RPOV:

I set the red rose on Victor's grave. "Hey, Uncle V. I miss you." I brushed my fingers over the cursive words Beloved Uncle briefly before getting to my feet.

I looked back at Dimitri, who was dressed in a black suit for the memorial service. Tears spilled down my cheeks as he walked up to me. His brown eyes were full of sorrow and understanding. He knew exactly how it was to lose someone you loved dearly.

My fiancé didn't say anything, and for that I was grateful. If I heard one more "I'm sorry" or "Victor was a great man. It's such a shame", I was going to punch anyone and everyone in my path.

"Thank you," I whispered as he wrapped his arms around me and drew me into his chest. "For being here. For me. When I need you most."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else."

"Everything's okay now." I wasn't sure what was coming out of my mouth, it just all seemed to tumble out. "I've come to terms with my uncle's death, I mean it's sad, but I'm okay with it in a way. I've accepted it."

His arms tightened around me.

"In a really strange way, I almost feel better that he's in heaven now. I know that he's no longer suffering from his illness and he doesn't have to go through anymore painful Chemotherapy sessions." My voice cracked and I squeezed my eyes shut, hugging Dimitri with everything in me. "Uncle Victor is no longer in pain; he's in a better place now."

Ding dong.

Flipping a page of Elle magazine, I groaned and hollered, "Is anybody going to get that?"

There were a few minutes of silence, then another ring of the doorbell.

Cursing, I grasped my beach-ball belly, braced myself, and rocked to my feet. I could hear from all the way downstairs the booming male voices, laughter, and rap music spilling from the games room.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head, smiled, and slowly made my way down the grand staircase.

Ding dong.

"Coming! Jesus!" I yelled. "Be patient!"

Gripping the gold handle, I ripped the door open and glared at the man standing there. He had to be in his mid-fifties with a really flashy style and ridiculously thick, shiny hair.

"What do you want?" I snapped with a good dose of attitude. "I'm supposed to be on bed rest."

The man smiled dangerously. A chill ran up my spine. "May I speak with Dimitri Belikov?" he asked in a heavy accent.

"Nope." Frankly, I didn't feel like making the effort to get him. It was hard enough already for me to stand. My breathing grew heavy and sweat bloomed on my forehead. "Come back some other time."

I started to shut the door.

The mans foot shot out and stopped it from closing all the way.

Annoyed and somewhat alarmed, I asked, "What's your problem, buddy?"

"This is important. I need to speak with him."

"Too frickin' bad—"

"I'm the one who sent the note."

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.

FOUND HIM FLOATING NEAR THE EDGES OF THE RIVER.

YOUR PLAN DIDN'T WORK AS WELL AS YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD, DID IT.

IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO HAVE THAT SECRET EXPOSED TO THE PUBLIC.

—I'M SURE YOU HAVE A PRETTY GOOD GODDAMN IDEA.

The note from nearly seven months ago flashed before my eyes, as clear as day.

Without warning, I growled and launched myself at the man, taking him down on the stone path outside. In a startling rage, I pounded my fists against his head, one after another, non-stop.

How dare he. All I knew was that he'd threatened my family, and I needed to protect Dimitri and our child growing inside me.

Suddenly, I was pulled off of the man and hauled back. Still seeing red, I fought to get out of the nearly immobilizing grip and get back to that man so I could get my hands on that bastard once again.

"Rose!" Dimitri swore in Russian. Sliding his arms under mine, he crossed them over my chest and squeezed until it was extremely difficult to draw any oxygen into my lungs. "Relax, baby, and I'll let you go."

Absorbing the sound of his deep voice, I closed my eyes briefly and nodded. "Okay."

He hesitated, but released his death grip and draped an arm around my waist just in case I tried to pull any fast moves.

"He's the man who sent that note!" I exclaimed.

I felt Dimitri go rigid immediately. He quickly recovered, barked Darius and Ivan's name, and let me go completely. Then he charged the bleeding man, grabbed the lapels of his coat, and hauled him off the ground effortlessly.

