Russian Billionaire's Wife (Chekov Billionaire Series Book 5)

Chapter 1

Vitaly Chekov woke to the sound of his phone ringing as he sat up in bed. Looking at the empty bed,
he was surprised to realize that his wife, Sarah, was already up.

Well, this is a first, he thought. Usually, I’m the first one up.

As the phone began to beep insistently, he reached for his trousers and dug in his pocket, retrieving
his phone.

“Hello?”

As Vitaly talked, he was glad Sarah was already up. When they left to go on their honeymoon, he
promised her that he wouldn’t work, but in the three days they were on the island, he’d received at
least a dozen phone calls causing more than one argument. He gritted his teeth as he finished the call
and dug in a drawer for a pair of shorts.

Padding out to the kitchen, he poured himself a cup of coffee before going to look for his wife.

My wife. Will I ever get tired of saying that or truly believe that it was true?

When he first hired Sarah as his intern at VIC Enterprises, he knew that she had the qualifications, but
he was attracted to the little blonde spitfire and was hoping to get to know her better. He never
intended to develop feelings for her, though, let alone fall passionately in love with her and get
married. But she had been there for him, even when he didn’t deserve it, and he intended to spend the
rest of his life showing her his appreciation.

In between these damn calls! Swearing under his breath in Russian, he answered the phone again. As
he talked, he looked out the kitchen window and saw Sarah walk out into the crystalline waters of the
South Pacific to swim. Is she? She’s naked!

Interrupting his caller, Vitaly told him to handle it before ending the call and leaving the phone on the
counter. He hurried across the back deck, coffee in hand, and walked down the short path to the
water’s edge to watch his wife swim.

As she turned to complete another lap, she spied Vitaly standing on the shore and waved to him, her
breasts bouncing on the top of the water as he closed his eyes to the luscious image of his very nude
wife gliding across the water. While not yet painful, his body readily let him know how much he
appreciated seeing her like this, and he was glad his shorts were a bit on the baggy side.

Finishing her laps, Sarah walked toward him, the water dragging behind her as she stepped toward
the shore. Water ran down her lightly tanned body in rivulets as she reached to take the towel he held
out. Suddenly unsure what to say, he silently handed it to her as she went up on her tiptoes to kiss his
check, her wet body leaning lightly against him, cooling his heated skin.

“Thank you,” she said simply as she took the towel, but instead of drying herself off, she wrapped it
around her hair before walking naked toward the house.

With a groan, Vitaly adjusted his now painful groin before dropping his coffee cup. With a yell, he
ran toward her, picked her up, and tossed her over his shoulder as he covered the distance to the
house in long strides.

The last time he had thrown Sarah over his shoulder, she had pounded on his back in anger. This time,
her hands stroked his sides as her fingers slid under the waistband on his shorts. Before she could get
farther, he deposited her on one of the outdoor chaise lounges. Pulling the drawstring on his shorts, he
dropped them around his ankles before joining her.

As he cupped the side of her face, he leaned in to kiss her. Sarah sighed into his mouth, melting into
him as he swept a path between her salty lips to delve inside. His hands stroked her back as he pulled
her hard against him.

“What you do to me, kotyonok,” he crooned against her lips. The hard press of his cock bumped
against her thigh as he felt her body clench. His hand moved to her waist, as he left her mouth to trace
the edge of her jaw and neck, the tip of his tongue like fire on her body as he licked and nipped his
way down, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before settling on her breasts.

Sarah gasped and arched her back up when the heat of his mouth settled on her nipple, sucking and
tugging it to a stiff peak before switching to the other. With just one touch, he had the power to turn
her insides to liquid, and she moaned, pressing her breast against his greedy mouth.

His hand found her breasts and he grazed his thumb across her now jutting nipples, alternating with
his mouth as she began to pant. Each touch made her body tighten and ache with need as she fought to
keep from squirming.

His hand moved down between them, the backs of his fingers brushing the inside of her thigh as she
pushed her legs out to give him easy access.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” he asked as his hand easily slid between her legs. Sarah
forgot how to speak as her need intensified, touching her to the core.

He slid his hands under her and easily lifted her, rolling to his back as she now straddled his hips.
Rising up on her knees, she looked down at him as his hands roamed freely over her body.

“That’s better,” he said with a seductive grin. “I want to watch as pleasure overtakes you.”  With a
moan,  she  leaned  down  to  kiss  him  as  he  plunged  his  tongue  between  her  lips,  mimicking  what  he
planned to do to her soon.  Reaching his hand up, he pulled the towel off her hair so her long locks
could tumble down around her like a cape. “So beautiful,” he crooned.

He stroked her side, stoking the fire that burned inside her as his hands worked their way down her
body. Rubbing her hips, he cupped her ass, digging his fingers in lightly as she moaned in response.
He followed her cues as he continued to massage and rub her ass, his fingers lightly tickling along the

cleft as she thrust her hips into his hands, wanting more. He chuckled and enjoyed how wanton she
would become at the stroke of his hands.

She gave him a sly look and licked her lips enticingly. Nibbling on his chin, she kissed his neck,
before moving to his ear to nibble on his earlobe as he hissed in response. Her pert nipples rubbed
against his chest as she nuzzled against him and tightened her legs around him.

Vitaly rubbed her hips with his palms, causing her to moan in response as her lips brushed across his
nipples, first one and then the other. Sarah swirled her tongue around them, sucking as she flicked
them with her lower lip, causing him to groan in response.

He reached between them to palm her sex, his fingers easily sliding through her soft folds to play with
her clit as Sarah hitched her breath in response. She ground herself against his hand, spreading her
legs farther apart when he easily pushed two fingers deep inside her, never ceasing to lave his
nipples.

Abandoning what she was doing, Sarah sat up, leaning back to rest her hands on his thighs as she
stared down at him with molten desire. With his other hand, Vitaly circled her clit in a slow, lazy
stroke with his thumb as he thrust his fingers inside her. Her vaginal walls felt on fire as they clutched
greedily at his fingers.

Sarah tilted back farther with a moan, arching her hips toward him, wanting more – much more. Using
short, fast thrusts, he pumped in and out as she rocked her hips back and forth, causing her to pant as
pleasure coursed through her body.

Not sure how much more she could take, Sarah grabbed his hands, stilling his movements as he
looked at her. Lifting them to her face, she sucked his wet fingers into her mouth to lick up the juices
from her arousal while his eyes darkened in response.

Seemingly as one, she shifted to one side as Vitaly positioned his now turgid cock at her opening.
Lifting up, Sarah pressed against the tip, very slowly drawing him into her, only stopping once he
bottomed out and they both moaned in lusty satisfaction.

She leaned back again and squeezed his thighs as she began to rock her hips in a figure-eight
movement, bumping and sliding against her more sensitive spots while she watched his passion play
across his features.

He attempted to get her to move faster by rubbing her hips, but she pointedly ignored him and closed
her eyes to the sensations she was creating. Reaching his hands out, he tweaked her nipples, causing
her to open her eyes and look at him.

When he tugged at them, she followed him down so he could lean up to suck one in his mouth. With a
gasp, she began to rotate her hips faster as he licked and sucked at her nipples, causing her to spiral
up higher and higher.

Holding tightly to his arms, Sarah lifted her hips, rising and falling harder against him as he thrust

upwards. She reached down with one hand to find her clit and rubbed her finger against it, causing
her to go over the edge with a cry.

“Don’t stop,” he ground out as he clutched at her hips, forcing her to move faster as she bounced
helplessly on top of her, one orgasm easily rolling into the next with his name becoming one long
moan. With a shout, his own orgasm took hold, gripping him tightly before releasing as he pulled her
to him, kissing her deeply while he emptied himself inside her.

Sarah collapsed on top of him, her body continuing to spasm as he stroked her back.

“That…that was amazing,” she finally managed to say. She kissed his chin, suddenly too tired to
move.

He stroked her hair, kissing her head with a chuckle. “Every day is amazing when you are with me,
kotyonok.”

Chapter 2

Their morning was spent making love on every piece of furniture in the small cottage before they
finally paused to breathe. Already well past noon, they were enjoying a leisurely lunch on the deck as
they looked out at the azure sea.

“It’s so beautiful here,” Sarah commented as she looked out at the clear blue water. “It’s going to be
difficult returning to San Jose.”

Vitaly nodded. “Unfortunately, this place is not for sale, but if you would like, we could buy a similar
place to have some where to go when we want to get away,” he offered as he speared a piece of his
omelet.

Bemused,  Sarah  was  still  getting  used  to  how  much  money  her  new  husband  had  that  he  could  so
nonchalantly  offer  to  buy  an  island.  “Let’s  think  about  it,”  she  ventured,  suddenly  shy  about  the
prospect. “Perhaps we might want to find something a bit closer to home, for weekend getaways,” she
offered,  feeling  better  about  her  answer.  Tilting  her  head,  she  looked  at  him.  “Maybe  a  mountain
getaway with no cell phone service,” she added as his phone began to ring.

With a rueful smile, he stood up to retrieve his phone. “Duly noted, wife,” he called out as Sarah
laughed.

Sobering as Vitaly walked away, Sarah really did wish that she could have him all to herself, at the
very least on their honeymoon. While she knew that she married a workaholic, heck, she had to admit
to those tendencies, she wished that he would at least put the phone down for a few days. Granted,
espionage, kidnapping, and attempted murder would make anyone cautious, but he had a loyal staff,
all of whom had received thorough background checks. The least he could do was limit his phone
calls to once per day.

Sarah frowned and swore that she wouldn’t get upset, again, when she heard his phone ring for the
third time. Sighing, she decided to take a shower and hoped that he would be done when she got out.

When she walked into the over-sized shower, she turned on the sprayers and stepped into what she
had been referring to as a little piece of heaven. Despite the cottage’s diminutive size, the bathroom
was luxurious with folding doors that opened out onto a deck overlooking the ocean, a river stone
shower with seven sprayers positioned to hit every part of the body, and a Japanese soaking tub she
had already used more than once.

