Page 110 of Poison Evidence

Ivy nodded. “And in so doing, she saved you. We can give her credit for that.”

Dimitri considered Ivy’s words. Could one selfless act make up for the horror of what his sister had done?

No.

But it did help by giving him one moment to believe in. One morsel of the bright-eyed girl he’d played with as a child had survived and remained part of the complex and disturbing woman she’d become. She was victim and villain.

Was she worse than Zack Barrow, a greedy, power-seeking traitor to his country, or just a mirror image?

He couldn’t answer that because he didn’t know Zack at four years old, but he had known Sophia. And the part of him that loved his sister—and who would love her to his dying day—didn’t want to believe that girl was the worse villain, even though what she’d done to him had been vile.

A cry from the bedroom brought Ivy to her feet. Julian was awake and crying for his mother.

Ivy turned to him before running to the bedroom. “Do you want to meet him?”

Dimitri touched the bruises on his face as he considered his answer. He wanted to meet his nephew more than anything, but his needs came second. “My face might scare him.”

Ivy nodded and headed for the bedroom. She left the door open so he could glimpse inside as she entered and picked up the four-year-old. Her face blanched with pain, and she adjusted her grip so her cast arm didn’t bear his weight. “Hey, buddy. Ivy’s here.”

Julian asked for his mom in perfect Russian. It surprised Dimitri to realize Sophia had taught him the language.

Dimitri didn’t know which of the three of them cried harder as Ivy stroked his hair and held him, whispering words of love to the boy she’d just met.

Epilogue

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

10 months later

Accent: German. Age: late thirties. Attitude: interested, too interested.

Ivy never should have let Hazel talk her into this vacation. But getting away to take a break after Patrick’s very public conviction had seemed like a good idea, and her sister Laurel had offered to take Julian along on her family’s annual trip to Orlando. Now Ivy wished she’d gone to Disney World instead. How could she have passed up the opportunity to see Julian’s delight as he rode Dumbo for the first time?

Instead, she was at a posh resort on Grand Cayman, playing wing woman to Hazel in the crowded hotel bar. That part she didn’t mind; it was when men set their sights on her that made her uncomfortable. Funny that all it took to become desirable was to put out “not interested” vibes.

Hazel thought she was still off all men thanks to Patrick, and that was what Hazel would always have to believe. The FBI had drilled into her the importance of silence, or her adoption of Julian would be in jeopardy, and the chance for a future with Dimitri would be impossible.

She hadn’t heard a word from him since they’d said good-bye in her Koror hotel room. Not his fault, she knew, but still she ached with the uncertainty of their future.

In her mind, she wrote him long letters. The first would have told him of her mixed feelings when she learned she wasn’t pregnant. Disappointment, but also relief that Dimitri wouldn’t miss the experience of being by her side as she carried his child. And the adjustment for Julian would have been harder if she’d been pregnant too.

She’d wanted to tell Dimitri everything about those first months with Julian, holding him as he cried for his parents. But she didn’t dare commit the words to paper. If found, they could ruin the life she was trying to build.

Strings had been pulled to make her his foster mother, but that was only the first step. They’d needed to be certain Rudy Fredrickson had no living relatives, and that the couple had no will with provisions for their son.

A handwritten letter by Alyssa Fredrickson listed an unnamed brother to be appointed as guardian should anything happen to her and Rudy. The letter was locked away in FBI files and couldn’t be used to support Ivy’s claim.

In the meantime, she and Julian built a relationship. It wasn’t smooth or easy, but the love was there, and it was enough to build on. Julian was learning to find joy again as he settled into his new life. It was all Ivy could ask for.

Now Hazel was dancing with the friend of the German man who was hitting on Ivy, while Raptor operative Sean Logan watched them both from the corner of the bar.

Alec had insisted a bodyguard accompany them—while threats to Ivy had ended with Patrick’s conviction, traveling outside the US was still deemed a risk. But Hazel and Sean had clashed from the start because Sean intimidated any man who approached her.

Two days into a seven-day vacation and Ivy wished she’d gone with Laurel and Julian to the Magic Kingdom.

Beyond the open-air nightclub was a stretch of beach, and beyond that the turquoise Caribbean Sea. She longed to be out on the water, or better yet, on a deserted island with a certain reformed Russian spy. Island life was only fun with the right company.

She apologized to the man who’d asked her to dance and crossed the room to Sean’s side. “I’m going paddling,” she said. She’d feel better on the water. Calmer.