Page 74 of Desperate Actions

And whether she realizes it or not, that she’s talking to me about it means she trusts me.

And that means everything to me.

I smile and laugh more during the hours' long flight than I have in years.

Talking to her is—it’s nice.

More than that.

It feels right.

Like I was made for this.

To be with her.

To listen to her.

To love her.

And I know that’s true, so I’m not worrying about anything when we land at one of the private airports Volkov Industries uses.

I step off the jet, my attention completely on Aella, which is probably why I forget that Viper Enterprises also uses this airport.

And it’s why I don’t expect the fat fucking fist that crashes into my jaw.

Everything that happens next is a blur between the adrenaline and the noise. I move to retaliate, freezing in place, then I hear my wife’s voice.

“Daddy!” Aella yells.

And I immediately still.

“Angel, no!” another female voice snaps.

I blink up from my new position on the ground, my jaw throbbing, my ego sore as hell. But I am holding on to my natural rage response because I finally get what’s going on.

Shit.

I wasn’t ready, and that makes me angry. But I can’t blame him.

It was a good shot. He caught me off guard.

But fuck me—my new father-in-law is staring daggers at me.

He is pissed.

Royally pissed.

Angel fucking Fury glares down at me, his stance pure menace, his fist clenched at his side like he’s considering throwing another punch.

“You little fucking prick!” he snarls. “I oughta break your neck.”

Now, I’m not little. But I respect this man. So I do what my instinct tells me.

I shut the fuck up.

If I am any kind of man, I’ll take what’s coming to me. And for Aella, if that means letting her father kick my ass then that’s fine.

I’ll give him this one for free.

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