Page 169 of The Enemy Protector
The room is quiet except for the machine and his breathing. I think that's all there is.
"She was better than all of us." His voice is barely a whisper. He's not looking at me. "I knew it then."
I don’t reply.
"Don't tell them about me," he says. "Your child."
I don't know if that's shame or the last mercy he has in him. I decide it doesn't matter.
I turn to leave the room.
"You have her courage,” he says.
I pause for a brief second, and then I leave.
Nelson falls into step beside me. He doesn't ask anything. He reads my face, and he doesn't ask.
We walk to the elevator. I step inside and watch the doors close. I won’t be back.
“I want to see Anton,” I tell Nelson.
“I’ll check?—”
“Nelson, I’m going to see Anton.”
Half an hour later, I knock on the door and wait. Anton is the closest thing to a father I have. When he opens the door, I smile.
“Sofia,” he says, and his smile is everything I used to need when I was ten and afraid of nightmares.
I step inside and let Nelson follow. He stays close to the threshold. Anton watches him, then shifts his gaze back to me. There’s that little question in his eyes:what did you do now?
“I need you on my detail,” I tell him.
He blinks. “What?”
“I want you working with me. Full time. On my security team.”
He laughs once, short and incredulous. “Are you trying to get me killed? I’m on crutches, Sofia.”
“I need someone I trust on my side. You and Nelson. My father will be dead very, very soon. I’ve just left the hospital. I’m sure you know Yuri is dead. It’s all mine, Anton. And I need you beside me while I run it.”
There’s a softness that comes over him first.
“Do you have any idea what you’re asking?”
“I do,” I say. “And I need you because you are the only person I trust to keep my baby safe.”
“Baby?”
“I’m pregnant.”
He glances at Nelson then.
Anton swallows. “Talk to Sergei,” he says finally.
It’s not a refusal. It’s not acceptance either.
He leans forward and hugs me before I can protest. I’ve missed his hugs. They were rare but when I let him do it, it made everything just a little better.