She stood under the sprayers with her eyes closed and hoped that it would wash her negative feelings
away  along  with  the  sand.  She  poured  body  wash  on  a  washcloth  and  began  to  wash  herself,
luxuriating  in  the  feel  of  the  cloth  as  she  rubbed  it  all  over  her  body.  Running  the  cloth  over  her
breasts,  she  spent  extra  time  rubbing  her  nipples  with  the  slightly  abrasive  material,  enjoying  the
sensations  on  her  over-sensitized  nipples.  She  moaned  as  she  ran  the  cloth  down  her  abdomen  and
across her mound, loving the tickling sensation it created.

She was so engrossed in what she was doing, that she didn’t see Vitaly watching her. He was about to
join her when his phone rang again. Looking down at the caller ID, he looked regretfully at his wife
before grabbing the phone and taking it into the other room. There will be time later, he thought as he
answered the call.

Stepping out of the shower, Sarah toweled off before rubbing lotion on her sun-kissed skin. As she
brushed her hair out, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Well, at least one of us will look
like we were on vacation, she thought as she took in her sun-streaked hair.

Walking into the bedroom to get dressed, she opened a drawer to pull out panties and bra and stared
at the contents speculatively. Something didn’t look right. She began to panic as she shifted around in
the drawer, then opened the others to search. It can’t be!

Dressing quickly in shorts and a t-shirt, she walked out into the common area and began opening
cabinets and drawers, still searching. Vitaly had stepped outside to talk and came back in when he
heard her moving about. He watched as Sarah became frantic.

She turned toward him. “It’s missing. I can’t find it anywhere,” she said to him, as he looked at her
puzzled.

Lifting the phone away from his mouth, he asked, “What is?”

“My necklace – the one you gave me before the wedding. I can’t find it anywhere.” Raising an
eyebrow, Vitaly continued to talk to his caller as Sarah looked at him in exasperation. “Would you
please get off the phone for a damn minute? My ten thousand dollar diamond necklace is missing!”

He lifted the phone away from his mouth to ask, “Are you sure you didn’t send it back to San Jose
with your dress?”

“Of course, I’m sure. I had it on when we got here. Evidently, I’m the only one who knows that
though, as you can’t be bothered to put the phone down long enough to help me look for it. You know
what, never mind. As you would say, it’s only money. It isn’t as if it has any emotional value to me.”
Glaring at him, Sarah headed for the door. “I’m going for a walk.”

As Sarah stormed out of the cottage, Vitaly sadly watched her go.

“You know, boss, only my opinion, but you should have gotten off the phone. She sounds pissed,”
Ivan, Vitaly’s chief of security told him. “There’s nothing you can do here until you get back. The
lawyers are busy filing motions for release of documents and no charges have yet to be filed.”

Rubbing his temple, Vitaly paced the cottage. “Has anyone been able to find out how all this
happened?”

“Dmitri Nardiv, who else? It appears that he had this in the works some months ago, but at the speed
the government works, only now did an agent get around to investigating the allegations. It doesn’t
help that any potential evidence has gone down with the ship,” Ivan replied dryly.

“Would that make this a FUBAR or a SNAFU,” Vitaly asked, making an attempt at humor.

“Oh, I’d say that we have graduated to cluster fuck,” Ivan replied. “But I am glad to hear that you are
at least trying to have a sense of humor about all this.”

“I can’t say how happy I am that no one died – even if it might mean time in a federal prison.”

“Well, let’s not jump to conclusions, boss. What does Sarah have to say about all this?”

“I haven’t told her,” Vitaly answered ruefully.

“What? She deserves to know.”

“It’s our honeymoon. It’s bad enough that she’s pissed about all the time I’m spending on the phone,
what do you think she would say when she finds out that the US government is investigating me for
smuggling a n d the evidence mysteriously went overboard when the cargo ship crossed over the
Atlantic?”

“Well, for one thing, she’d be a lot less pissed. She’d also be packing your bags and insisting that you
return.”

“Precisely. I’d rather she be pissed at me than completely ruin our honeymoon.”

“I-” before Ivan could finish, a small explosion caught Vitaly’s attention as he ran outside.

“Oh shit, the yacht is on fire.”

“What?” Ivan demanded.

Jumping up on the retaining wall, Vitaly looked around for Sarah, but couldn’t find her anywhere.
When he scanned the beach, he saw two men carrying a limp body onto a small speedboat and
jumping on.

“Sarah!” Vitaly screamed out. Dropping the phone, he ran for the beach and watched as the boat sped
away. He looked toward the yacht, but it was now completely engulfed in flames. His knees hit the
ground as he stared at the rapidly disappearing boat heading toward open water.

Running back to the house, Vitaly retrieved his phone, surprised that it was still connected as he could
hear Ivan yelling before he brought it to his ear.

“Sarah,” he began. “She’s been kidnapped.”

“What? Again?”

“Yes, again. Oh, fuck, Ivan. They set fire to the yacht. I’m stuck here. Do something!”

Chapter 3

Sarah woke to the gentle sway of a boat as she slowly opened her eyes. Sitting up, she closed her
eyes again at the sudden roll of her stomach. She rubbed her head and winced before feeling
delicately around a bump on the back of her head. What the…?

She clutched at her stomach as she stood, willing the nausea to go away as she took a few tentative
steps forward. She was surprised to find the door unlocked as she pulled it open and lurched out.
Walking down the short hallway, she found a ladder going up and climbed, all the while warning
herself not to throw up.

At the top, she stepped out on deck, surprised to see that she was at sea. Looking around, she couldn’t
see any land as she willed herself not to panic. The sudden shift of the boat was too much for her and
she quickly moved to the rail and began emptying the contents of her stomach over the side and into
the sea.

When her stomach was empty, she continued to dry heave until nothing more came up. As she stepped
back from the rail, she bumped into a hand holding a small towel and a bottle of water. Grabbing
both, she wiped her mouth and opened the bottle, taking a swig and rinsing her mouth out.

When she turned to thank whoever handed it to her, she narrowed her gaze when she saw a woman
about her age, wearing her necklace. Taking a swig of water, Sarah looked at her. “You’re wearing
my necklace,” she stated as she stared at the woman.

Fingering the choker, the woman gave her a spiteful smile. “It’s mine now,” she answered.

“Wanna bet?” Before Sarah could take a step toward her, an arm snaked around her waist and she
was pulled up against a hard body.

“Now, you had best be minding your manners and not starting any fights,” a male voice told her as he
easily swung her away from the woman who crossed her arms and gave her a smug look. Setting
Sarah down, he gripped her arm as she tried to pull away from him. “No, you don’t. The captain
wants to see you.”

Before Sarah could reply, he jerked her arm and dragged her across the deck and into a deck cabin.

When they walked inside, Sarah managed to pull her arm away and rubbed it as she looked around.
The man who grabbed her smelled as though he hadn’t bathed in more than a week, and she wrinkled
her nose. Significantly taller than Vitaly, this guy’s shoulders were almost as wide as he was tall, and
his entire body appeared to be muscle. In what probably amounted to clean for him, he was dressed in
a pair of cargo shorts, tank top, and sandals.

What skin she could see was covered in tattoos, many of which looked to be military in origin, with
several having a decided ocean theme, including a rather ominous sea serpent wrapped around his leg
and what looked to be covering some nasty scars. She took note of his hard-edge around the eyes,

along with something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Swallowing her fear, she looked around what she assumed was the captain’s cabin. An unmade bed
was along one wall and clothes were strewn all over. An overly large desk dwarfed the cabin and it
was covered in books and papers, with more lying on the floor.

“Pardon the mess, Mrs. Chekov, but the maid has yet to clean today,” came a sardonic voice. Turning
her head, Sarah looked up and up into the serious face of whom she presumed was the captain. In his
late thirties, he was taller than the behemoth next to him, incredibly well-built in an oh so sexy way,
and deeply tan. His long brown hair was streaked with blond, and he had it pulled back into a
ponytail. She was surprised to see a look of bemusement on his face as she stared into the bluest eyes
she had ever seen above in several days beard growth.

Pretending at a level of bravery that she really didn’t have, Sarah commented, “Not to worry, I’ve
seen much worse.” At his bark of laughter, she looked at him. “Why am I here?”

Tilting his head, he looked at her. “You haven’t figured it out yet? This is a kidnapping.” At her
quizzical look, he added, “For ransom.”

Shaking her head, she asked, “So, what, you’re pirates?”

“Aye, lassie,” came a reply from the man she had first met.

Both men looked at each other in confusion as Sarah started laughing. Once she started, she couldn’t
stop, and she wiped at the tears pouring down her face.

The captain looked at the other guy. “How hard did you hit her?”

“Not that hard,” he replied as they both watched her laughter slowly draw to a stop as she clutched at
her stomach.

Hiccupping, Sarah burped loudly, continuing to chuckle. “It’s just that, I’ve been kidnapped before,
and well, it was much scarier than this, and well…pirates…really?” She collapsed in the nearest
chair as she started laughing again. “Honestly, Dmitri needs to find something new. Been there, done
that,” she finished.

“Who is Dmitri?” the one guy asked the captain.

The captain shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe we should have the doc check her out for a concussion,”
he replied. “Mrs. Chekov, I can assure you that there is no Dmitri on board my ship.”

“So, you’re not an associate of Nardiv?” Sarah asked, looking from one to another. At their shakes of
the head, she started laughing again. “So, you’re actually…pirates? Oh, that’s rich.”

The captain crossed his arms and stared down at her. “Max,” he barked prompting the other man to
stand up from where he was leaning. “Get the doc in here now to check her for a head injury before I
lose my patience.”

“Aye, Captain,” Max replied as he scurried out the door.

Holding up her hand, Sarah did her best to stop laughing. “I’m sorry, really. It’s just that, this last year
or  so,  has  been  an  absolute  nightmare,  what  with  attempted  murder  and  my  husband  ending  up  in  a
coma;  then  there  was  the  espionage;  oh,  and  my  kidnapping.  This  is  supposed  to  be  my  honeymoon
and  Vitaly has been spending all his time on the phone, so when  I stormed off and  I guess, ran into
Max, well…another kidnapping? Really?”

