Jordan’s P.O.V. I don’t know how long Dakota and I are sitting on the floor when one of Todd’s men helps me to my feet and leads me to a chair in the waiting room. I feel like I can’t breathe. I can’t believe Anushka was shot. I replay everything in my head to see if there was anything I could have done differently. The one thing that sticks in my mind is that I should have contacted Todd sooner. I just never expected all of this to happen. We’re not in a movie or characters in a book. We’re real people. This stuff doesn’t happen to real people. “When is Mommy going to be done with the doctor?” Dakota asks. I swear if I didn’t have this little girl to think about I would have already broken completely. “I don’t know sweetheart. Hopefully, they come out and tell us something soon. Are you hungry?” I smooth her hair away from her face. She looks so much like her mom that it makes my heart ache even more. “N
Anushka's P.O.V. Why is it so dark? My body feels heavy like it has a ton of bricks on it. I don't understand what's going on. Where am I? I remember being at Jordan's penthouse and then the power went off. Oh no, the man who had Dakota, I went with him. When we got into the hallway, those other guys showed up and pulled out guns. I remember trying to move away from the man holding me when he started shooting, and then I felt a sharp pain and nothing else. Was I shot? Where are Jordan and Dakota? What if the man went back into the penthouse and killed them. I need to wake up. I need my family. I try to move but I can't. I'm screaming in my head for help, but nothing is coming out of my mouth. Please someone help me I need to check on my family. What's that? Someone's talking. I try to focus on the voice. "It's okay sweetheart we're right here. You can open your eyes whenever you're ready. We're not going to leave you." I want to weep with joy when I hear Jordan's voice. "Mommy,
Jordan's P.O.V. The last two days have been hell. The only thing that has kept me together is having Dakota here. Every second that Anushka didn't open her eyes, I began losing hope that she would wake up. The doctors and nurses have been incredible and haven't made a fuss about me and Dakota being in the room or the security men who have been rotating. I had planned on waiting until Anushka was at home to ask her to marry me, but Dakota kind of blew that out of the window. Now that the words are out of my mouth, I hope she says yes. My heart will break completely if she says no, even though I know it's way too fast. I look into her beautiful eyes and wait. "Yes." Tears run down my cheeks when she says the one word I had been hoping for. I kiss her forehead before placing a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you so much. A part of me thought you were going to say no or that it's too soon." I say as I stroke her face. "I almost died. Life is too short to wait for things that
Anushka's P.O.V. I don't know how long I've been sleeping when I wake up, but I can tell it's dark outside. I look over at Jordan and Dakota, and my heart melts. He's sitting on one chair with his feet up on the other one. He's tilted back slightly so Dakota can sleep comfortably on top of him. Someone has placed a blanket over them. "They're so cute together." I look at the door and see a nurse with long brown hair in a ponytail. I guess Laura's shift is over. "Yes, they are," I whisper. She walks over to my other side. "I'm Bonnie, your night nurse. I saw you were awake, so I wanted to check and see how you're feeling." She whispers as she begins to check my blood pressure. "I'm not feeling too bad right now," I reply quietly. She finishes checking my other vital signs before cleaning and re-bandaging my wound. "Everything looks good. I believe they're going to try to move you to one of the other units today. Do you need anything for pain?" Bonnie asks. "Not ri
Anushka's P.O.V. I smile at the nurse who walks into the room. She puts hand sanitizer on her hands and comes over to the side of the bed. I can't help noticing how nervous she seems. I look at her nametag. "Are you okay, Courtney?" I ask her. She looks away, and a tear runs down her cheek. "No. Someone asked me to do something, and I can't do it." She replies softly. "Was it something bad?" Dakota asks. Courtney bites her lip and won't meet any of our eyes. "Did someone get to you to come after one of us?" Jordan asks angrily. When she starts sobbing I know that's exactly what happened. "Who was it?" I ask her. "A man named Gregory." She answers softly, wiping her tears. "What does he want you to do?" Jordan asks, standing up. Courtney looks at him in fear. "He wanted to make sure Anushka never left the ICU." She answers, looking from me to Jordan. Why are so many people trying to hurt us? We're good people, we've never hurt anyone. "When did he tell you this?" Jo
Courtney's P.O.V. I can barely breathe as Bobby takes me home to get the kids and pack our things. How did I get into this mess? I thought being a nurse would be enough to pay the bills, but in New York, it's barely enough to keep food on the table. That's the only reason I even took Gregory's call. I didn't want to leave the city, but I may not have a choice. All of my memories with Danny are here, and I hate to let them slip away. I pay the babysitter and send her home as soon as we walk in. Tyler and Sarah look at the large man with me and hide behind my legs. "Mommy, who is that?" Tyler asks softly. Bobby doesn't seem mean or intimidating, but he's a giant compared to my two little ones. Before I can reply, the man himself squats down next to us. He's definitely ex-military with his super short brown hair and muscular physique. I'll admit I feel a lot safer with him around. "My name is Bobby. I'm here to take you an
