Chapter 21

That night, I asked Ivan’s permission for the children to sleep in my bed again, but this time with me. He didn’t see anything wrong with it, and he even thanked me for doing him the favor, especially for Sasha; we both knew very well that it was for the best. I told him he could take the guest room if he wanted, but he preferred to stay in the living room. I assumed that he wasn’t going to sleep a wink again, to keep watch. I understood that it was very important to do so, but I also didn’t like that, in his state (injured, tired, perhaps poorly fed), he was making an effort in that way. Likewise, when I went up to my room with the children, I saw him sit on the large sofa with the gun on the coffee table, in a very alert attitude.

I didn’t miss the noticeable dark marks under his eyes, of course. That made me wonder how long he had gone without sleep.

And with those wounds.

I tried not to torment myself about it. If he had been shot a fortnight ago and had no vis