Thinking back to the letter, I now realized that Dimitri had known who had sent it all along. Maybe not the face, but he definitely knew who the flashy man was.

In unison, Ivan and Darius mowed out the mansion and down the steps towards us. While Darius took Dimitri's orders and hauled the man inside, Ivan came to me with heartbreakingly concerned eyes. "Are you hurt?" he asked, gently putting his hand on the small of my back.

"No," I shook my head and took a deep breath. "I just need to sit down for a minute."

Ivan helped me to get inside. He lowered me carefully down on the first couch in sight.

"Are you thirsty? Hungry?" he asked, kneeling down.

"Actually," My swollen stomach rumbled and he chuckled. "Could you get me something sweet? I'm feeling a bit dizzy."

With a nod and a reassuring pat to my knee, Ivan was off, heading for the kitchen at a jog.

My blood turned to ice when I heard shouts and hollers from the other room, followed by a loud thud and a groan of pain. Blessedly, the sound didn't belong to Dimitri or Darius. For the smallest of seconds, I felt pity towards the flashy man. Whatever they were doing in there wasn't exactly a tea party. The man was about to go through hell, also known as Dimitri's interrogation.

The feeling of sympathy soon vanished as I reminded myself that he'd threatened my partner and our child's life.

I heard boots pounding against the ivory marble as loud as thunder, and my head snapped up.

Dimitri stalked over to me, face blazing with anger. Oh, no. Man, I really hated pissing off that Russian.

"Are you that stupid?" he demanded in a voice low and deep like a church-bell.

"Excuse me?" My anger spiked again, like someone had thrown gasoline all over it and struck a match.

"You attacked that man," he jabbed a finger towards where he'd come from. "While you are pregnant."

"He's the one who sent the note, you frickin' idiot!"

"Why are you fighting while you are carrying our child?" Dimitri got all up in my face, but I didn't back down. "You should have just stayed back!"

"I'm pregnant, not handicapped!"

"Your foolishness and lack of common sense floors me sometimes!"

"Get the fuck away from me, Dimitri. Right now." I fell back on the couch and put shaking hands to my belly. "I so do not need this right now."

He gritted his teeth, muttered something in his native Siberian tongue, and marched off.

Ivan came back a few minutes after that, carrying a plate full of pepperoni pizza and frosted brownies. In his other hand, he had a big glass of milk.

"Here," he set the food down on the coffee table. "You should eat. You look pale and rattled."

"If only you knew," I murmured, diving into the goodness. "Thanks."

Ivan nodded.

"You need to go," That voice belonged to Dimitri. "Upstairs. Now."

"And you need to go before I punch you in the face," I said.

"Rose. I'm being serious."

Squaring my shoulders, kicking my chin up, and meeting his eyes, I shook my head and unwaveringly said, "No. I'm staying right here."

A long stretch of tense and fury filled silence spilled between us. "Fine. You want to see this? Then go ahead." he said tightly. "Just stay out of my way."

The doors burst open. Darius was dragging a chair into the room. In that chair was the flashy man. Ropes were tied around his ankles, waist, and his hands, which were locked behind the chair.

I swallowed the brownie with a gulp. Fear twisted in my stomach, but I refused to be a coward and leave the room. I had something to prove to Dimitri, I guess.

At first, the interrogation wasn't so bad. There were just a lot of questions and demands and shouts. But then Dimitri would slap the man when he refused to talk and I'd wince. Those slaps soon escalated to full on punches. And those blows became more frequent until the flashy man was a bloody mess and I was constantly cringing.

There was something animalistic and raw about Dimitri in these moments that I really didn't like to see. It made me nauseous having to watch it.

"So, you're the one who hired Nathan to shoot my wife, aren't you." Dimitri growled.

The man bound to the chair smiled around all the crimson liquid spilling out of his mouth.