Courtney's P.O.V. My heart is racing like crazy, not because I'm scared that Gregory or someone else may be watching us leave. It's because of the man holding my hand. His hands are huge. He's holding the handles of all three suitcases with one hand and mine with the other while Tyler sits happily on his shoulders. I hate to admit it, but to anyone from the outside looking in, we look like a family. A part of me feels like I'm betraying Danny, but in my heart, I know he wouldn't want me to be alone forever. However, the man who's supposed to be keeping us safe shouldn't be making my head go to places I'm sure he's not even thinking about. When we get outside, the SUV that brought me home is waiting for us. Bobby puts our suitcases in the back. Where did they get car seats so quickly? We put the kids in the middle row, and I get into the back seat. I expect Bobby to ride in the front with the driver like he did when we left the
Anushka's P.O.V. After walking a few steps with the physical therapist, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. When he first had me sit up, I was slightly dizzy, but it passed. My legs felt weak when I stood, but moving around felt good. Now, my body aches, but I'm not complaining because I'm thankful to be alive. After Courtney left, a new nurse came in. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of hers. She's rude and constantly complaining about Jordan and Dakota being in the room. I'm glad I'm leaving the ICU because I'm two seconds away from letting my inner bitch come out. "Well, everything looks good. Are you ready to move to the other unit?" Dr. Martinez asks as he walks into the room. "Yes, thank you. Do you still think I'll need to be at the hospital for two weeks or more?" I can't say anything to him, but I don't feel very safe with Gregory trying to get the staff to kill me. The next person may not have a heart like Courtne
One Year LaterAnushka's P.O.V. I look at myself in the full-length mirror and smile. I met Jordan eighteen months ago, and he adopted Dakota a year ago. Now we are finally getting married. The past year has been a whirlwind. Both of our businesses are thriving, and our families are growing. Yurkov and Corrine are expecting a daughter in a couple of months. They got married right after they reconciled. My other four brothers have calmed down and are all dating women I approve of. Yes, they asked for mine and Dakota's approval. I turn to look at the other two women. Courtney and Dina are also getting married today. We decided to do it together, just like we did with the adoptions. Another thing we all did unplanned was get pregnant. The three of us have small, matching baby bumps. We're due in six months, within weeks of each other. As I said, this past year has been a whirlwind. "You two look so beautiful," I say as we stand together. Our dresses are all white, but they're slig
Friday Before Father's DayAnushka's P.O.V. I'm so excited. Not only am I basically back to normal now, but today is going to be life-changing for three families. Jordan, Bobby, and Gavin are going to officially become fathers today. We are going to the courthouse to finalize the adoptions. I don't know who's more excited: the kids, the dads, or us moms. We thought doing it right before Father's Day would be perfect. "Mommy, are you ready for me to adopt Daddy?" Dakota asks, running into the bedroom with her blonde curls bouncing. She's wearing her favorite blue dress that her grandpa bought her. She insisted that we all wear blue to match. So I'm in a blue dress, and Jordan is in black pants with a blue button-up shirt. I lean down to kiss her cheek. It still hurts when I lift her. "I can't wait. Is everyone else ready?" I ask, taking her hand. "Yep." Dakota leads me out to the living room, where everyone is gathered. Courtney is with Bobby and her two kids, Sarah and Tyler. Di
Anushka's P.O.V. As we pull up to the enormous mansion, Dakota and the other kids squeal with excitement. Noah even laughs when they see the giant fire-breathing dragon. It's a large blow-up. I don't even know where they found something that size. As we get out of the SUV, my dad and brothers are waiting for us. They all hold open their jackets to show they don't have guns. Dakota runs over to them and jumps into my dad's arms. "You got me a real dragon," she says excitedly. He kisses her cheek and laughs. "Of course we did." We all turn when another car pulls up. Yurkov takes a deep breath and walks toward it. I see a beautiful woman with dark brown hair get out before helping a little boy who looks like my brother out of the back. Dakota has my dad put her down, and she walks over to them. "I'm Dakota. Are you Corrine and Luka?" she asks them. Luka looks at her shyly while Corrine smiles. "Yes, we are. Thank you for letting us come to your birthday party." Corrine says. Dako
