I sit down on the sofa beside her, and she reaches for my hands.
"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Bay runs into the study. "Potty!" she squeals.
"Sorry!" Madisyn apologizes as she chases after Bay.
"I'll show her where the bathroom is," Madisyn says. "Come on." She holds out her hand for Bay to take.
Bay doesn't budge from her spot right in front of Hannah.
"It's fine. I'll take her. Can you just point me in the right direction," Hannah says as she stands and latches onto Bay's hand.
"Yeah." I stand and lead Hannah and Bay out into the hallway. We make a quick right and the second door on the left is the bathroom. I open the door and flip on the light for Bay.
"Mama," Bay says, pulling Hannah into the bathroom with her.
"Thank you," Hannah says and closes the door.
I glance around. The compound is relatively sparse for a Saturday night. Nikita and Anton went out for drinks. This means they're chasing a hot piece of ass tonight.
I'd be out with them if Hannah hadn't come over for dinner. Maybe I should have the night off and clear my head. She's bound to land my ass in trouble.
"Hungry yet?" Madisyn stalks up from behind.
I didn't hear her coming. The girl is stealthy.
I turn around to face her but ignore her question. She isn't asking about food. Why does she think anything will happen between Hannah and me? What game is she playing?
"Why don't you check on dinner and see if they're ready for us in the dining room?" I ask, trying to get Madisyn out of my hair.
Mikhail gave me orders to keep an eye on Hannah. Madisyn, however, is his responsibility. I still don't completely trust her, given that she used to work for the FBI. Who's to say she won't betray us?
She's proven herself loyal to Mikhail, which should be good enough for me. But I have my reservations, and I keep them to myself—no sense in upsetting the pakhan.
"I can wait for Hannah," Madisyn says.
"Mikhail instructed that I keep an eye on her." His orders aren't a secret, not in terms of the security and safety of his men. Madisyn should know that by now.
"Fine," she says and expels a heavy sigh as she sulks across the hall for the dining room.
Hannah unlatches the bathroom door, and Bay hurries out, running past me.
"Sorry," Hannah says. She's quick to apologize as she chases after the little girl and picks her up, keeping her from running rampant.
I lead her into the dining room. Mikhail and Madisyn are getting situated at the table, opening a bottle of wine and pouring the adults a glass.
"I'm sorry," Hannah apologizes. "Bay isn't usually this rambunctious."
Mikhail forces a smile. He never was particularly close with his niece and nephew when they lived under his roof. The mere thought of him raising a child, becoming a father, isn't something that I'd ever thought I'd witness.
And while I haven't seen it yet, Madisyn is pregnant. Eventually, she will have the child, and I can only imagine how Mikhail will handle the situation.
I run a hand through my hair, not wanting to dwell on a terse memory in present company.
"She's probably just hungry," I say and lift a piece of bread from the basket on the table. The staff brings out our meals, but Bay won't make it much longer without melting down. "May I?" I ask, checking with Hannah before handing the bread roll to Bay.
Hannah gives a brief nod, and Bay snatches the roll as though her life depends on it. That seems to do the trick as she focuses on eating.
"Have a seat," I say, helping Bay to the table, and Hannah grabs the seat next to her. I'm situated between Hannah and Mikhail. However, most of Mikhail's attention seems to be directed at Madisyn.
Glancing at Hannah, her hand comes up to her wine glass, her diamond engagement band glints under the candelabra. How had I missed that rock last night at the bar?
Was she wearing it last night?
I'm not the only one to notice it.
"Madisyn tells me that you're getting married," Mikhail says. "Have you picked out a venue?"
I reach for my glass of wine, needing something to keep me from cringing. I smile, hoping that she doesn't see through the charade.
Her brow furrows, and she presses her lips together. "Honestly, I don't know."
Dinner is served, and Hannah helps Bay with her meal, cutting it up but letting the little tiger feed herself.
I clear my throat, the wine glass in my hand, swirling the dark purple liquid. We should steer the conversation away from her fiancé and her upcoming nuptials. Hannah doesn't want to discuss it, and I'm not sure I want to hear it over dinner. I'll likely lose my appetite.
"How long have you been working at Steel Concierge Medical?" I ask, glancing at Hannah.
She expels a soft sigh, and her shoulders relax. "I've been with the company for seven years. What about you? Madisyn never told me what either of you does?" Hannah takes a small bite of dinner. She's mostly pushing the food around on her plate and keeping a watchful gaze on Bay.
While Madisyn knows that we're bratva, very few people who aren't part of our organization are aware of our business dealings.
"We buy and sell commodities," Mikhail says, quick to answer before I can respond.
"Oh, so you guys are like stock market brokers?" Hannah asks, giving him her undivided attention.
Madisyn takes a massive bite of her bread and glances away, trying to distract herself. I swear she's trying to keep from laughing. But shoving more food into her mouth doesn't seem like the best idea.
How the hell was she an FBI agent?
"Something like that," I say, glancing at Hannah.
The blue-eyed brunette is innocent; she has no idea what we do, and that's for the best. I doubt she'd have brought Bay with her if she realized that we're murderers.
We're not cold-blooded killers. Everyone I've ever killed, it was justified. They betrayed the family.