“What does he do?”
“He works for Charisse’s company right now, designing their labels. He’s very artistic and has paintings hung in galleries. He said he likes his job. He did tell me that Christophe wanted to come but couldn’t because he was busy that day. He asked me to invite them both for dinner one night so they could meet Fyodor and you and maybe Christophe could get a job with you.”
Timur sighed. He hated crushing Evangeline’s dream of her family becoming closer to her. He also had to protect her—even from herself. She might hate him after, but he would know she was safe. He risked a look at Ashe, hoping this exchange, where he was interrogating his sister-in-law, hadn’t made her want to run even more. She sent him a look from under her heavy lashes, but he couldn’t interpret it. She also wasn’t a woman to keep quiet if she believed someone was out of line—even him—and she remained quiet.
“Does Ambroise have a good memory?”
Evangeline ducked her head, and he knew he wasn’t going to like her answer. “He didn’t need to. He sketched pictures to show Christophe,” she said. “He showed a couple of quick sketches to me. He’d drawn them on a Post-it note I had by the coffee table and the drawing was extremely accurate. I love the house and was proud of it,” she added in a little rush.
“Of course, you are,” Ashe said. “I would be. No one is going to blame you for showing off your home, least of all Timur, right?” She looked up at him expectantly.
“I think that’s natural, Evangeline,” he forced himself to agree. Mostly he thought their women should be locked up somewhere safe where no one could ever get to them. Bars on all windows and doors seemed reasonable.
“Charisse has nothing whatsoever to do with opium and neither does Armande.” Evangeline rubbed her temples. “My head is killing me. I know Charisse wouldn’t do this. Ambroise, I hope wouldn’t, but I don’t know. Honestly, if he’s anything like my uncle or father, he might. Charisse and Armande were heartbroken over what their mother had done, using their factory to distribute drugs, so they monitored it very closely. I just don’t see how …” She trailed off, pressing a hand to her mouth as if she couldn’t say another word.
Fyodor went to her immediately. “I think we’re done for a while, Timur. Evangeline needs a break. She’s been sick quite a bit lately. She can’t seem to keep any food down.”
“The cleaners are taking care of the house,” Timur said. “Gorya is overseeing that right now. Kyanite and Rodion are both here. Vitaly is here. I’ve got men patrolling the grounds. You should be safe. I need to take Ashe somewhere private but still stay close. Her leopard could emerge at any time, and I don’t want Temnyy to have to fight off half my men and possibly kill them in order to keep his mate.”
“Take the guesthouse,” Fyodor said instantly. “It’s a distance from the main house, and you can instruct the men to keep their leopards away when patrolling that side of the property. For once, they can patrol as humans, not cats.”
“They aren’t going to like that,” Timur said. He turned his brother’s solution over and over in his mind. While doing so, his gaze fell on his sister-in-law. She looked abnormally pale and she’d definitely lost a few pounds. Concern washed through him. “Evangeline, have you seen the doc?” He looked at his brother for the answer, even when he put the question to her.
Fyodor shrugged. “I made her go last week.”
“And?”
Fyodor and Evangeline exchanged a long look. Timur waited, his heart racing. They couldn’t lose her. She centered them all. Even Mitya gravitated toward her and Mitya seemed to be a lost cause.
“I’m pregnant,” Evangeline said after a long pause.
Elation swept through him and he found himself smiling like an idiot. “That’s good, that’s good, isn’t it?” Somewhere along the line it occurred to him that neither his brother nor Evangeline seemed happy.
“I have some complications,” she admitted. “That’s why we weren’t telling anyone.”
“Should you be in bed?” Now Timur was back to looking at his brother. Fyodor might be wrapped around her finger, but her health and safety were everything to him and he wouldn’t hesitate to use whatever means it took to make his woman stay in bed if the doctor ordered it.
Evangeline shook her head. “Not yet. Mostly, I’m just sick all the time. I’ve already lost fifteen pounds and I’ve been dehydrated several times.” She shrugged. “Other women have the same problem, Timur, I’m not unique.”
“What causes it? Or is it normal?” Timur asked.
Fyodor scowled at the thought that some illness dared to come to Evangeline. “It’s normal to be nauseous, and have sickness in a pregnancy, but this is more than that. There are several causes. In this case, it’s a multiple pregnancy. That’s why Siena was visiting. To talk to Evangeline about what it’s going to be like.”