When they’re done and everything is cleaned up, Connor and I bundle them into the last of the SUVs that we all came up here in. The ride to the hospital takes a couple of hours, and I feel tense and nervous, waiting for news. Viktor calls us partway through, letting us know they arrived and that Caterina is stable and in a room.
Once we arrive, we find a spot for Anika and Yelena and get them settled with some toys, joining Viktor where he’s sitting in the waiting room. “I didn’t say anything until now,” he says hesitantly as we sit down, “because the doctors were very unsure if she could carry both to term, considering the circumstances of her early pregnancy and how thin and malnourished she was when I found her. But she’s pregnant with twins. We don’t know if both will make it.” His face looks drawn and worried. “They think she’ll be safe. But they’re worried. I haven’t said anything to the girls, either.”
We sit in the waiting room for a long time. A doctor comes out, his face concerned, motioning for Viktor, and when Viktor comes back, he’s pale. “Watch the girls, please,” Viktor says. “Cat has to have a c-section. The babies aren’t coming.”
“Anything,” I say quickly, feeling my heart sink. “She’s going to be okay, Viktor.”
“I hope so,” he says tiredly, crossing the room to where Anika and Yelena are sitting. “Stay with Uncle Connor and Aunt Saoirse, girls,” he says quietly. “I’m going to go be with your mother for a little while. You’ll have a new brother or sister soon.” He kisses them both on the forehead, glancing at us as he stands, and then turns to head down the hall.
If waiting for news about Luca and Sofia had felt interminable, this feels even worse. Liam and Ana have since left, going to a hotel so that Ana can rest, and Connor and I wait with the girls, my heart hammering.
“This is terrifying,” I whisper to him. “NowI’mscared—”
“You’ll be fine,” Connor says gently, reassuring me. “Everything will be fine, and so will Caterina. We just have to wait.”
I don’t know what time it is when Viktor finally emerges, looking exhausted. Anika and Yelena are sleeping, and we get up, walking anxiously to him. “Is Cat—” I whisper, unable to finish. “The babies?”
“Caterina is fine,” Viktor says tiredly, “and so are the babies. They’re in the NICU since they’re premature and twins, but the doctors are sure they’ll be fine. A son and a daughter,” he says with a tired smile. “Viktoria and Dimitri Andreyev.”
I lean into Connor as he wraps an arm around me, watching as Viktor goes to Anika and Yelena, gently waking them up so he can take them to see their mother and their new baby siblings.
“Four kids now,” Connor says wryly. “How many do you really want, Saoirse?”
“As many as we can have,” I tell him firmly. “But let’s start with just one.”
“That sounds perfect,” he says, leaning down to kiss me.
And in that moment, I know for certain—there could be nothing more perfect than what he and I have and the family we’ll soon start to build.
I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Two months later
February
It took some arranging, but Caterina and I managed to plan the dinner we’d talked about having at her and Viktor’s house. I’m two months from giving birth myself, and the ride up to New York isn’t exactly comfortable—Liam and Ana opted to skip it altogether since Ana is due any day. But Connor and I both want to see the babies, and Caterina was eager for company.
The house, huge as it is, feels filled to the brim with people—myself and Connor, Sasha and Max, Liam and Sofia and baby Gio, Caterina and Viktor, along with Anika, Yelena, and baby Viktoria and Dimitri. There are the sounds of laughter and babies giggling and crying and cooing, the air so full of happiness and love that it feels as if it could burst at the seams.
“Yelena loves taking care of them,” Caterina says with a grin as she comes to stand next to me, watching as Sasha helps with the children. “Anika—is more of a hands-off sister,” she adds with a laugh. “But she loves them, too.”
“How is having four kids?” I ask her, and she snorts.
“A lot. I don’t know what I’d do without Sasha. But she loves them just as much, and she loves living here. I don’t know if she’ll ever leave.” She glances at Max, who is walking over to join them, making funny faces at the babies. “He’s here a lot, too. He’s been quite the help.”
“You’ll have your hands full soon enough,” Sofia says, walking over to join me with little Giovanni in her arms. He has a full head of dark hair and Luca’s green eyes, and he waves his clenched fists as he sees me. “I haven’t slept in months.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I say with a laugh, touching my stomach.
When we all sit down for dinner, I look around the table. A few months ago, it would have been unthinkable that we would all be so close. There had been tensions even in the alliances, but now we’re more family than anything else, all of us held together by the bonds of shared hardship and struggle—but most of all, by love.
In the end,I think as I lace my fingers through Connor’s, feeling my baby kick,that’s all that ever mattered. All thatshouldever matter.
Love.
Wondering what’s in store for Niall? Keep reading for an excerpt from the first book in the Santiago Cartel trilogy, Brutal Kiss!
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