either, my love. I feel it, too.”

She brought her arms around his neck and he lifted her from the cold marble floor. “You also feel the separation anxiety?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Aww, bubby,” she whispered against his lips. “You’re such a good Papa.”

Being in Nathan’s arms was exactly what she’d needed after the experiences she’d had tonight. She grazed her lips over his in silent request that he kiss her. When he did she surrendered to him completely. It had become a glorious habit for her to let him take the lead when they kissed. The first few seconds of every kiss he gave her, those were the moments that stole her breath. She made a mental note to appreciate those moments much more now. After almost losing him tonight, Carter planned to never take any moment she had with Nathan or their children for granted ever again.

“I’m sorry … for not telling you … my plan …” She’d whispered the apology as she continued to kiss him. She had forgotten to apologize for taking the approach she had taken earlier without letting him know, but she needed his reaction to her behavior be genuine if she was going to effectively stall for time.

“I don’t care … I’m not upset,” Nathan replied as he placed three more kisses to her lips before resting his forehead against hers. “Let’s go home. We’ll call my father later. He’s handling all this tonight for us.”

Carter nodded. She felt safe knowing that Daddy Angelo would clean up the mess of this night for them. They’d both be able to rest easily with the twins.

Chapter 33: Home … Finally.

They’d been to hell and back. They’d experienced racism, an ambush, a near drowning, a battle on the bridge, the shock of a lifetime, and witnessed
a
million
murders, but now … they were finally home.

Nathan and Carter held each other close as the gate opened to let them on to their beautiful estate. The sun was shining through the window as it rose in the sky, greeting the morning. Nathan lowered the window, knowing how much Carter enjoyed to watch it over the landscape. She drew in closer to him, bringing her legs to his lap. Nathan ran his hands over her smooth legs until he reached her still bare feet. Feeling how chilly they were he took a moment to rub both of her feet in an effort to warm her.

Soon they arrived in front of their mansion. Nathan was the first to exit the car. He dismissed the driver as well as the man guarding the front door of the house with Creature sitting by his side. The dog jumped up and ran down to Nathan, leaping up on to him. Nathan took a moment to greet the giant pup before he commanded him to sit so that he could open Carter’s door. When he opened her door, he lifted her from the car, refusing to let her walk around outdoors with no shoes any longer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he walked up the stairs to the front door of their home, Creature following behind them. Once they made it to the door, Nathan reached into his pocket and removed his keys.

The moment he opened the front door and the fresh smell of their home hit them, they both exhaled a relieved breath. After entering the house, Carter lifted her head from his shoulder right before he placed her on her feet. Creature ran to her side and she squatted to greet him while Nathan turned to hang the keys on the hook next to the door.

“He’s hungry, bubby,” Carter said softly.

Nathan nodded and walked through their quiet home to their kitchen. He quickly went about getting the dog’s food and water. By the time the duo strolled into the kitchen, he had Creature’s food ready for him and was leaning against the counter eating a one of Carter’s famous chocolate chip cookies from the cookie jar.

The dog scrambled across the floor to get to his food while Carter walked over to Nathan with a smile on her face. “Do you want to shower all of this river off first, or go get our babies? They are stuck in the basement area until we open the door.”

“It’s like a little home down there. Will you be able to hold off on seeing them while we clean ourselves up?”

She lowered her eyes in thought as her expression tensed. “It’s not going to be easy, but I understand why we should probably wash first.”

“They’re fine, baby” he assured her.

She gave him a soft smile. “I know” she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. “I just miss them, that’s all.”

Nathan tucked her tangled hair behind her ear. “I know honey, me too.” He offered her a bite of his cookie.

She gratefully accepted. “Mmm… thank you …”

Nathan leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. “You’re welcome …”

He took her hand and led her up the stairs to their bedroom. He knew how bad she wanted to see the boys— and he wanted to see them too— but not like this. They were dirty, their clothing was damp, and that filthy river was all over them. Reports had told him that the boys and Gabriel were finally sleeping after a long night. His brothers were also finally sleeping in the house’s guestrooms; they’d gone to bed after finding out Carter and Nathan were safe and on their way home.

When they reached their bedroom they both went straight to the bathroom, more than ready to wash the river from their bodies. Nathan couldn’t believe they’d both gone most of this damn night half naked. He kicked off the ruined Italian leather dress shoes that he was positive he’d be throwing away, along with his pants and now tattered belt. He removed his wallet and now useless cell phone from his pockets before tossing the pants to the side.

He’d been surprised that they’d both remained in his pocket after the whole ordeal at the bridge. Besides the car, the only thing that needed to be fished from the river was Carter’s clutch containing her wallet and cell phone, but they’d pick that up at the at the police department some point tomorrow. Nathan had already received the call that the items had been retrieved. It really paid to have such a solid friendship with New York’s finest. One could get away with murder without even having to worry about a slap on the wrist …

“Oh my God,” Carter sighed as she stood in front of the mirror, running her fingers over her hair. “This is not good. I can’t believe I paid three hundred dollars to get my hair done only to ruin it in a river.”

Nathan smiled when she ran her fingers through the now puffed-out tangles and cringed. “It’s not that bad, baby. Plus, three hundred dollars isn’t really that much …”