Page 77 of Defiant Devotion

I shook my head, sighing happily with my woman at my side. “But that’s just it. After all the shit we’ve gone through recently, what else could possibly go wrong now?”

Everyone who could hurt this family was dead, wounded, or gone. Both politicians were six feet under. The Petrovs were so weakened and scrambling without a leader that they practically ceased to exist as an organization. After Irina killed Igor, and since she was planning to marry into the Baranovs today, there was no one to guide the fractured family. Infighting didn’t help, and it was with confidence that all of us could know the Petrovs were done.

Vik and Rurik had eliminated the Ilyins, too. Some members might still be out there, but so few were left that it would take them at least an entire generation or two to get backto any status of power that they’d once had. Finding the family members at a big meeting made Vik and Rurik’s job of annihilating the family in one attack all too easy.

“There will always be another danger lurking,” Oleg said.

I nodded, respecting the Boss’s opinion. And of course, he was right. Danger was a constant in the Mafia way of life.

But for now, I was content with the relative peace.

“Lev, a word,” Oleg said as he got up from the table. With a tip of his head toward the side, he indicated for Lev to follow him.

It had to be another discussion about business. More and more, since that fateful day we’d almost lost our women, he’d been taking up a role of being the next boss. Oleg was slowly but surely training Lev to be the next leader of the family. If it wasn’t due to his heart attack and health scare, his desire to step down had to be due to his desire to spoil all the babies coming into the world soon.

And I was glad to leave it to him. Lev could be the boss. I’d heed his word, too. Being one of the brothers, lateral to Vik and Rurik, was just fine for me. I’d meant it when I said I wanted to focus on my family.

Which was why I asked Sonya to get up with me. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to dance with this gorgeous creature again.”

Sonya smiled slyly, amused, and came onto the dance floor with me. “Beautifulcreature? I’m not even a woman anymore?”

Facing her as I gathered her close, as close as I could with our baby in between us, I smiled easily. “A ravishing creature.”

“More animal than person.” She groaned slightly, lifting her feet one at a time. “With how I waddle like a penguin, and this big old belly making me look like a whale.”

I kissed her, loving her with all my heart as she shared her self-deprecation with humor. Her smile had yet to vanish.

“Nonsense. All I see is the lovely mother of my children.”

“Children?” She laughed once. “How about we just go with one for now?”

“I’ll go with whatever you want,” I said. “One. Two. Ten.”

“Ten!” She laughed freely, making me wish she’d never stop being this carefree. “I’m not agreeing to ten. But I would love to have more. Maybe we can pace them out, is all.”

“Whatever you want,” I promised.

“Maybe five,” she amended with a shrug.

“Deal.”

“No, six. An even number would be easier.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know. But seven sounds like too many and five doesn’t sound like enough.”

I laughed, kissing her again as my chuckles faded. “We’ll figure it out.” I was overjoyed she was on the same page as me, though. She was interested in having more kids despite her discomfort with this pregnancy as it progressed. She was determined to start a big family. It was my biggest dream coming true, finding my one true love and settling down with her for the rest of my life.

But first…

“And I don’t think every day for the rest of my life with you will ever be enough either,” I said. “I love you, Sonya.”

She smiled so sweetly, gazing up at me with that tender stare. “I love you, too.”

“Maybe you had to miss Eva’s wedding.” I reached into my pocket for a ring I'd spent days deliberating over. Lev, Vik, Rurik, Oleg, and even Maxim helped me pick it. I would never doubt how much I was included in this family. As I presented it to her, I admired the sparkle of glee in her eyes. “But Eva won’t have to miss yours.”

She sniffled once, prone to tears with the hormones controlling her. These were happy tears, though. Her grin couldn’t stretch any wider.

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