Page 20 of Bound By Ruin

It’s more than affection—it’sclaim.I rub my thumb across Celia’s ring finger, my mouth twitching at the subtle frown pinching Adella’s lips.

“I assure you, Mrs. Monrovia, Celia has nothing to grieve. I’m taking care of her better than her ex-husband ever did.” I lick my teeth, enjoying the way Celia’s cheeks dust with a rosy pink. “In fact, we’re expecting.”

Celia plants her heel on my toes and presses down, stabbing my foot as best she can in her little white shoes. “We aretrying,” she clarifies, her smile tight. “Not expecting.”

“We’re expecting results,” I continue, smiling fondly. “I invited you here today to give you the good news first.”

Adella’s lips twist into an ugly sneer before she catches herself. Smoothing her expression, she slices a croissant in half before setting it back down on her bread plate without taking a bite. “Good news?” Scoffing, she folds her hands together at the furthest edge of the table. “You are unmarried. You cannot have a baby out of wedlock.”

“That’s not your decision to make.” Celia’s grasp on my fingers tightens. “I’m going to have a baby, Mamá, and Rage will be its father.”

My heart soars to new heights, filling me to the brim with such warmth and light that even Adella’s disdainful glare can’t bring me down. I lean over and press a kiss to Celia’s hair, enjoying the way sheglows.Fucking radiant. The little white dress, although not a sundress in the winter, hugs her body in the softest material, like the warmest blanket I’ve ever known. Her cheeks flush a perfect shade of pink as she meets her mother’s eyes.

I can’t help but add, “I’ll be the first, then my brother Rebel will likely be next. He’s trying really hard to beat me, though.”

Celia slams her knee against my thigh, bumping the table and clattering the silverware. “He’s joking,” she says quickly, her voice pinched.

Smirking, I lay my arm across the back of my chair. These lunches might actually be fun. “I wish I were.”

“You havegotto be joking,” Adella hisses, glaring at the table next to us that’s clearly eavesdropping. “Twomen, Celia? Oh, your father must be rolling in his grave. Our daughter! A common whore.” She shakes her head. “If I’d known that Ted’s infidelity would bother you so much, I would have paid him to keep it secret. First the divorce, nowthis.”

Celia’s gone completely still, her face paling. “What did you just say? Youknewhe was cheating?”

Unbothered, Adella rolls her eyes. “All men cheat,docha.Even him.” She nods towards me. “I’m sure after you’ve given birth to your first, he’ll wander. Oh, yes, they always do. It won’t be long before he finds another hole to fill. Your father didn’t even wait until you and your brother were born; he strayed from our bed before I even knew I was pregnant.” She wrings her hands together, the first nervous tic I’ve seen. “But he was myhusband,and we have a duty to our husbands, Celia. This man—” she points a sharp fingernail in my direction—“isnotyour husband. He’ll surely leave you just as soon as Ted did, especially if you can’t produce an heir. What did Dr. Sakovia say when you last saw him?Hostile womb?” She tuts. “I doubt having two dicks between your thighs will change that.”

Fury roars like a hurricane in my ears, igniting my blood with a vengeance. It pulses through my body like lava, thick and scalding hot, tearing a burning path to my heart. Howdarethis woman speak to my wife that way. Mother or not—andclearlynot a good one—she doesn’t get to speak to Celia that way.

I stand from my chair, my throat burning with every despicable thing I want to say to this woman. Celia grabs my wrist and tugs hard, but she’s no match for my strength. I glare at Adella Monrovia with every ounce of my rage, baring my teeth at her and hoping she cowers.

To my surprise, she doesn’t look the least bit intimidated. She clearly knows who I am—and what I’ve done to lesser humans—and yet she doesn’t bat an eye as I tower over her. From this height, Adella has clearly aged well. I can barely see the wrinkles around her eyes, and there’s not a speck of gray in her hair. But her eyes—those dark, fathomless pits of righteousshit—are as ancient as the night sky. She lookstired,worn out from a life running circles around a man who may not have loved her and two children who took unconventional paths to find love.

