Page 2 of The Bratva's Nanny

Again, the corner of my lips crooked to the side.

Her joy was all it took to light up my world. Her happiness was my happiness. The mere thought of harm coming to her, touching her in even the slightest way, knocked all the air out of my lungs.

“You said it, she’s just a kid. Being born into this chaos doesn’t mean she shouldn’t live her life to the fullest.” I ignored the smug look of satisfaction on his face. “Polly’s bubbly, and outgoing, and social. She enjoys this, being out in the open, meeting new people, and making friends. Keeping her locked in could hurt her and damage the bright side of her.”

A lump formed in my throat, my brows furrowed, and I gritted my teeth. “I’d be damned before I ever do that to her.”

Lev didn’t say another word, and I shifted my head toward the window. Polina was pointing toward my rolled-up window with an even bigger grin on her lips. She looked up at Irina, said something I didn’t make out fast enough before she handed the older woman her knapsack, and took off running to the car with her makeshift bird wings spread out, the wind in her hair, ruffling her small gown.

I took the hint.

Lev unlocked the doors, and I stepped out, a small smile in place as I crouched to her level. It didn’t take a minute before her small body came crashing into mine. She was all giggles and hugs while I brushed the bouncy golden locks off her face.

“Daddy!” she squealed and nuzzled her face between my neck. “I missed you.”

Around us, more of my men, including Lev, stepped out from the convoy cars and formed a barricade.

I hooked an arm behind her knees, lifted her from the ground, and raised her chin up to assess her. “I missed you too, baby.” I tilted her face to the left and right with narrowed eyes. “How did your day go?”

“Good. It went well.” She faked a grunt, made a dramatic eye roll, and unhooked her chin from my fingers. “Daddy, you’re doing it again.”

A brow went up. “Doing what again?”

“Drawing unnecessary attention.” She spread an arm out, motioning around us to buttress her point. To be fair, the entrance was fairly empty. “Checking to see if I’m fine. Well, I’m fine. I didn’t get punched on the nose or brushed on the cheek—even if that wouldn’t be unusual in martial arts....”

Behind me, I heard Lev snort.

“...but I’m fine.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “You don’t have to worry all the time, okay?”

“I don’t worry all the time.”

She scoffed and did the dramatic eye thing again. “Daddy, please.... You worry all the time. But you don’t have to. I literally have so much fun. Our practice methods are one hundred percent safe, I promise. If they weren’t, you would have found out on the first day. Evgeni would have been the first to suggest a withdrawal from the Academy. Besides, Maria won’t let anything bad happen to me....”

Again, with the famous Maria.

While Polina recounted every noteworthy highlight of her day, I reflected on how many times she mentioned the name Maria in one sitting. Polly always talked about her—about this woman I’d never had a chance to meet. It was either Maria this or Maria that—never anything negative where she was concerned.

It made me curious. And I fucking hated being curious about anything.

“…she taught me the difference between agility and strength when taking a stance. And then, you wouldn’t believe it; she knows a lot of traditional Kung Fu, too. I’ve always wanted to ask her how and where she learned those. It's super cool and impressive when she’s all up in her element. I want to be just like Maria, Daddy. Maybe even better....”

I looked over her shoulder and eyed Irina, who immediately caught on to my reservations and flashed a reassuring smile. “Polly’s definitely in the best hands, Boss.”

If she thought that was enough to convince me, she had another thing coming. But I wasn’t going to push further. The most important thing to me was sitting on my arm and twisting the buttons on my shirt as she rolled off a bunch of things her tutor, Maria, had shown her today.

I pressed a finger on her nose, and she quietened down. “How about we wrap this up at home?”

Her blue eyes sparkled in the most amusing way, and she crossed an arm over her chest. “On one condition.”

I suppressed a grin. The more days passed, the more I recognized the similarities between my daughter and me. Polly might have been young, but she was smart, sassy, and fierce—just like her Papa.

“Anything you want, baby,” I murmured under my breath and lowered us into the car. “But don’t forget you used up two wishes in the morning.”

Her eyes narrowed, squinting slightly as she pondered over what I’d said. Her nose scrunched up, her lips pursed, and then, her lips formed a tiny “O” shape.

She looked up at me. “I used up two already?”

I nodded and shut the door. “Correct.”