Page 57 of Mafia Christmas Vows

Fuck.

A dozen scenarios, each one of them worse than the next, crash over me. It’s highly possible that Kozlov’s enemies have finally found him.

Which would mean that our perfect Christmas would not be so perfect after all.

In fact.

It would be ruined.

And since I want it to be perfect, that will not do.

With one last look at a sleeping Maggie, I turn to dress.

She needs me to protect her. To protect her family.

It’s time to be the bigger monster.

MAGGIE

Alexei isn’t there when I wake up.

I know it shouldn’t bother me. There’s nothing to worry about. Not really.

But after last night, his absence makes me feel just a little confused, and really, really nervous.

I roll over in bed. My first instinct is to text him and ask him where he is, but I pause on that.

I don’t want to be a clingy, needy wife.

We haven’t established communication for things like absences yet. I know that he said at some point in the last few weeks that he did most of his work in Novgorod, but surely he would have told me that he was going back there before he left.

And, it’s Christmas morning.

He wouldn’t leave on Christmas morning.

Right?

Unless he’s pissed at you for last night.

I huff out a long breath.

Okay. I did cut him off on purpose last night. He was so sweet, and I know that he wanted to tell me that he loved me.

But the same reservation that I had about it popped into my mind.

It’s too soon to love him.

I didn’t want him to tell me that he loved me. Not yet.

Because if he tells me too soon, it might not be real.

However, it did kind of ruin the moment. Even after we had sex, which was great like it always is, he still seemed… distant.

Did he though?

I flop my arms in frustration. Alexei is a really sweet man. I honestly can’t really decide if he was actually distant, or if I just made it up because I was nervous about him seeming distant.

This is why you’re never supposed to therapize yourself, Mags.

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