Thanatos’s voice is loud and clear in my ear. “Tell me when.”

A tiny red dot appears on Adella’s chest, both women freezing as they realize what it’s from. Adella looks at the laser dot, then up at me, then through the wide window to wherever she thinks my older brother is hiding. “You’d shoot a defenseless old woman?” Shaking her head, she chuckles as her shoulders relax. Fearful at first, but only for a moment. When she realizes that whoever is aiming a gun at her chest is with us, all the fear in her eyes melts away. “You can’t shoot me without consequences. Do you really want to explain to thepakhanwhy you killed an elder—your future child’s own flesh and blood—after he’s only just let your beast of a brother back into the bratva?” She clicks her tongue. “He’ll kill all four of you in a heartbeat. There’s no room for bad blood in our ranks.” Lifting an eyebrow, she continues, “oh, yes, I know who Thanatos is. I also know whoyouare, clearly more than my daughter, or she would never have gotten close to you. Do you know what he’s done,docha? Whatallof them have done? They’re unworthy of you, of your blood, and will sully our good name if you breed with them.”

Breed with them.

I nearly laugh at loud, but Celia finally moves, slowly standing from her seat. Whipping her hand out, shecracksher mother across the cheek, slapping her hard enough that Adella’s earring pops off. It tumbles forgotten to the floor, but no diamond can compare to the way my womanburns.

An inferno rages in her eyes, making her body shake from the raw power coursing through her veins. “You’ve said enough.”

The red dot moves to Adella’s forehead, right between her eyes, as she turns her head to face her daughter. She doesn’t speak, which gives Celia the floor.

“You have preached about my precious reputation since I was a little girl!” She straightens her spine and glares down her nose at her mother. “After Dad died, you told me that he’d picked out a husband for me—oh yes, I haven’t forgotten that monumentous birthday present—a forty-year-old man.It’s no wonder I ran away from the bratva and its fucked-up traditions and into the arms of the first man I found! Ted! A manyouapproved of, if you recall!”

“I wanted you to be happy. He seemed to make you happy.”

“He was all I’d ever known!”

Adella’s lips pinch into a frown. “Sitdown, Celia.”

Our altercation has drawn the attention of the room, leaving little room for other conversation. Every bratva woman’s ears are burning from how closely they’re listening, and all of the regular city inhabitants are all looking the other way while pretending not to listen. I’d rather have them carefully observe, like the Russians. At least they’re honest with their curiosity.

Celia flicks soft waves of her chestnut hair over her shoulder. “I know you think that my broken marriage is my fault—that somehow, you’ve failed as a mother for producing a daughter that can’t have children—but I’m here to tell you that none of it is my fault, and you shouldn’t automatically blame me for everything that’s wrong in your life. Dad cheated, then he died, and now you’re bitter and alone since I won’t call you. None of that is my fault. I wouldn’t even say that Dad’s faults areyourfault. But this—” she gestures between the two of them—“thisis entirely your fault. I wanted you to be happy for me. I wanted you to think,Celia has found someone that makes her happy!Let’s celebrate the miracle of life and love and try to patch our relationship. If not for our sake, then for my unborn child’s.” Tears fill the corners of Celia’s eyes, but none fall. “I may not be pregnant yet, but I won’t stop until I have a child to love. Maybe it will have my genes, maybe it won’t, but the one thing I now know forsureit won’t have?” She draws a deep breath, her shoulders dropping as some of her anger cracks. “A grandmother.”

In the raw silence that follows, I wrap my arm around Celia’s waist and pull her into my side. Grinning wickedly at Adella, I say what’s on my goddamn mind. “The next time my wife’s name leaves your lips, make sure that you have nothing but good things to say, or I’ll rip your fucking tongue out myself.” Steering Celia away from the table, we walk through the silent dining room and out the front door, leaving the bitch for good.

I don’t give a damn if Adella Monrovia falls to her knees and grovels for forgiveness—not on my fucking life will I let her near my woman, or our child, again. I had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that having a strong bratva woman in our corner would be a good thing. Another mama lion to protect her family should be an asset. But nothing about that woman screamsimportant cargo.

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