Page 32 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

My heart beats strong and steady.

Smiling, I say, “Ah, kotyonok.” I raise my gloved hand to my bandaged chest. “You wound me.”

Those whiskey eyes that melt me every time they fall on mine narrow, sending daggers my way. She can’t fool me. She couldn’t do it when she was a child with a crush and she certainly can’t fool me now. Kadra might talk a lot and act indifferent but her eyes don’t lie and they spill the truths her mouth won’t.

“Azariel,” she says without looking away and that’s when it dawns on me.

Azariel…

The boy has a name.

The organ in my chest starts beating a mile a second when my eyes leave liquid gold and meet a gray the same shade as my own. Fuck. The same intense feeling that courses through my system every time I look at Kadra courses through me now as I look into his eyes.

The color is so similar to the sky today.

“Yes?” The boy looks at me with cautious and curious eyes reminding me so much of a young Kadra. Of myself when I was his age.

“How about we show the Russian here what you just learned, huh?”

The boy then turns his gaze back to mine. He looks at me as if he can see right through me. As if he can see every secret my dark heart holds close. I hold his stare feeling my pulse beating harder now. A second passes before he throws something sharp my way. I quickly move out of its path and it misses me by an inch.

He threw a knife.

The boy used me as target practice.

After the shock wears off, I smile and clap. “Good job, malen’kiy korol. Do it again.”

And so he does and I move out of the way every time.

Joy wraps around my heart slowly bringing it back to life now that I’m standing here in front of them both.

My fate.

My angel and my son.

Chapter 11

KADRA

LIAR, LIAR

“For those I love, I will risk it all.” — V

“Good boy, Azariel. Keep practicing and next time you might hit a vital organ. Won’t that be fun?” I look back at Azariel who is busy looking at the giant man covered in tattoos and bandages with curiosity and a bit of distrust but still, it is nothing like how he looks at my men whenever they’re close. Huh. I would think he would act shy or afraid in the presence of a man that looks like the devil reincarnated but the boy makes me proud. The look on his face reminds me of the time I met Solonik for the first time. I too stared at him with wonder and mistrust in my eyes because a man who looks like him is bound to cause damage and chaos and to someone like me that’s dangerous. Dangerous and thrilling at the same time.

Crow chooses that exact moment to walk through the gym’s door. Turning to look at him, I say, “Crow.”

“Yes, boss?” Crow looks at Vitali suspiciously with a grin on his face.

Ignoring him, I turn and lock eyes with the Russian then order. “Show Azariel a few moves, yes?”

A smile takes over Vitali’s face, confusing me.

“Alright,” Crow says, sounding way too eager.

Breaking eye contact with the Russian, I turn to Crow. “Be gentle.”

Crow’s eyes soften for a brief second before he gets it together and moves toward Azariel. I then watch as he leads the boy toward the target practice area, leaving me alone with my very own menace.

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