Dimitri's eyes flashed as he rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up shirt. "You need to start talking. I'm loosing my patience here. And I don't really feel like playing nice anymore, Abe."

Something clicked in my head and I gasped.

All of them looked over at me.

"What?" Dimitri asked. "Is something wrong with the baby?"

I ignored him as I looked straight at the man. "What is your last name?"

"Mazur." Ivan answered for him since the man seemed unwilling.

There was a buzzing in my ears and my heart beat like a drum in my chest. I climbed to my feet and came towards him.

"My name is Rose Hathaway." The mans eyes flared and I was positive he knew exactly who I was. "I'm your daughter. The one that you walked out on almost twenty-five years ago."

Abe stared at me for the longest time, his brown eyes full of shock and…wonder.

"I've been searching for you since you were a little girl," he murmured with awe. "My daughter."

"Why did you walk out on my mother when I was just a baby then?" I demanded, literally shoving Dimitri and Darius out of the way so I could get right in front of my father.

"Janine forced me to. I swear." Abe said.

For some absurd reason, I believed him. Maybe I was biased. Maybe it was because he was the only living blood relative I had. It didn't matter.

I looked right at Dimitri. "Release him." I said, feeling protective over my father.

"You cannot be serious," said my boyfriend. "He's the man who hired a man to shoot you. You realize that, right. He's the man who wants me dead. The source of all our problems this past year and a half."

"I said release him." I narrowed my eyes. "He's my father, Dimitri."

My boyfriend merely stared at me, eyebrow cocked.

After threatening to leave the mansion and dragging my father out with me, Dimitri very reluctantly pulled a folding knife out of his pocket and sawed at all the ropes until Abe was free.

My father slowly and painfully stood up, and immediately, I wanted to fire out a million questions about my mother and the details of why he walked out on us when I was an infant. That had to wait until later however, because he looked like he needed a first aid kit pronto.

"Here, let me get you some water," Hooking Abe's arm over my shoulder, we awkwardly waddled into the kitchen like a pair of drunken penguins.

On the inside I was positively beaming and absolutely screaming with excitement. I'd just met my father for the first time! All my life, I'd believed him to be dead because that had made it easier to deal with my whole situation. But now with my mother and uncle Victor gone, and Abe being my only living blood relative, I was desperately grabbing onto what I had because it was all that was left.

Without turning around, I sensed the trio in the kitchen. Their tense and angry energy burned my skin. I couldn't imagine how Abe felt, considering all three of the men's hatred and distrust was directed towards my father.

"Get out." I gritted my teeth. "I want to talk with him. Alone."

They didn't move an inch.

Helping Abe lean his battered weight against the granite counter, I spun around, absolutely furious and protective of the man behind me. No one—absolutely no one—was going to hurt him. Or if I could help it, no one was even going to cast him a dirty look.

"Get out!" I jabbed my finger at Dimitri. "Now! I need privacy with my father."

"You're thinking irrationally,"

"And I think you're getting me really upset when I shouldn't be—ow!" I bent over and clutched my stomach.

My boyfriend was over in a flash.

"It's okay," I panted, squeezing my eyes shut briefly. "Just a contraction. It's passed. Now, will you please let me and Abe talk?"

Dimitri stared at me for the longest time, then leisurely, he nodded and bent down to brush his lips over mine. "Okay."

Darius and Ivan followed Dimitri out of the kitchen with glares over their massive shoulders, and a very mature slitting the throat gesture towards Abe from Darius. "If anything happens to my sister…" he said in an ominous voice. The doors clapped shut behind them.

"I know you're right outside of the doors, Dimitri!"

"This is as far as we're going," he said. "No exceptions. I don't care how much you hate me for it."

"Really? So she kicked you out? Just like that?"

Abe nodded as he took a sip from his ice water. "I loved your mother very much, but around the time she gave birth to you, she started to change. Drastically. It startled me. Janine wasn't the same woman I met and fell in love with in high-school. She was just...I don't know, a stranger."