As Sarah fought to stop the laughter that kept bubbling out, she realized that it was either that or cry.
She slowly snorted her way to silence.

Standing up, she paced to the window to look out. “So, what’s the next step?” she asked him,
suddenly serious.

He looked at her in surprise, “A ransom demand will be made.”

“How much?”

“One million.”

Snorting, Sarah turned around to look at him. “Cash, I presume?” At his nod, she continued, “And
how is he supposed to come up with that much, let alone get it to you? It isn’t as though he can leave
that amount in a suitcase somewhere. Besides, the minute he tries to draw that much out of the bank,
red flags will go up.” As she talked, Sarah found her nausea returning as she clutched at her stomach.
Before the captain could respond, she bolted from the cabin, hanging her head over the rail as she
retched.

The captain stood at the window speculatively watching her, as the ship’s doctor walked in.

“Max said there was a problem with the girl?”

With a shrug, the captain replied, “From the way she was acting, I suspected that Max might have hit
her over the head too hard, but now…”

“Now?”

“Are there any pregnancy tests in med supply?”

Chapter 4

Vitaly was on his third lap around the small honeymoon island. Having already worn a path through
the cottage and around it, he resorted to doing laps around the island to curb both his anger and his
fear. And with each step, he cursed in Russian, angry at himself and the world with the current set of
events.

His last moment with Sarah was yet another conflict as he relived her storming out of the cottage in
anger, over and over in his head.

Will I never learn?

Sarah was the most important person in his life and he would gladly give up everything to take back
what happened two days ago. Two days stuck on this island and no idea if she was okay. He swore
again, sure that he would go insane with worry.

He looked up at the sound of a helicopter, as he watched it circle around, as the pilot looked for a
place to land. Breaking into a jog, he headed toward where it touched down, arriving as Ivan was
climbing out. He was never so happy to see his head of security.

“Ivan!” he called out as the pilot cut the engine.

Striding toward him, Vitaly stopped as Ivan surveyed the damage to the yacht, which had capsized
and what was left was sitting low in the water.

“It stopped smoking yesterday,” Vitaly told him, as Ivan turned to look at him.

“So, uh, boss, I’d say that you’ve graduated from cluster fuck to FUBAR – on a monumental level.”

“Tell me about it. Come. Let’s go inside.” Leading the way, the two men walked into the cottage,
giving Ivan the opportunity to look around as they walked. From the looks of the path and many of the
broken plants, Vitaly had been beating a trail around as he waited for his arrival. When they walked
inside, Ivan set his bag down and took a quick look around the inside, which looked like a small
tornado had blown through.

Stepping over a broken chair, Vitaly opened the fridge, pulled out two bottles of water, handing one
to Ivan.

“So…I’m presuming that you haven’t handled this well,” Ivan began as he looked at the damage.
“Any ransom demands made yet?”

Vitaly shook his head. “Nyet. And local law enforcement has been useless. They won’t even come out
here. When I brought up the yacht, the gendarme said that they would pass it on to their coast guard,
but with only one boat, they had no idea when they would make it out here,” he answered as he threw
his partially full bottle against the wall in anger.

Not flinching, Ivan sipped at his water. “Glad to see you’ve been proactive before I could get here,”
he replied as Vitaly sagged.

“I haven’t slept, and I’m going insane stuck here. We aren’t that far from St. Thomas, I don’t know
why I can’t get anyone out here.”

“Maybe they heard you throwing things,” Ivan offered.

Vitaly stared at him, wondering how he could be so nonchalant during all of this. He waited for him
to back down, but Ivan met his gaze head on.

“Based on what you saw, I’m presuming that this is another kidnapping. My sources indicate that
Nardiv had nothing to do with it, nor can I find any clue as to who might be behind it. Are you sure
that no one has contacted you?”

“Of course, I am!” Vitaly shouted.

Holding his hands up in surrender, Ivan continued, “All right. Have you checked Sarah’s phone?”

“What?”

“Sarah’s phone. Have any messages come in to her phone?”

Staring at Ivan, Vitaly opened and closed his mouth a couple times, as his eyes scanned the room. He
rushed to the bedroom, and Ivan could hear things thrown around before Vitaly returned.

“She turned her phone off before we boarded the yacht, so it should still have a charge.”

He muttered in Russian as he waited for her phone to boot. Seeing that she had multiple messages, he
flipped through them, ignoring the well wishes from her family and friends. When he came across one
from an unknown number, he swore again as he opened it up to see a picture of Sarah holding a local
newspaper from yesterday and a message demanding one million dollars in US currency.

“Why the hell didn’t they contact me directly?” Vitaly shouted as Ivan walked over to take the phone
from him.

“Maybe they didn’t have your number,” Ivan suggested as he checked the message before reaching for
his own phone.

“What are you talking about? Sarah knows my number.”

“Does she? She may have it programmed in her phone, but it doesn’t mean she has it memorized. Do
you know hers?”

As realization dawned on Vitaly, Ivan was already on his phone attempting to track the caller.

Chapter 5

Sarah woke when she felt the boat she was on bump into something. She sat up and looked out the
window to see that they had stopped at a small dock. Jumping up, she rushed to the door, only to find
it locked. She turned around with a sigh and sagged back onto the bed.

It had been almost three days since she was kidnapped and she worried that it wouldn’t occur to
Vitaly to check her phone. She kicked herself for not having his cell phone number memorized, but
honestly, who remembered phone numbers anymore? When they hadn’t heard back after the first day,
she had suggested that they contact VIC Enterprises, but Harper, the pirate captain refused.

She reached for the rubber band on her wrist and began snapping at the pressure point the doctor
showed her to help keep her nausea at bay. She couldn’t believe it when he had told her that she was
pregnant. She thought that she had been so careful. While having children was a dream of hers, she
wasn’t ready yet – maybe in a couple years, but now?

Sarah rubbed her flat stomach, wondering what Vitaly would think once he found out. She knew that
he wanted children, but was he prepared to be a father?

Hearing  voices  outside,  she  looked  out  the  window  to  see  Max  and  his  sister,  Piper,  along  with
several  other  crew  members  loading  supplies  onto  the  converted  fishing  trawler  that  was  home  to
twelve men and five women. While Piper was tall, like her brother, the family resemblance seemed
to end there. Where he was the size of a truck, she was willowy. Although the way she was carting
supplies  back  to  the  ship,  Sarah  didn’t  doubt  her  strength. You  would  have  to  be  strong  to  live  the
way they do and probably know how to fight.

After finding out she was pregnant, Sarah agreed not to cause any trouble or put herself in danger and
in return, she was allowed to roam around the boat, except when they were docked. For the most part,
everyone on board ignored her and while she felt lonely, she didn’t want to think about the worst.
She’d read too many stories about brutalities committed during kidnap and ransom cases and some of
it was horrific. All things considered, being ignored wasn’t so bad.

Sarah narrowed her gaze when she caught a glint off Piper’s neck. She was so going to get her
necklace back. Of that, I’m sure, she vowed when she saw the young woman moving back down the
dock wearing her choker.

She turned when she heard her door open to see the resident doctor step inside and shut the door
behind him. “Here,” he said, handing her a small package and setting several bottles of water down
near the door. “It should help with your nausea.”

Taking the small package, Sarah couldn’t resist replying, “You know what would help me more? Not
being on this boat.”

The doctor shrugged. “Sorry, can’t help you there. No one goes against Harper.”

“Or what?” she questioned, curious as to what kind of man he was.

“Or nothing – the captain was instrumental in saving all of us in one way or another. Loyalty is thick
on this boat. What he says, goes.” Knocking on the door, it was opened from the outside, as the doc
backed out of the room. “I hope you feel better,” he told her before shutting the door behind him.

When she opened the bag he handed her, Sarah was surprised to see prenatal vitamins and an anti-
nausea drug.

Well, if I’m going to be kidnapped, again, I suppose it could be much worse.

Chapter 6

Vitaly slammed his hand down on the counter in frustration. “How can I possibly save my wife if the
US government has tied up all my bank accounts?” he demanded, as he swept the dishes off the
counter in frustration. “This is outrageous! Do they not know what’s going on?”

“I don’t think that they care, boss. The seizure of your accounts was by the justice department. Since
you refused assistance from the FBI with the kidnapping, it will simply take more time to get the funds
from your offshore accounts.”

“The FBI was useless the last time around, why would I depend on them now?” Vitaly demanded, as
he began opening cabinets.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit early for vod-” Ivan began before he held up his hands in surrender at
Vitaly’s angry glare. “We have been in contact with the kidnappers, and they are aware that you are
working to get the funds and that it will take another two days.”

“And they were okay with that?”

Ivan replied with a shrug, “No idea, but if they have internet access, they can’t miss the news of the
seizure of VIC Enterprise’s assets.”

Rubbing his head, Vitaly said, “This could ruin me. At the very least, it will take months or possibly
even years to straighten out, and by then, all my logistics clients will have moved on.”

“You do have other businesses. And I’ve no doubt that you would be successful at anything you
built,” Ivan added.

“Meanwhile, almost two hundred people are out of a job,” Vitaly answered forlornly, “and I can’t
even compensate them with my accounts frozen.”

“Everyone understands. They may not like it, but no one faults you. I’ll say this much for him, Nardiv
was thorough in his vengeance against you.”

Finding a partial bottle of vodka, Vitaly opened it and poured some into a glass. “That was always
his strong suit. When we first worked together, everyone was afraid of pissing him off. There were
times that death might have been preferred to the vengeance he dished out.”

Sarah’s phone beeped, interrupting Ivan before he could speak. Picking it up, he checked the message.
“Another photo of Sarah,” he told Vitaly, as he handed him the phone.

Grabbing it, Vitaly stared down at the photo of his wife. She looked disheveled and tired, but none
the worse for wear. When he tossed the phone down on the counter in frustration, Ivan quickly
grabbed it and set it well away from Vitaly’s reach.

“Do we have any more information on the kidnappers?”

