Page 30 of Loved By the Hacker

“You’re crazy,” she giggled, holding my face and pressing a quick kiss on my lips.

“Crazy about you,” I growled. I hurried us up the stairs because I had plans for us to stay in bed all day and night long.

I had no idea life could be so damn good. I never knew looking forward to the future could ever be so damn exciting. But with my butterfly by my side, I knew even in the low’s life might toss our way, the future would be bright. Together, there wasn’t a thing we couldn’t get through. I just needed time to show her that.

Thankfully, my babochka was going to give me that.

Oleg

Her dad stared at me like he was thinking about a million and one ways of how to kill me and make sure he got away with it.

“Oleg?” he repeated, eyeing me like he didn’t know what to make of me, and I couldn’t blame him. Not only had he just met his oldest daughter’s new man after she got shot of someone after so long, but we’d dropped the news about the baby and an upcoming wedding.

“Oleg,” he repeated my name with a grimace, and I nodded, not taking his reaction to me to heart.

I’d probably be ready to murder whomever my daughter brought home thinking they weren’t good enough for my little girl, much less all the extras we’d laid at his feet. Jesus! Just the thought of a little girl who was part Coral and me coming home knocked up by some stranger made me break out in a cold sweat.

I hardly recognized myself. I had never been the kind of man who was intimidated by another. I was taller and had about thirty pounds of muscle on the man in front of me. But the way he looked at me and carried himself, I had a feeling he was thinking about a million and one ways to kill me and get rid of my body all without ever getting caught.

“You love her?” he asked, breaking the silence between us.

“Completely, Mr. Trejo,” I answered. Love didn’t feel like the right word for what I felt for Coral. From the first moment I’d laid eyes on her, I’d known there was something special about the woman I wanted tied to me for the rest of my life. “Sir, if I may be frank?”

“I thought your name was Oleg?” the guy asked sternly, his features unwavering as he stared me down. For a moment, all I wanted to do was dig a hole and hide. The guy was ice cold.

But that’s when I saw it.

The same glimmer of mischief his daughter got when she was messing with me shimmered in his own dark eyes.

“I’m fucking with you,” he chuckled roughly, patting my shoulder. “Relax, son. I’m screwing with you.” I cleared my throat.

“I love her, Mr. Trejo.”

“Quit with the mister shit. That’s my dad.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Call me Marco.”

“Marco. I love your daughter,” I shared seriously because even though he wanted to lighten the mood, I wanted him to know just how serious I was about his daughter. “I know this is a lot. We surprised you with a lot of big news. I can’t imagine what you must feel.” He stared at me for a moment and exhaled slowly.

“Surprised is one of the things I’m feeling.”

“I need you to know she surprised me, too. I’m forty-two, and I can honestly tell you that I have never felt what I feel for Coral. I’ve never thought about being tied down until I saw her. And I’m not bullshitting you when I tell you one look at your daughter took my breath away.” He stared at me for a moment and nodded.

“I believe you, Oleg.” His tone was gentler than I had heard it all night. “Cora… Cora is a tough cookie. As the oldest, she puts a lot on her shoulders. Always has, since she was a little kid.” He shook his head. “This was the kind of scenario I used to stay up late at night worried about when she was with that little shit. Jack was nice enough, but there was something not right about him. Something that no matter how long they were together, I didn’t trust.” I blinked, not having expected her dad to say that.

“Then I find out after wasting so much of her time, I was right about him.” His voice cracked. “There was something the last two years, something I couldn’t put my finger on that wasn’t right about him. About their relationship. The way he talked to her when he thought no one was paying attention. I wish… I wish I had said something. Asked. But you’ll find out soon enough that when you have kids, as they grow, so many say it gets easier. Shit, I think it gets tougher. That balancing act of trying to stay involved but not overstep when they’re grown is a tightrope you’re always afraid of falling off of.” He shook his head. “I heard he was a bigger dipshit than I could have imagined.”

“You don’t have to worry about him, sir. I’m sure karma has a way of giving back what he took,” I promised. I still had plans for that asshole. Marco Trejo stared at me for a long moment before he looked around to confirm it was just the two of us in the backyard alone.

“I’ve heard that about you,” He muttered quietly, and I stilled. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad one or even just how much about me he had heard about. But since he was talking to me and had even called me son, I wasn’t too worried.

“Sir—“ He shook his head and stared off towards the end of the yard.

“You’d be surprised just how many people we have in common. The world is a lot smaller than you can imagine.” My brow rose, and if he didn’t have my attention before, he would have grabbed it then. “Even without having heard about you and what you do, I would have been okay with you from the moment you stepped foot into our place with my girl smiling like she was glowing from the inside out.” An immediate weight was lifted off my shoulders.

“Oleg, I’ve never seen my girl giddy with excitement as she was sitting at the table next to you, telling us about her future. Not once with that dipshit did she look half as happy. I just want you to promise me one thing.”

“Anything, sir.”

“When you get rid of the asshole, make it hurt.” He turned his dark eyes unyielding, and I nodded.

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