"Why do you think she made you leave?" I asked, dabbing at the gash on his eyebrow with a cotton ball drowned in rubbing alcohol.

Abe hissed but otherwise remained still. "The drugs. I knew it was the drugs. It's astonishing what they can do to people. Heroin is evil, and that's what your mother messed with. Everything was different after she took her first hit."

"She was too far gone." I murmured more to myself than him. "Even if I'd found her while she was alive, she couldn't have been saved."

"Good for you." Abe tapped my knee. "As sad as this may sound, most people don't move on from deaths of their loved ones. But I can see you have. That's good. I surely haven't forgotten about your mother."

I placed butterfly stitches over the laceration. "You still love Janine?"

My father made a sound in the back of his throat.

"Why?" Venom and hatred dripped from my voice, but I was far from caring. Janine could go to hell.

"She loved you, you know." Abe shrugged. "For the little time I was there to see it, I knew she loved you dearly. Don't be angry at her. Be angry at the drugs she used."

My eyebrows crashed down. That was an unusual way to think of it, but maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn't my mothers fault. Maybe it was her actions that I hated. Not her as a person. I didn't hate Janine. I loved her.

Maybe I could forgive her for abandoning me.

I found myself smiling. "Thank you."

"For what?"

I shrugged and started to toss everything back into the first aid kit. "For saying that. For some reason, that makes me feel a lot better."

My father ran a hand through his wicked cool hair and seemed at loss for words.

Meanwhile, I scrubbed my hands with hot water and soap. "Would you like more water? Your glass is empty."

Abe nodded. "I'd get it myself, but it's somewhat difficult for me to walk."

That burning anger towards Dimitri came back. "I'm so sorry about that. He should have never—"

"Please," Abe shook his head, held up a broad palm. "Don't apologize. I…uh, yeah…never mind."

Nodding, I grabbed the empty glass off the counter and headed for the freezer. After dropping four cubes in, I closed the stainless steel door and pressed the glass to the purified water dispenser and watched it fill—

The sound of a drawer being rattled and shut made me freeze. Dread filled my veins, but it was already too late. The blade pressed against my throat.

"Stay silent," Abe whispered.

A tear fell out of my eye, down my cheek, and dripped off my chin, landing on the floor beneath us. For fear of my unborn child's life, I did the smartest thing I had ever done. I listened.

My lips were pressed closely together, not making a sound.

"Good girl." My father said, kissing my cheek.

Damn, why had I been so stupid to tell Dimitri to release him? Now I'd just jeopardized everyone's life in the house. There would be time to worry about that later.

Traitor. That's what my father was: a traitor. During the hours we'd talked in the kitchen, it had all been an act. He didn't love me or my mother. He was only after one thing, and that had to be money, considering he was the man who wanted Dimitri six feet under.

Not if I could help it.

Tasha came out of the main kitchens doors, wiping some chocolate batter off her face. Dragging the paper towel off her skin, she headed for the trashcan, ready to toss the crumpled thing in the trash.

Abe's hold on me tightened as he pressed the knife harder against my skin until it drew blood.

Those ice-blue eyes snapped over to us, and Tasha's whole body went rigid.

With an awesome surge, she went for the bottle of red wine she'd spotted on the counter. Before I knew what had happened, she'd charged us and smashed the bottle against Abe's face. He howled in agony as it shattered into a million pieces and shards of glass stuck in his skin and crimson liquid splattered against the floor.

Internally, I was cheering Tasha on. Who knew the girl could kick ass.

The doors flew open with a roar and the three men mowed in, bodies ready for battle.

But Abe had already dropped the knife and made a run for it, going out the opposite doors and heading into vestibule.

"Go the other way!" Dimitri boomed, tearing off in pursuit of my father with a revolver drawn.

Darius and Ivan did the same, pulling out firearms and going the opposite direction of my boyfriend. All were in pursuit of my father, and I only hoped they'd find him fast.