With a nod, Ivan picked up his tablet and flipped through files. “The captain’s name is Cash Harper.
Ex-military turned pirate, thirty-six, divorced, bit of a Robin Hood with a loyal following. There is
even a Facebook page dedicated to him.” Ash he handed Vitaly the tablet to read, he continued, “This
isn’t his first kidnap and ransom, and from what I could find out, no one has ever been intentionally
harmed.”

Staring blindly at the tablet, Vitaly handed it back, unable to focus to read any of the data. “We need
to speed this up.”

“It takes time to move that amount of money. It would be far easier if we could do this electronically,
but since he’s demanding cash, we have to wait for the courier.”

“We could fly to Florida and deal directly with the bank,” Vitaly ventured as he gripped the counter
in agitation.

“Well, given that there’s a warrant out for your arrest, the best place for you is right here, away from
government hands. The lawyers have already warned that as soon as you return to the States, you will
probably be arrested immediately.”

“I know…has there been any progress?”

“My morning report indicated that they have submitted motions to have your arrest overturned, as
well as the release of all data from the justice department. A federal judge is reviewing it today.”

“Fuck!” Vitaly yelled as he swept the bottle and glass off the counter and sent it crashing to the floor.

Raising an eyebrow, Ivan pointed out, “You know, boss, it isn’t as if there’s a liquor store just down
the street. If you need to release your frustrations, might I suggest a run on the beach or possibly a
long swim?”

Chapter 7

Sarah stared at Captain Harper as he shared the news with her about the assets seizure of VIC
Enterprises and the allegations of smuggling.

“So, does this mean you’ll let me go?” she asked him hopefully.

Shaking his head, he disagreed, “No, it simply means that you will be spending a bit more time with
us.”

Sarah turned away, sighing as she reached for a peppermint candy and stuffed it in her mouth.

“How is the morning sickness?”

“It would be a whole lot better if I was on solid ground,” Sarah replied, turning to glare at him.

“Your husband’s chief of security is good at his job, we have to keep moving and that means staying
out on the water,” he explained as she sagged into a chair.

As they talked, Piper walked in and deposited food on the table before smiling sweetly at the captain
and sauntering out. Sarah watched her walk, anger heating her.

She stood up with her hands on her hips. “When I do leave here, I will be taking my necklace with
me,” she told the captain as he gave her an amused look.

“Good luck with that, Mrs. Chekov. She loves that necklace.”

“So. Do. I.”

Sarah was about to say more, but the room began to spin and she blindly reached out to sit back
down, but suddenly the chair wasn’t where it was before. Harper jumped up and caught her right
before she fell. Scooping her up into his arms, he opened his door and strode out into the hall yelling
for the doctor.

###

Sarah woke to the sound of muffled voices. Rolling to her side, she listened as the captain had a
heated discussion with what sounded like the doctor.

“Will she be okay?”

“Without any equipment, I can’t be sure. Her blood pressure is a little high and her pulse was erratic,
but based on what you said, it may simply be her agitation. I will monitor her vitals, but the best thing
for her is to get her back to her husband.”

“Not until we have the money. Do you have any idea how many lives we can help with that amount?”

“Do you really want to risk his wrath if something happens to her while she’s onboard?”

“Just do your job, Doc, and let me do mine.”

###

When Sarah woke again, all was quiet. Lifting her head, she could see that it was dark out and the
moon was high in the sky. When she sat up, she realized that for the first time since she’d arrived, she
wasn’t nauseous.

She wondered if a shower was possible and decided to find out. Opening her door, she walked out
into the quiet hall before wandering out on deck.

A cool ocean breeze greeted her as she stepped out to the rail. She closed her eyes and tilted her head
up to the sky as she let the tropical breeze wash over her. Regretting her angry outburst on the island,
she really wished that she was back at the cottage with Vitaly. She turned her head toward the bow
when she heard noises from that direction. Curious, she went to investigate.

What she found should have had her scurrying back to her room, but Sarah found herself rooted to the
spot her own body suddenly flushed with need.

Captain Harper’s very naked back was to her. Tattoos snaked their way across his body and seemed
to move with a life of their own as his muscles rippled in the moonlight. A pair of legs was wrapped
tightly around his middle, and she heard a very female voice mixed in with his grunts.

When she stepped forward to get a better look, Sarah bumped into something as she looked down to
step around it. Looking back at the couple, she looked into the eyes of Piper as she whispered into
Harper’s ear. The couple both turned slightly to look at her, not bothering to stop what they were
doing as he continued to plunge in and out of her.

As Sarah continued to watch, she couldn’t help but feel turned on at the couple’s obvious arousal as
they fucked in the moonlight. The way the breeze brushed tantalizingly against her, she could well
imagine how good it must feel as it tickled along their fevered skin.

She wondered if this was how the limo driver felt when he watched Vitaly take her in the car. Her
body so alive, as she leaned against him, as his hands swept her up higher and higher until pleasure
overtook her. She now knew how he felt as she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the
erotic scene playing out before her.

The knowledge that they were now on display didn’t seem to stop the overly sensuous bubble the
couple seemed encased in as they remained intent upon each other, each movement spiraling their
pleasure higher and higher.

Piper’s soft sounds brought Sarah back as she watched them with avid interest. When the other

woman crooked her finger at Sarah, inviting her to join them, Sarah shook her head no. Laughing,
Piper, kissed the captain, nipping at his lower lip before sucking it into her mouth. His groan of
pleasure could be heard across the deck as he sped up his thrusts.

Sarah resisted the urge to pleasure herself as she clutched her arms, feeling her own arousal blanket
her body and block out the breeze that fluttered across the deck.

Piper’s sounds of pleasure grew louder as she punctuated her moans with choice words that only
seemed to drive the captain wild as his grunts grew louder and his hips moved faster. With a cry that
was immediately muffled by his lips, she appeared to come as he continued to thrust into her,
groaning as he slammed against her hips, one last time before shaking as he came.

Stepping back, he set her back on her feet before scooping up his clothes. Sarah watched as he peeled
a condom off, tossing it into a bucket, and then walked toward his cabin, leaving Piper behind as she
reclined back on the deck her head tilted toward the sky, the breeze cooling her fevered skin and her
body alive with pleasure.

Reaching for her clothes, Piper pulled them on and then headed back below deck, smirking at Sarah
as she walked past.

“You should have joined us. The captain enjoys a good threesome,” she told her before she walked
inside.

Sarah turned and looked back out over the water, willing her now fevered body to calm down. She
wondered how much longer it was going to take Vitaly to get the money together. Or if he even could.
A month ago, one million dollars was a drop in the bucket, but with everything going on, would he
even be able to get it together? And what would happen to her if he couldn’t? Would the captain settle
for a lesser amount? Would he let her go?

In watching how the captain behaved, she didn’t believe that he was the type to hurt or possibly kill
her in retribution – but realistically, she knew nothing about him or what he was capable of.

Chapter 8

Sarah woke again to the feeling of the boat bumping against something. Assuming that they were
docking for more supplies, she rolled over, only to be met with a blast of bright light as the sun shone
brightly into her room. She covered her head and groaned in complaint.

Unable to fall asleep last night, she had wandered around the boat, amazed that no one bothered to
stop her or check on her. Having found her way down one level to the crew’s quarters, she located
the showers and took a tepid shower, pleased finally to wash the sweat and grime off her body.

When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and gathered her dirty clothes in
her arms. Walking past the laundry, she tossed her clothes in the washer and found something clean to
wear. The over-sized shirt she pulled over her head dropped to her knees, covering her completely.
She assumed that it probably belonged to Max or the captain, as they were the largest men on board
the trawler. Not caring about permission, she returned to her room and tried to fall asleep. It was
close to dawn when she had finally stopped tossing and turning.

As she sat up, she was surprised to see her clothes, now clean, folded by the door. Changing back
into her shorts and t-shirt, she checked the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. She followed
the voices down the hall and out on deck to what appeared to be a meeting.

Without pausing, the captain watched her walk out and stand toward the back as he continued to
instruct the crew.

“We are not anticipating that this will be a clean exchange, so we need to keep an eye out for law
enforcement.” Pointing to Sarah, he continued, “Mrs. Chekov, it appears that your husband was able
to come up with your ransom. If all goes well, you will be leaving us today.”

With  a  nod,  Sarah  smiled  to  herself,  pleased  that  she  would  finally  be  getting  off  this  boat.  She
listened  quietly  as  the  captain  went  over  all  potential  contingencies.  She  was  impressed  –  under
different  circumstances,  he  could  easily  step  into  Ivan’s  role  and,  chances  are  be,  a  stout  ally  for
Vitaly.

At the appointed hour, Sarah disembarked from the fishing trawler for the first time in a week.
Pleased to be on dry land, she didn’t have much time to enjoy her first steps before Harper firmly
gripped her elbow and tugged her toward what appeared to be a beach bar. As the walked across the
beach, she couldn’t see any of his other men and the area was disserted.

Climbing up the three steps, he pushed her down into a chair and turned around, appearing to look for
someone. He didn’t have long to wait as Vitaly emerged from the darkened interior carrying two large
black duffle bags.

Sarah jumped up to run to him, but was stopped as Harper put his arm out. “Sit,” he commanded, and
she reluctantly sat back down.

Looking at Vitaly, she wanted to wrap him in her arms. He looked worse than she felt with his eyes
bloodshot from lack of sleep and obvious drinking. While she knew that he was being bombarded at
both ends, he looked far worse than she had anticipated as he blinked his eyes in the bright light
before seeming to survey Sarah to make sure that she was okay.

He set the bags down on a table between them. “I’ll take my wife now,” he stated flatly, giving
Harper a hard stare.

After  he  nodded  his  head  in  agreement,  Sarah  jumped  up  and  ran  over  into  Vitaly’s  waiting  arms.
When Harper reached for the bags, they heard a commotion from the other side of the bar. Grabbing
the bags, he tossed them over the rail, before jumping to the sand to retrieve them.  He began to run
across  the  sand,  but  didn’t  make  it  far  before  he  was  tackled  from  behind  and  quickly  taken  into
custody.

