Snakes In The Grass

11

I didn't know what woke me. I didn't need to go to the bathroom, I wasn't hot, I wasn't cold. I was perfectly comfortable. I could hear Dimitri's steady breath behind me and felt his body shift in bed, rolling and resting his hand on my shoulder. I reached for it and kissed it softly before getting up, grabbing the sweater I had thrown on the chair before bed.

I walked quietly to the door so I wouldn't wake Dimitri but it was opened just a crack. I stepped closer and peered through the crack.

"I left you here to keep her safe, not to defy me and bring him here!" Abe hissed. I could just see Pavel just off to the side, between Abe in the door.

"You have no idea how much she needed this!" Pavel exclaimed in a whisper, "She needs him. She is approaching motherhood and while trying to protect her, you have stolen something from both of them! You have stolen precious moments. You don't hear her crying at night because she misses him, and you don't hear how she sounds every time she hangs up the phone!"

"For all we know, he could be the mole!"

"For God's sake, Abe! Get a fucking grip on yourself! The only thing you are going to achieve by going in there is ruining the glimpse of a relationship you have with your daughter! She won't admit it out loud, she views you as her father. She loves you because you are a part of her! If you go in there, all that will be left is the girl who threatened to kill you, and she might do it! And I might let her," Pavel growled.

I bit my lip and rested my hand on the door frame. Abe glowered at Pavel, and I opened the door enough for them to see me. Pavel turned and gave me a sympathetic look. Abe straightened up and I raised my brows.

"Are you done?"

Abe gapped at me, and I jutted my chin out at him and bugged my eyes at him.

"I said are you done? Because I'm not going to put up with this. Today has been the first time I've been here that I've been genuinely happy. If you take that away, I'm gone. I know at least six ways out of this house, and I've stayed because it was important to you. But if your hate for a man that you don't know, or will even hear out, is too strong for you to put aside, I'm gone," I said before closing the door and turning the lock. I leaned against the door with a sigh before going to my bathroom and closing the door behind me. I splashed cold water over my face and then went back to bed, climbing back beside Dimitri.

When I pulled the blankets up he opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake me," I whispered as I stroked his cheek softly, laying on my side facing him.

"You didn't wake me," he said quietly, reaching for my hand. I laced my fingers into his and scooted closer to him, rubbing my foot against his leg.

"What woke you?"

"The same thing that woke you."

I frowned and let go of his hand, cuddling against him instead the best I could. I lifted my shirt so my belly would press against his skin and rested my face on my shoulder.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Always, Roza," Dimitri said.

"When you were a novice, did you break into someone's house with other novices?"

Dimitri's hand had been drawing idle shapes on my shoulder when it stopped.

"How did you know that?"

I looked up at him and pressed a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw. "I need you to be honest with me, comrade. What did you do while you were there?"

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. "Honestly? I found a library in the house and spent an hour in there. I'm not sure about the others. Why?"

"Did you know that there was someone in the house?"