Page 46 of Kidnapped Bratva Virgin

“The only reason you’re doing this is because you think I slept with someone else. You’re going to fuck up Ethan’s life. Stop and think about what you’re doing. Get off this stupid vendetta of yours. I’ve suffered enough,” I tell him, my voice shaky, and my body quivering from head to toe, but from the glint in Dimitri’s eye it’s as if he likes to see me distraught and falling apart.

“Ms. Knight. I warned you. And I’m only getting started,” Dimitri sneers, the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” side of him materializing.

“You can’t act like this. You have a son. Don’t you think he’s going to end up hating you when he finds out what you’ve done.”

“Then he’s never going to find out, and I’m going to paint you as the villain. I don’t know… hmm, what story can I make up. Oh, how about your mother ran off with another man. Sound familiar, Ms. Knight?” Dimitri pitches, his repeated story sad to listen to.

“Do you believe the lies you buy into, Dimitri?” I hiss back at him, but I watch his face change from one of anger to calm and serene. I turn to see Ethan standing at the door, his head bowed looking confused and sad with Mr. Bear in his hand. Shit. He heard us. My heart breaks when I see his face.

“What’s going on?” Ethan asks as I find the strength to pretend for the sake of my son.

“Nothing, honey. We didn’t mean to wake you up. I was talking to your father and saying how much I want us to get along since we’re all going to be living in the house together.”

Dimitri wants to glare at me, I can tell from the way his mouth twitches, but instead he smiles at Ethan.

“I agree with your mother. I want you to be happy here in your new home. Your mother and I are working out the details, that’s all.” His voice is smoky, and his attitude completely different. It’s amazing how quickly he can turn it off and on, and the way he’s talking to his son is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. Ethan wobbles forward, putting his small hand in mine.

“Mommy, do they have chocolate milk here like they do at our place? Can I have some?”

Both Dimitri and I grin at the same time. “Yes. We have chocolate milk right here at your new home. Coming right up.”

Ethan is the strand keeping us civil, and he’s the one person we’re both wanting to keep happy. Other than that, I’m not holding out for hope for anything else.

Chapter Twenty-Six - Dimitri

Three weeks have passed since Ava and Ethan have started living at the house, and it hasn’t been an easy ride. For the first two weeks, Cara and Ava were at each other’s throats, and I had to break them up before Ethan saw them.

Not until I pulled Ava aside in the study for a chat did she catch on to how serious I was about sending her away, but I had to watch my step because I didn’t want me son thinking I was a cruel man. Often I had to bite back the hatred I have towards his mother for the greater good.

“Both you and Cara are here together, and it’s going to be this way until I say otherwise. Do you understand?” But every night I had to fight and win the battle of Ava worming her way into my heart again.

“This is so confusing for Ethan. I’m not going to lie to my boy. What am I supposed to tell him about her? He keeps asking about the lady Daddy goes to sleep with! Explain it to me, Dimitri.”

She carried her newly inherited sass from L.A. or wherever she had it and brought it with her full force back to Chicago. I hated the sharp cutting tone she employed, but sometimes it got me hard when I was in the office thinking about bending her over on my desk. It took everything in me, not to give in to temptation. Hidden behind the sheet of our anger, I feared there was something else… feelings unresolved that needed to be dealt with.

Standing up in my office, it’s midday and I’ve had back-to-back meetings. Most of them have been mundane. I draw in a sip of my coffee as Viktor knocks before entering.

“Morning, Viktor. Everything good?”

“All good from my end. How about you?”

“Pretty good, considering.”

“Good, then. Ava and Ethan are shopping, The bodyguardis with them.” I smile fondly, the little boy carving a space in my heart so easily and simply it’s been a miracle.

“Ah, good. Shopping for Ethan?”

“Yes.” Viktor stands in the door with a smirk on his face unmoving as I study the people on the ground. The office overlooks the river, and it’s a view that I enjoy most days, but today I’m restless and want to be with Ava and Ethan. Sipping my coffee, I turn to Viktor.

“Have my meetings bumped to the afternoon, will you? And tell me where Ethan and Ava are.”

“Thought as much,” Viktor says, grinning, and I grin back. “They’re near Darling Promenade, the shopping strip there.”

“Ah, I know where. Thanks.” I put down my coffee determined to catch them before they leave. Ethan being out and about in Chicago is good for him. I don’t want him cooped up in the house, but I had to watch Ava, so that’s where the bodyguard stepped in. She was only allowed out with him in tow, otherwise I threatened to let Cara take him out, but I didn’t have to execute that plan, with Ava following my commands for once.

Snatching my jacket up from the back of my chair, I moved off to my SUV, heading towards them. I find a parking spot with ease and call the bodyguard.

“Sir, they’re about to enter LaLaBaby department store near Pico Boulevard.”

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