Wrapped safely in Vitaly’s arms, Sarah watched the beach come alive as law enforcement appeared
out of nowhere and apprehended every one of Harper’s crew who came onshore. Before the trawler
could be seized, Sarah watched it puffing out to sea.

“Are you okay, kotyonok?” he asked her, hugging her tightly to him.

Sarah nodded and buried her head against his chest, glad that this nightmare was finally over. “Let’s
go home,” she said, sniffling.

As Vitaly escorted her out of the bar, he guided her toward a waiting jeep with a very relieved Ivan
sitting behind the wheel. Jumping out, he gave Sarah a big hug.

“I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are back with us,” he told her. His concern for both
her’and Vitaly’s well-being was evident in his tone.

“Has he been much trouble?” she asked, a hint of a smile in her voice.

“Well, let’s just say that you won’t be getting your deposit back on the cottage.”

Before Sarah could reply, Vitaly interrupted, “If you two are done talking about me, I would like to
get my wife out of here.”

As Sarah was about to climb onto the jeep, she spotted both Max and Piper in handcuffs.

“Wait,” she told them as she wriggled out of Vitaly’s grasp. Marching over to Piper, she grabbed the
choker, dragging it around so the clasp was in front, and snapping it open. Pulling it off her neck, she
looked at Piper. “I told you that I would get it back,” she said smugly as Piper glared at her. With the
necklace clutched tightly in her hand, she walked back over to the jeep and climbed inside.

Looking at his wife, Vitaly shook his head, “I would have bought you another one.”

“It was a wedding present,” she stated flatly, as she leaned back against the seat, suddenly exhausted.

“Well, then,” Ivan started to say, before he chuckled. “Let’s get you two out of here.”

Unable to leave as quickly as they would have liked, they were forced to spend the remainder of the
day giving statements. Sarah was questioned by three different people, each one asking her the same
exact questions. By the time she was done, she couldn’t see straight, as exhaustion was threatening to
overwhelm her.

Returning to the cottage, Sarah looked at the mess Vitaly had made as he shrugged his shoulders
sheepishly. Not bothering to say anything, she walked into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed.

“Let her go,” Ivan told Vitaly as he went to follow her. “She’s exhausted.”

“There are things that we need to talk about.”

“And that will have to wait. We aren’t expected to leave until tomorrow morning. There will be
plenty of time for that.”

Vitaly looked around the cottage with a deep sigh, suddenly seeing it the way Sarah did. “Wow, I
really made a mess of this place.”

Chapter 9

Sarah had refused an examination by one of the island doctors, stating that she would see her own
physician when she returned to San Jose. Not wanting to waste any more time, Vitaly agreed, and she
inwardly sighed in relief, not quite ready to tell him that she was pregnant.

On the flight back, she listened quietly as Vitaly and Ivan discussed potential scenarios when they
arrived – the worst being that Vitaly would be arrested the moment they landed.

As they talked, she fingered her choker, which she had refused to remove since getting it back. She
had to give Captain Harper props for successfully completing the exchange. When Ivan had checked
in with the local gendarme before they left, he was surprised to find out that not only was their no
trace of the captain or his crew, but the money was also missing.

While the constable was quick to apologize, Ivan didn’t get the impression that there would be any
attempts to look for them. One million dollars could go a long way.

After the plane hit a bit of rocky turbulence, Sarah removed her seatbelt and bolted for the bathroom.
When she came out, both Vitaly and Ivan were looking at her with concern, but she shrugged it off,
claiming that she had battled motion sickness the entire time she was on the boat and her stomach had
yet to settle.

Ivan continued to give her a curious look, as Vitaly shrugged it off, once she again agreed to see her
doctor. Sipping on some club soda, she listened as the two men talked about the smuggling
allegations.

Apparently, one of Dmitri Nardiv’s last attempts to get at Vitaly involved planting contraband on one
of the cargo ships Vitaly had contracted to deliver product from Russia. Unfortunately, an unexpected
storm coupled with broken cargo lines sent the shipping freights to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean,
something the justice department viewed with suspicion.

In a bold move, the JD had shut down both the east and west coast offices of VIC Enterprises and
froze all the accounts. Vitaly’s lawyers were moving quickly to try to stop what could result in
catastrophe for the company, as clients were already breaking contracts and moving to other logistics
companies. Even if the JD’s case fizzled, the damage to Vitaly’s reputation could be enough to see his
company forced to close. Either way, it was a win for Nardiv, even if he would have to enjoy it from
prison.

As Sarah felt the familiar release of landing gear, she tightened her hold on Vitaly, suddenly worried
about what their future might hold. While she didn’t doubt his ability to bounce back, she wondered at
what cost would be. They had been through so much, when would it all end?

As they touched down and the plane taxied toward their private hangar, Sarah looked out the window
to see a row of vehicles, blinking orange lights, driving toward them. Letting out a sob, she folded
herself into Vitaly’s arms, not ready to give him up after only returning to him yesterday.

She buried her head in his chest and held onto him as the tears she had kept at bay for so long came
flooding out.

“It will be okay, kotyonok. We have handled much worse,” he told her as he stroked her back.
Nodding her head, Sarah didn’t think she could speak, so she just hugged him tighter.

As the plane finally stopped, the flight attendant came out to tell them the police have requested that
everyone remains seated until they board the plane.

Sarah was unprepared for the flood of law enforcement who boarded, apparently expecting a fight, as
Vitaly, Sarah, and Ivan waited calmly. After securing the plane, dogs were brought out to search the
plane inside and out. Satisfied that there were no drugs or weapons on board, a weasely-looking man
dressed in an ill-fitting suit walked up to Vitaly to announce that he was under arrest. Waving to a
uniformed officer, he waited as he was read his rights before securing him in handcuffs. As he was
escorted off the plane, both Sarah and Ivan went to follow them out, but were stopped by an officer
who told them to wait until they left.

When they were finally able to exit the airplane, one of his lawyers was waiting for them on the
ground, and he assured him that Vitaly’s case was well in hand and they hoped to have him before a
judge tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it was three days later when, after multiple threats from their lawyers and a
sympathetic judge, were they able to set bail. Concerned that he might be a flight risk, he was further
embarrassed when he was forced to wear an ankle cuff, which only allowed him to be at ease at home
and the office.

After spending the weekend at home, he was going stir crazy and since the  JD was forced to allow
VIC  Enterprises  to  continue  to  operate,  albeit  severely  limited,  he  decided  to  go  into  the  office.
Assuming  that  the  building  would  be  empty,  he  was  surprised  to  see  the  parking  lot  full  when  he
pulled in with Sarah.

“What’s this?” he asked, as they walked inside.

“What’s what?” she asked him with a smile.

“I thought that the offices were closed. What is going on?”

“What is going on, boss, is that you have a damn loyal crew,” Ivan replied as he stepped up to shake
his hand. “Well, at least some of them. According to HR, we lost about half. Well, that was before
most of HR walked,” he added with a rueful look. “Folks are waiting for you in the auditorium.”

Vitaly swallowed hard, suddenly unsure if he could speak. Walking toward the auditorium, he paused
before opening the door. With a deep breath, he opened the door and walked inside. He was
completely unprepared for the thunderous applause that met him as everyone rose to his or her feet.

Vitaly shook hands and accepted hugs as he worked his way down the aisle to the podium where he
shook hands with his head of HR, who smiled at him broadly. When he turned around to look at the

full room, he was completely shocked to see that the room was standing room only. Everyone was
there.

“Glad to see you back,” Gary, his head of HR told him. “I was just going over the current news on the
company. Did you have anything that you wanted to say?”

“Yes, but please finish, first,” Vitaly managed to say as the room began to quiet.

Nodding his head, Gary turned the projector back on and quickly went over the day’s events. He also
covered questions on how to deal with the investigators. Toward the end, he pulled up the financials,
thanking members of senior management who had contributed to the emergency fund to help those
employees requiring assistance on their current month’s bills.

“Now, before I turn the microphone over to our CEO, let’s all give him one more round of applause.”

As everyone rose to his or her feet, Vitaly smiled for the first time in more than a week.

It was three hours before Vitaly finally made it upstairs to his office. After the meeting, he wandered
around all the floors, personally thanking everyone for the commitment, getting caught up, and feeling
better about what was going on than he had since his arrest.

As he exited out onto the tenth floor, he found his senior staff waiting for him in the conference room.
Since it was lunchtime, everyone was enjoying brown bag lunches as he walked in. He sat down and
looked at his management staff. “How?”

Looking to Sarah, she shrugged her shoulders as she smiled at him. “Don’t look at me, I was
kidnapped, remember?” As his gaze traveled around the room, he caught the blushes from his
personal staff.

“Diane? Susan?” he asked.

“We  took  a  page  from  Sarah’s  playbook,”  Diane  stated.  “When  finance  figured  out  that  the  justice
department  didn’t  freeze  all  the  accounts,  we  were  able  to  move  what  we  could  over  to  employee
salaries. After  meeting  with  senior  staff,  they  all  agreed  to  help  and  we  met  with  everyone.  Those
who  couldn’t  afford  to  take  a  temporary  drastic  cut  in  pay  left.  As  you  could  see,  most  everyone
remained,” Diane told him, smiling proudly.

“We also took up a pool and those who could afford to chip in to help out those with more severe
financial constraints did. We even offer lunchtime talks on budgeting, financial planning, and creative
home-cooked meals,” Susan added.

“We reassigned several members in marketing over to accounts and everyone has been working with
me in business development. So far, we’ve only lost three clients,” Simon stated proudly. “We will
win this,” he added, as everyone nodded his or her head.

Vitaly stared around the room at the earnest looks on everyone’s faces. “I don’t know where to
begin,” he told them. “So, I will ask you. What’s next?” And for the next two hours, his team brought

Chapter 10

As Vitaly pulled into the driveway that evening, he was exhausted, but completely elated at the love
and support he received. When he first found out about the smuggling allegations, he was convinced
that this was the end for him. While he didn’t doubt that his lawyers would do their best to remedy the
situation, he knew the blow to his reputation would destroy his firm.