Anushka's P.O.V. I wake up and stretch. I can finally sleep with Jordan in our regular bed instead of the hospital bed. My chest still hurts, and it will for a while, but I can move on my own now. I roll over and look at Jordan. He's so handsome and looks so peaceful in his sleep. I can't imagine life without him now. I met with my mom's attorney, who contacted me regarding her inheritance. It had grown so much that it was in the billions. I have no need for the money so I told him to let it sit there. Eventually, I'll have it put into a trust for Dakota and any future children we have. Today is Dakota's birthday. I can't believe she's five, although sometimes it feels like she's a lot older than five. Dad and my brothers said they had everything ready for her special day. All we have to do is show up. I'm a little nervous. This will be our first time going to the compound, but Dad guarantees we'll be safe. I guess I've seen too many movies because all I can picture is there being
Anushka's P.O.V.As we all sit in the living room, no one says anything for the first few minutes. I can tell Santino isn't quite sure how to take me. He was in love with my mom, and I look like her, but I'm not her. We make some small talk while we wait for dinner. Bobby, Gavin, Courtney, Sarah, and Tyler are eating with us. I insisted that they all stay. Dakota keeps her eyes on Santino, and as everyone begins to eat, she turns to him."Why don't you like my Grandpa Chrissy?" she asks narrowing her eyes at him."Grandpa Chrissy? Who's that?" I believe he knows exactly who she's talking about, but he doesn't want to answer. "Grandpa Chistov." We all look at her in surprise. She said his name perfectly fine."I thought you couldn't say his name," Jordan says. Dakota giggles and shrugs her little shoulders."I just like to give people nicknames." She turns back to Santino and stares him down, waiting for an answer."Why do you think I don't like him?" He asks while takin
Anushka's P.O.V.I was nervous about letting Dakota leave, but I knew Gavin would keep her safe. I'm hoping that the giant teddy bear of a man has found a woman that interests him. He has too big of a heart to be alone. While they were downstairs, the police called and said they had arrested Phillip. He was so scared that he admitted to everything. Now they're looking for Stewart. I wish them luck with that. I can now walk independently, but Jordan still stays by my side. He has been incredible. My dad and brothers have been great, too. I'm starting to wonder if they even have a business because they're always here. Kozar said they have other people who can handle the day-to-day."Dakota's birthday is going to be incredible. I can't wait. Even if it's small, we're going to make sure she has everything she wants, including a fire-breathing dragon and fairies." My dad says. I shake my head and chuckle. When they're planning a child's birthday, it's hard to remember what they
Dina's P.O.V. "We're just having lunch right now," Gavin says. I risk glancing at him, and he winks at me. My heart flutters uncontrollably. How can a man that size be so sweet and gentle? Even Noah isn't scared of him. Of course, I think part of that is because the cute little blonde beside him has all his attention. He copies each bite she takes of her pizza. When Dakota notices what he's doing, she slows down to give him time to chew."Can I come down here to play with Noah sometimes?" Dakota asks. Most kids don't understand Noah and ignore him. He doesn't speak much and can get agitated quickly. "You can come and play with him whenever you want. We're here all the time." I answer her. She smiles and begins eating again. I look at Gavin, and he's watching me. I haven't been with a man since Ben left. Being with a man was the furthest thing from my mind because I had Noah to think about. However, sometimes the unexpected happens. Like a man looking fo
Gavin's P.O.V.When we reach the building, I drop Dina off on the second floor, where her apartment is, and I continue up to the penthouse. Everyone is preparing to eat lunch, including the Kondrati men, who seem to be hanging out a lot. I was concerned about them at first, but they're not as bad as I had imagined. Sometimes, you can even forget that they're Russian mob. "I hope I got everything you wanted. I had some help at the store. She invited me down to her place for lunch. I just want to check her out to make sure she's legit. She said she has a three-year-old son with autism, and she works from home." I pull out my phone and begin running her information. She didn't give me her last name, but I have her first name and apartment number. That's all I need. Within a few minutes, I read her divorce documents and employment records. I even have her birth certificate. "What's her name?" Dakota asks. "Dina. Her son's name is Noah. I checked her out, and everything sh
Gavin's P.O.V.I didn't think I would want to accept a position like the one Jordan offered, but it sounded too good to pass up. Dakota and Anuska are incredible. Courtney and her two little ones are amazing, too. The only thing that I would like is to have a woman of my own. Everyone always says it will happen when it's meant to. I'm tired of waiting. Jordan doesn't trust anyone other than Bobby and me to get food and things for the house. He was going to order groceries and have them delivered. However, Courtney asked if one of us could do the shopping because she didn't trust the store employees to pick out the best meat and produce. So that's why I'm walking through a grocery store, pushing a cart, and looking for items I have never heard of. I'm looking at the salmon, and they all look the same to me."Excuse me." I slide over so a woman can get her salmon. I watch her look at different pieces and return them until she finds the one she wants."Can you help me?" I ask