A shot ringing out made Tasha and I scream and duck in unison. The bullet went through the window above us, barely missing my head.

"Are you out of your mind?" Tasha hollered at Abe's looming form. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

I was staring death in the face. That muzzle was pointed right at me. As the gun was cocked and his finger closed down on the trigger, I made peace with everything in my life and hoped that they would catch Abe before he killed anyone else. I was sorry to be leaving Dimitri behind on this earth alone and sad that he was going to be experiencing the great loss and pain of my death, but glad it was me rather than him. Maybe one day he could meet someone and be happy again. I could only hope.

The shout rang out and I braced my self for the final mortal blow.

But it never came.

Peeling my eyes open, I was met with a giant dark shadow. For a minute I wondered if it was the Grim Reaper, but then my brain kicked in and I looked up at the same time Dimitri fell to the ground in front of me.

I cried out when I spotted the bullet wound in his chest. "What did you do!" I yelled at Dimitri. "Why! Why! Why did you do this!"

"It's my job to protect you," Dimitri smiled sadly, but not regrettably. "I'll always protect you, Roza."

The love of my life had sacrificed his own life for my own, using his body as a shield. He'd taken a bullet for me.

I screamed in fury.

Abe was tackled to the ground and wrestled for the gun. He proved to be a struggle because Ivan and Darius grunted and couldn't seemed to get a hold of the weapon—

Pop.

Numbly, I lifted my head as I heard the most excruciatingly filled roar come out of Darius's mouth.

In the middle of Ivan's forehead, between his graceful brows, was a perfect crimson kiss. Ivan gazed at his buddy with blank eyes, swayed, and dropped to the floor lifeless.

In a mindless rage, Darius was a monster, unstoppable. He ripped the gun out of Abe's grip, cracked it across his face, and hauled him up by the lapels of his coat, holding my father a good foot off the ground.

"Look what you did!" Darius's sinister voice made me cringe. "Look at him!"

Abe craned his neck and stared at the fallen man on the floor.

"He's the last thing you'll ever see!" Darius held the muzzle to Abe's temple.

"Look away, Rose." Dimitri said harshly.

With tears streaming down my face and vicious sobs racking throughout my body, I leaned down and stuffed my face in the crook of Dimitri's neck, breathing in his aftershave and natural spicy heavenly scent. It was the only normal and comforting thing in my world right now.

"I'll see you in hell, buddy." Darius pulled the trigger on my father.

I raised my head and refused to look as Darius dropped to his knees and held onto Ivan like his whole life depended on it. It was strange knowing a man like Darius, who was always so macho with his devil may care attitude, could breakdown like that. It didn't seem possible. But evidently, it was. He'd just lost his best friend.

A coughing noise brought my attention back to the man in my arms. Blood spilled out of Dimitri's mouth and down the sides of his cheeks.

"Oh, God," The look in those brown eyes would forever haunt me. He knew exactly what was going to happen. "No. No. No. No! You can't die on me, Dimitri! I need you! Somebody call 911!"

Tasha, pale as a ghost and shaking all over, crawled over to the phone and picked it up. A moment later, she told me, "The hospital is flying a helicopter out here, but it won't arrive for another forty-five minutes."

"That's not good enough!" I growled, applying more pressure on Dimitri's chest wound.

A tear leaked out of her glassy ice-blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Rose." she hung up. "It's the best they can do."

"You're so beautiful, Roza." Dimitri murmured sadly. As he lifted a hand and tried to reach my face, it looked as if the gesture was painful and drained all of the energy out of him, so I gently lowered his arm. "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…"

"Don't talk like that!" I said desperately, shaking my head like a maniac. "It's only forty-two more minutes until the helicopter is here! You have to hold on—"

A gush of warm water between my thighs brought my words to a halt. Did I pee?

"Shit." Tasha's eyes bulged. "Your water just broke."