He was both shocked and touched at the hard work of his entire staff and again, even though she
didn’t have anything to do with it, he had his wife to thank. Her resilience during their darkest
moments did not go unnoticed and rather than bail when things were bad, his staff stepped up to keep
things afloat.

He had been contemplating setting up a company shares program for his employees and assuming they
made it through all this, he planned to do just that.

Walking upstairs to the bedroom, he pulled his tie loose while he kicked off his shoes. He smiled
when he felt Sarah’s hands wrap around his waist. “Penny for your thoughts?” she asked him as he
pulled her around.

“What happened today was so unexpected. I had no idea how everyone felt. I was thinking that if…
when we get through this, I would like to reward them somehow – to thank them for sticking it out.”

As she rubbed her hand on his chest, Sarah looked up at him and smiled. Going up on tiptoe, she
kissed his chin. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

She reached for the tie on her dress as she stepped back. With a seductive look towards Vitaly, she
pulled it loose, allowing her wrap dress to drape open, so she stood there in her lace bra and
matching thong. She watched his eyes darken in appreciation as his gaze swept over her body.

“In the meantime, husband, how about a reward of your own,” she offered dropping the dress on the
floor.

He swept her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. “How did I get so lucky to have you in
my life?”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she tugged him toward her. “I ask myself that same question
about you,” she answered before their lips met.

One hand cradled her face as Sarah’s eyes drifted shut, the kiss slow and soft, full of promise.
Curling her hands around his neck, she moaned into his mouth, needing this moment to reassure her
that everything would work out, that no matter what changed, they would still have each other.

Vitaly’s sure hands stroked her body, stoking the fire that he so easily lit inside her to a bright flame.
Wanting to make amends for their argument on the island and for everything that had happened, she
found herself pushing at his chest as he looked down at her in surprise. She pushed him onto his back

and followed him over, straddling his hips as she looked down at him. Her long, blonde hair had
come loose from her hairband as it cascaded around her. He ran his fingers through her hair as she
gave him a sultry look.

Reaching for the buttons on his shirt, she unbuttoned them one at a time, running her fingers over the
exposed flesh. As she pulled his shirt open, she dropped her head, nibbling on the scars from his car
accident as he groaned in response. He flinched when she shifted, putting too much pressure on his
already painful erection as she reached for his belt buckle.

After pulling it loose, her hands made short work of the clasp and zipper on his trousers. Tugging at
the waistband, she raised one eyebrow, waiting for him to lift his hips so that she could pull his pants
off.

Her lips found his chest, as she kissed, licked, and nipped her way down his body. One hand found its
way to his shaft as she slowly stroked him, shuddering in response at her own arousal.

When she dropped her head, he expected her to tease him and was entirely unprepared when she gave
one long, sizzling lick up his shaft before swallowing him deep. He drew her name out on a long
moan as her hot mouth enveloped him so completely, her tongue pressed firmly to the underside of his
cock as she dragged her mouth up at a slow, tortuous pace that had him fisting the sheets in response.

Pleasure swept through him as Sarah’s mouth greedily sucked him in and out, tugging and licking as
sparks zinged their way throughout his body like electrical surges. He nearly bent in two when her
hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, the other cupping his balls, forcing all thoughts from his
head as the intensity of his pleasure increased.

His sudden need to touch her became all-consuming, and he placed a hand on her head to still her
movements. Looking up at him in surprise, she asked, “Is something wrong?”

Shaking his head no, he tapped the side of the bed. “Move over here, so I can touch you,” he told her,
unsure if his words sounded as mushy to her ear as they did to his.

Not releasing her hold on him, she climbed over his leg and positioned herself where he could touch
her before dropping her head back down and taking him into her mouth again.

Tearing his eyes from the sensual sight of her head bobbing up and down, he reached out to cup her
mound, his palm hot through her wet thong. His finger easily slipped beneath the lace as he stroked
her slit before finding her hard nub. Sarah moaned, creating a vibration against his cock that had him
pressing harder against her clit, causing an equally strong stir in her as wetness flooded his hand.

He continued to rub and tease her clit as she began to pant, sucking harder on his cock as she began to
work him at a feverish pace, drawing him deeply inside, only to drag her mouth back up, putting
pressure with her lips until he almost popped out, only to suck him back in again.

Two fingers easily plunged within her folds to mimic her pace while his thumb strummed her clit.
Sarah convulsively tightened her hand on his cock as she rocked her hips against his hand.

With a groan, he pulled his hand out and tugged at her as she quickly straddled his hips. She reached
down and slid her now soaked thong to the side before she positioned his rock hard cock and sat
down lustily, moaning as she tilted her head back in pleasure.

Grabbing her hips, Vitaly flipped her onto her back, rolling on top of her with one fluid motion, as he
began to slam into her with a frenzy that two hours ago, he didn’t think himself capable of doing.

With her legs wrapped tightly around him, Sarah arched her hips up and met him thrust for thrust as he
plunged in and out of her. Her body was tight with need, and within moments, she was falling over the
edge as an orgasm roared through her. Lifting her head, she nipped at his lower lip, sucking hard on it
as Vitaly growled. He opened his mouth, and her tongue pressed its way inside, mimicking his
movements as they both shuddered with pleasure.

One, two, three more thrusts and he pressed his hips against hers as his body continued to shake with
his release.

Collapsing on top of him, Sarah hugged him tightly before he rolled to his side, bringing her with him
as she lay sprawled against his chest, one leg draped lazily across him. With a kiss to her face, they
stroked each other, both too tired to speak.

Chapter 11

Sarah wiped the foggy mirror with her t-shirt as she stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t
believe that two weeks had flown by so quickly and she had yet to make an appointment to see her
doctor.

She looked at herself, wondering if she looked different. Wasn’t she supposed to have a healthy
glow? Squinting her eyes, she wondered if her breasts were bigger.

She felt guilty not sharing the news with Vitaly, but with everything going on, she didn’t want to add
to his worry. She knew him well enough to know that he would balk at her traveling back and forth to
New York, but since he presently couldn’t leave the state, until they found someone, it was up to her
to meet with the representatives from the Port Authority. Maybe if she told him, he’d be less worried
about his court appearance today, she thought.

Sighing, she wrapped herself in her robe and walked out to the bedroom to find Vitaly fretting over
his tie. She walked up to him with a smile and placed her hands on his. Without waiting for him to
acknowledge her, she calmly tied his tie while he smiled at her gratefully.

“I guess I’m a bit nervous,” he admitted.

“I really wish that I could be in court with you today.”

“I know, kotyonok, but you are needed in New York. I can’t be there, and I need you to do your magic
and keep them from freezing us out. If we lose the contracts with the port districts, having clients
won’t mean a damn thing if we can’t offload on the east coast.”

Nodding her head, Sarah gave his tie one last adjustment before going up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“Just know that I’ll be thinking of you.”

After Vitaly left, Sarah packed a few remaining items to bring with her. As she grabbed her suitcase
to bring it downstairs, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Not telling him was the right
thing to do, she told herself before heading downstairs and out to the waiting car to go to the airport.

When Sarah arrived in New York, she checked her phone for messages from Vitaly, but there were
none. Deciding not to think the worst, she went straight to the office to meet with Simon so they could
strategize before their meeting the next day.

Since she was starving, they decided to go to the gastropub on the first floor of the building.  When
they  walked  inside,  Sarah  immediately  felt  off.  Normally,  she  enjoyed  eating  there,  but  today,  for
some  reason,  the  smells  were  making  her  stomach  churn.  Choosing  a  seat  near  an  open  door,  she
hoped that the breeze would help break up the smells of the fried food.

When the waitress placed their orders in front of them, Sarah wrinkled her nose in distaste as she
silently told herself to keep it in check. Reaching for the crackers, she broke open a package and

munched on them as Simon curiously watched her. They chatted while Sarah worked her way through
several packages of crackers before feeling brave enough to try the beef and barley soup.

Her first two spoonfuls tasted good, but before she could put the third spoonful in her mouth, her
stomach rolled. Dropping the spoon, she gave Simon an apologetic look before bolting for the
bathroom to empty out her stomach.

When she returned to the table, Simon was calmly eating his lunch, but Sarah’s meal had been
replaced with toast and hot tea. In response to her quizzical look, Simon gestured to the tea.

“When my sister was pregnant, she lived on ginger. It helped with the morning sickness.”

Sarah opened and closed her mouth a couple of times as a flush spread across her face. Unsure what
to say, she picked up the tea and took a sip. With a grateful smile, she said, “How did you know that I
simply wasn’t sick?”

Simon snorted in response. “Three sisters and twelve nieces and nephews, that’s how,” he replied.
“Does Vitaly know yet?”

Shaking her head, Sarah stared down at the cup she had clutched between her hands. “With everything
that was going on, I didn’t want to overwhelm him.”

“Have you been to a doctor yet?”

“I keep meaning to, but we’ve been so busy,” she sighed and replied inanely.

“I thought so. Here.”

“What’s this?” Sarah asked as she took the piece of paper he handed her.

“The address to my older sister’s ob/gyn. She’s less than six blocks from the office and you have an
appointment in an hour,” he answered as he looked at her.

“How…” Sarah started to say before she chuckled. “You do know me well,” she finished as she
picked up a piece of toast to nibble on.

“Well, yes,” he answered dryly. “That and you bolting out of the room during a meeting might not
bode well for our appointment tomorrow.”

“Fair point.”

Chapter 12

“I’m having what?” Sarah asked the doctor as she stared at her dumbly.

The doctor smiled at her. “Do twins run in your family?” she asked as she helped Sarah get dressed.

Nodding her head, Sarah managed to answer, “On both sides.”

“Well, it looks as though you will be continuing that tradition. Won’t the father be surprised.”

“Oh, you can say that again,” Sarah mumbled as the doctor looked at her. “With everything that’s been
going on, I haven’t had the chance to tell him that I’m pregnant and now this. It’s all been so
overwhelming.”

The doctor squeezed her arm. “This is a joyous occasion, you need to tell him.”

“I know, it’s just that…”

“Sarah,  I’m  not  going  to  push  you  there.  What  matters  is  that  you  begin  regular  visits  with  an
obstetrician.  If  you  spend  most  of  your  time  in  San  Jose,  I  would  suggest  finding  someone  there.”
Before she could continue, the nurse walked in and set a bag down on the examining table. The doctor
dumped  the  contents  out  and  began  to  go  over  them.  “I’m  giving  you  a  starter  kit.  It  has  a  guide  on
what to expect while pregnant with multiple babies, prenatal vitamins, lotion, some drug samples for
an anti-nausea medication, and ginger candy. You’ll want to stock up on the candy.  I’m also giving
you a prescription for the medication because the samples won’t last long.”

After bagging everything back up, she handed it to Sarah. Taking it with numb hands, Sarah nodded
her head in thanks. “Um, thank you, Doctor.”

The doctor smiled at her and walked her back to the waiting room. “You need to take better care of
yourself. As soon as you can, find a local doctor and consider taking some classes. You’ll find them
helpful, I promise.” Nodding her head in thanks, Sarah walked out of the office, still too shocked to
speak.

When she walked outside the building, she turned her cell phone back on and saw that she had
messages from Vitaly demanding to know why her phone was off. She was about to call him back
when her phone rang. Seeing that it was he, she had decided that she was going to tell him…until she
answered her phone.

“Why was your phone off?” he barked at her as soon as she answered. She sighed and decided to
ignore his question.

“How was your hearing?”

“Opposing counsel is refusing to turn over files, so we filed a motion for suppression of evidence. I

go back tomorrow. How was your meeting?”

“It isn’t until tomorrow morning, but Simon is optimistic, as am I.”

“Well, don’t be. Not until we have signed contracts. We can’t afford to assume anything.”

Reaching into the bag the doctor gave her; she pulled out a piece of ginger candy and popped it into
her mouth. “Well, it sounds as though you have a lot on your mind. Why don’t I let you go and get
back to my meeting with Simon.”

“Do that.” With that, he hung up as Sarah angrily pocketed her phone.

When she got back to the office, she walked into Simon’s office and sat down, staring at him. Quickly
getting off the phone, he looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

“Well?” he finally asked.

“Twins,” she answered simply. “About ten weeks. Oh and my husband is a complete horse’s ass.”

“Well, all righty then. Guessing you didn’t tell him.”

Sarah sagged in her chair with a growl. “No and at this point, I’ve no idea how. Things aren’t going
well in court, and while I wish that I could be there for him, I don’t need him barking at me because
he’s having a bad day.”

Getting up from his chair, Simon walked around to sit down beside her. He squeezed her hands
between his own. “I’m really sorry. I’d offer to beat him up for you, but he’s my boss and…he’d kick
my ass in a heartbeat.”

Sarah smiled. “I have brothers for that, and that’s another thing, I don’t feel like I can tell my family
until I tell him, but every time I’m about to say something, some new crisis pops up and I just shut
up.”

“So, am I the only one who knows?”

“Not exactly,” Sarah hedged as she blushed. “I got a pregnancy test while I was on the fishing
trawler.”

Choking on his laughter, Simon said, “So, I’m in league with…pirates?”

She laughed. “Yea, you seem to be. Now, what else do we need to review before tomorrow?”

Chapter 13

Sarah returned to San Jose, elated that they had managed to re-secure contracts with both the New
York and New Jersey Port Authorities to assure that all cargos coming through their ports would not
be turned away or held up.

Arriving at lunchtime, she decided to go to the office. As she entered VIC Enterprises, she waved to
Ivan who was standing near his office. When he waved her over, she walked over to him so he could
envelop her in a big bear hug.

“And, how are you, Mrs. Chekov?” he asked her.

“I’m fine, Ivan. How’s Vitaly?”

He grimaced. “He’s in a bad mood. I suspect that he expected things to proceed faster than they are
and he’s hit his frustration level.”

“Well, the lawyers weren’t anticipating that this would be quick.”

“I think that Vitaly’s idea of lengthy versus the court system’s idea is entirely different. And how is
married life treating you?”

Sarah shrugged. “Since we were living together, it honestly doesn’t feel much different. Other than
being kidnapped by pirates and my husband nearly destroying our honeymoon cottage, it’s much like it
was before we were married,” she answered with a laugh. She reached for her phone when it beeped.
“And it looks like they know I’m here.”

“Well, then, I’ll let you go. Have a good afternoon.”

“You, too, Ivan.”

Arriving on the tenth floor, Sarah walked into her office and sagged in her chair, exhausted. If this
was what it was going to be like for the next six plus months, this was going to suck. She was
interrupted from her thoughts by Diane, who walked in to drop off a bunch of files.

“Welcome  back,”  she  started  to  say,  but  Sarah  was  up  and  out  the  door  before  she  could  finish.
Setting  the  files  down,  Diane  walked  out  into  the  reception  area  to  see  Sarah  running  into  the
bathroom. With a smile, she went back into her own office, emerging a few moments later carrying a
business  card  and  a  small  tin.  She  was  walking  back  to  Sarah’s  office,  as  she  came  out  of  the
bathroom.

Diane shut the door behind her as Sarah sat down. She set the business card down on the desk, along
with a tin of candied ginger.

“Does he know?” she asked as Sarah looked at her in surprise. “What? You forget that I’ve got a

toddler now. I know the signs.”

Shaking her head, Sarah reached for the tin and popped a piece of ginger in her mouth as she looked
at the business card for a local obstetrician before setting it back on her desk. “Honestly, I haven’t
found the right time, what with everything going on. It just seems like one more anxiety to add to the
growing pile.”

Before Diane could respond, Vitaly’s angry voice could be heard from out in the hall as he stormed
off the elevator shouting for files. “You stay right there,” Diane told her as she pulled the files from
Sarah’s desk. “I’ve got this.” She turned and walked out of Sarah’s office, shutting the door behind
her.

Sarah closed her eyes and sat back in her chair, suddenly desperate for some rest. She didn’t have
long before Vitaly came storming into her office.

“Did you not hear me calling for you?” he demanded, as Sarah rubbed her now throbbing temples.

“I heard you just fine. In fact, I’m fairly sure the entire building heard you. What is so damn important
that you couldn’t speak in a reasonable tone of voice?” she demanded as he looked at her in surprise.

He sat down in the chair across from her and started to speak a couple times, but each time fell silent.
Reaching for another piece of ginger, she offered him a piece, as she waited for him to speak.

“So, how long have I been an ass?” he finally asked as he munched on the ginger.

“Since the honeymoon.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, kotyonok. I wanted you to be able to enjoy our honeymoon without hearing
about this mess, but it’s clear that I only made it worse.”

“Vitaly, you are the most honorable man I’ve ever met. In fact, everyone here thinks so. But we’re a
team now and that means that we share both the bad and the good,” she told him, feeling guilty at not
sharing her own news. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through it, so long as we stick together.”

“You’re right. As always,” he told her as he looked at her frowning slightly. “You don’t look so
good. Did you ever go to a doctor?”

Nodding her head, she replied, “Yes, I did. I’m exhausted. I think coming back to the office today was
a bad idea and I simply need to go home.” As Sarah stood up to walk around her desk, the room
began to spin before everything went black.

Chapter 14

Vitaly shouted for help as he caught Sarah before she fell. Scooping her up, he laid her on the couch,
as Diane and Susan came running in.

“What happened?” Susan asked as Sarah began to stir.

Vitaly rubbed his head as he stared down at her. “She said that she was exhausted and then she passed
out.”

Sitting down beside her, Diane helped her sit up and held an open bottle of water out to Sarah as she
placed a cold towel on her neck. “How are you feeling now?” Diane asked, as everyone stared at her
in concern.

“Like an idiot,” Sarah replied. “I am much more tired than I thought.”

“You need to go to the hospital,” Vitaly stated emphatically as he paced the room.

“No, I really don’t. What I need is to go home, get something in my stomach, and get some sleep.”

“Are you sure?” Diane asked her quietly. Sarah nodded as she swung her feet to the floor and slowly
stood up.

“See? I’m fine.” She slung her bag tiredly over her shoulder before kissing a silent Vitaly. “I will see
you at home later,” she told him as she walked out of her office, desperately hoping that no one called
her back. Making a straight path to the elevator, she silently willed it to hurry up, as she stepped
onboard, the doors closing behind her. She sagged with relief when no one followed. All she had to
do was make it out the door and into the Town Car, the driver would do the rest.

Everyone  stood  there  as  Sarah  walked  out  the  door.  Vitaly  reached  for  the  tin  of  ginger,  popping
another  piece  in  his  mouth  as  he  collapsed  into  her  chair.  Seeing  the  business  card  on  her  desk,  he
picked  it  up,  blindly  turning  it  over  in  his  hand  not  registering  what  it  said.  When  his  eyes  finally
focused on it, he leaped up, overturning the chair as he ran to the elevator, but she had already left.
Grabbing  the  phone  at  reception,  he  called  downstairs  to  security  to  stop  Sarah  before  she  left  the
building, but the car had already pulled away from the curb.

When he went back to his office to grab his bag, Diane met him at his door.

“She wanted to tell you.”

“When? After she had the abortion?” he shot back, as he grabbed his bag and started walking back to
the door.

“Wait? What? Of course not. But you’ve been so out of control with everything going on, that she
didn’t want to add to the burden.”

“Burden? Is that what she thinks about having my child?” he demanded as he went to brush past her.

“Oh, would you get your head out of your ass for one minute and think about who you are saying this
about?” Diane shouted, blocking his exit. “You know damn well that Sarah would never think that,
quit being such a Neanderthal!”

Vitaly stopped trying to push past and stared at her. “Did she tell you that?” At Diane’s confused
expression, he shook his head. “It’s just that…” Vitaly slumped his shoulders. “She’s called me that
before,” he finished as she burst out laughing.

“Oh, that doesn’t surprise me,” Diane told him as she continued to laugh.

Before Vitaly could respond, his phone rang. Going back to his desk, he picked it up. Diane stopped
laughing when she heard him ask, “Which hospital did he take her to? Have my car brought around,
I’ll meet you downstairs.”

When he got off the phone, he looked at Diane, “Sarah passed out in the car, so the driver took her to
the ER.”

Nodding her head, she reached out to squeeze his arm. “This isn’t uncommon with pregnancies, I’m
sure she’ll be fine,” she told him as he rushed to the elevator.

Chapter 15

Waking slowly, Sarah opened her eyes to stare at the unfamiliar beige walls. When she lifted her arm
to rub her head, she looked at the bandage on her hand as realization slowly dawned on her. She was
in a hospital. What happened? she thought as she followed the line to an IV drip hanging next to her.

She sat up and groaned as she attempted to open her mouth, which felt as though it was stuffed with
wool socks.

A cup with a straw magically appeared in front of her, and she looked up into Vitaly’s concerned
face.

“You gave me a scare, kotyonok,” he told her as he helped her sit up to take a drink.

“What happened?” she croaked, before she swallowed painfully.

“You passed out in the car. The driver took you to the ER.”

Nodding her head, she said, “Okay, but why?”

“Low blood pressure,” came another masculine voice. Looking up, Sarah saw an older man wearing
a white coat enter the room. He smiled at her, then looked at Vitaly. “Mr. Chekov, would you please
give me a few minutes alone with your wife?” he asked in a friendly tone.

Vitaly nodded. “Of course.” Squeezing Sarah’s hand, he bent down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll call the
office to let everyone know that you are okay.”

“I’m Doctor Collins,” he told her as he checked her vitals after Vitaly left. “I didn’t want to talk in
front of your husband in case there were things that you didn’t want him to know.”

Lying back, Sarah looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“He informed us that he had only today become aware that you were pregnant. Given that, I didn’t
want to make mention of the…”

“Twins,” Sarah finished for him. “Are they okay?”

“Yes, you’re all fine. Is there anything we should be concerned about with your husband?” he asked,
concerned.

Sarah shook her head. “Oh, goodness, no. It’s just that we have so much going on and with all the
recent stressors, I didn’t want to add to it by springing this on him. I realize now that it wasn’t fair to
him, but at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.”

“I understand,” he replied as he wheeled a machine over. “Would you like to see your babies?”

Nodding her head, Sarah sat up excitedly. “Oh, yes, please.”

As the doctor set up the ultrasound machine and prepared Sarah, Vitaly walked back in, followed by
Ivan.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize that you weren’t finished.”

Holding her hand out excitedly, she motioned him over. “Vitaly, wait, come see.”

He walked over and took Sarah’s hand as he watched the doctor run the wand over her belly. He
watched as black and white shapes on the screen slowly took form. Moving the wand back and forth,
the doctor pointed out the heartbeat of the first baby.

“And there is the second heartbeat,” he added as Sarah squeezed Vitaly’s hand.

Vitaly spoke up. “I don’t understand, why would the baby have two heartbeats?” Looking rapidly
from the screen to Sarah to the doctor, “Does that mean…”

“Twins,” Sarah finished for him.

“Twins?” he repeated, dumbfounded. Suddenly the room began to spin as he took a hesitant step back.
“I think I need to…”

“Sit down,” Ivan finished for him, as he shoved the chair under him before he came crashing down
into it. Rubbing his hands together, Ivan looked at Sarah. “Congratulations are in order. Twins. That’s
fantastic.”

An answering groan from Vitaly had everyone laughing as he rubbed at his temples. Handing him her
water, Sarah couldn’t resist teasing, “Here, I think you could use some.”

“Vodka would be better,” he replied as he sipped at the water. “And cigars,” he added with a smile.
“Twins.”

Sarah remained in the hospital for another two days as Vitaly split his time between the hospital and
court. Growing increasingly restless, she wandered the hallways, bored. Vitaly had managed to stop
Diane from bringing her any work and threatened to confiscate her phone if she didn’t relax, so she
had grudgingly agreed.

Though, she didn’t see what the big deal was. The doctor had said that the reason why she had passed
out was that her blood pressure had dropped too low.  They were sending her home with a monitor
that  she  would  wear  and  it  was  set  to  beep  every  time  her  blood  pressure  dropped  below  a  set
threshold. Her new obstetrician had also given her a full health checkup. He said that so long as she
didn’t  overdo  anything,  she  would  be  able  to  work  for  most  of  her  pregnancy.  Vitaly  vehemently
disagreed and they argued, with him agreeing that she would be allowed to work from home part-time
and she would take frequent breaks and rest the moment she felt fatigued.

Most women lead very active lives while pregnant, heck, her mom still rode a horse, she had

reminded him, but he was adamant. She had hoped that a phone call to her father might help her feel a
bit better, but after expressing joy at becoming a grandfather, he too had cautioned her on taking it
easy.

Exiting the elevator on a different floor, Sarah continued to wander around, lost in thought. Hearing a
familiar voice, she looked up and was shocked to see Captain Cash Harper standing in one of the
patient rooms and speaking to a nurse.

When the nurse spotted her, she went to close the door, but Harper turned his head, his eyes growing
large in recognition. Excusing himself, he walked out of the room, shutting it behind him and gripped
Sarah by the elbow, tugging her off to one side.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Sarah pointed to her attire. “Well, I would think that would be obvious,” she answered sarcastically.
“What the hell are you doing here?”

Backing up, he walked back toward the patient room, “Look, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say
anything. Messy is not something I can deal with right now,” he told her as he opened the door to go
back in.

Before the door could shut behind him, Sarah had pushed her way in. She was surprised to see Max
sitting there, and he looked like he’d been crying. Looking at the patient in the bed, it took her a
moment to realize that it was Piper. The once vibrant woman looked like a ghost against the white
hospital sheets.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Cancer,” Max answered. “Chronic leukemia, to be exact.”

Sarah looked from one to the other. “Is that what the money was for?” she demanded.

“Mr. Harper, your wife needs to rest. Shall I call security?” the nurse interrupted.

With a growl, Harper opened the door and gestured for the nurse to leave, “I’ve got this,” he told her
as he all but pushed her out the door.

“Wife?” Sarah asked. “Is this something new in the past few weeks?”

“He did it so Piper would have his insurance,” Max answered as he held his sleeping sister’s hand.

Sarah looked at the pale woman in the bed. “Will she make it?”

Rubbing his head in irritation, Max answered, “We don’t know yet. If this course of chemo works,
then we might buy her some time. But at stage three, it’s a waiting game.”

“So, that’s what the money was for?”

Before anyone could answer, the nurse came back into the room with Vitaly behind her. “Sarah, what
are you doing…YOU!” Vitaly practically shouted as he stepped toward Harper.

Quickly stepping between them, Sarah put her hand on Vitaly’s chest. “I’m tired. Would you please
help me back to my room?” she asked him as he looked from one to the other.

Wrestling with the urge to say more, he opened and closed his mouth before nodding his head. With
one hand wrapped around Sarah’s waist, he glared at both men before escorting her from the room.

When they got back to Sarah’s room, he helped her back into bed. “I’m going to call security,” he
stated.

“And tell them what? That they have pirates in the cancer ward?”

“Cancer?”

She nodded. “Yes, the woman in the bed, Piper. She has cancer.”

“Isn’t she the one who had your necklace?”

“Yes. But it all seems so trivial now. They don’t know if she’ll make it or how long she has.”

“Well, they shouldn’t be here.”

“Vitaly, please let it go. Let them have their time with her.”

He kissed her as he sat down on the bed beside her. “How did I ever get so lucky?”

Smiling up at him, Sarah rubbed his chest. “We both lucked out because I have the best husband
ever.”

Giving her a rueful look, he said, “You probably won’t be saying that when I’m in prison or
bankrupt.”

“Don’t be silly. We’re a team.”

“All of this could come crashing down, Sarah, and with you pregnant…”

She sighed. “This is why I was waiting to tell you. It seemed as though there was so much going on, I
didn’t want to add to the worry.” Holding up her hand to keep him from interrupting, she continued, “I
do know that what I did was wrong. I should have told you as soon as I found out, but I wanted the
moment to be special and that never seemed to happen.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be
them. I’ve already been there, watching you night after night while you were in a coma and now all
this bullshit. I don’t want to miss a moment of our time together.”

“I love you, kotyonok,” he said, smiling down at her.

Chapter 16

Today was checkout day, and Sarah was overjoyed to be going home as she tossed her belongings
into the overnight bag Vitaly had brought her. She turned when the nurse came in pushing a
wheelchair.

“Are you all set, Mrs. Chekov?”

She looked at Vitaly, who gave her an encouraging smile. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“Very,” she answered as she pulled a small box out of her bag before sitting down in the wheelchair.
“We need to make one stop first,” she told the nurse as she directed her up to the cancer ward above
them.

Once on the ward, they headed over to Piper’s room. Seeing her name still on the door, Sarah stood
up and walked inside to find Piper awake.

Piper looked at her in surprise before she shrank back against the bed. “What are you doing here?”
she asked as Harper jumped up to grab her hand.

Sarah smiled at Piper. “I passed out and ended up in the hospital. It seems as though the twins want
me to relax,” she told her.

“Twins? Really? That explains so much now. Glad to know that it wasn’t because I hit you over the
head,” Max told her with a chuckle.

Attempting to give him a stern look, Sarah winked at him before turning back to Piper.

“And I wanted to give you this. I think it looks better on you.” Sarah handed her the box and wished
her well before walking out and sitting back down in the waiting wheelchair.

As they were heading to the elevator, Piper opened the box and was shocked to see the diamond
choker nestled inside. Harper placed it around her neck as she smiled for the first time in weeks.

“Shall I buy you another one?” Vitaly asked her as they entered the elevator.

Shrugging her shoulders, Sarah said, “I have to be honest and say that she loved it far more than I did.
Maybe it’s because she never had anything like it before, I don’t know. But for me, I’d much rather
have you.”

“You did a good thing, Mrs. Chekov.”

To Be Continued!