Page 111 of Mountain Daddy

“Not a chance.” I flip the pancake. “But I can do a pretty mediocre circle.”

He laughs. The sound punches through me. Clean. Pure. Something I didn't know I needed to hear.

I stack the pancakes on a plate. Slide it in front of him. Lilly pours herself coffee, and I notice her smile. The horror of yesterday fading. Not gone, but manageable.

“Eat,” I tell them both. “Before it gets cold.”

We sit at the small kitchen table. Chleo drowns his pancakes in syrup. Lilly cuts hers into neat triangles. I watch them both, storing away details.

“So,” I clear my throat. “I had Maksim send some men to check your house. Make sure it's clear.”

Lilly's fork pauses halfway to her mouth. “And?”

“Clean. No sign of them. He's got people watching it, just to be safe.”

She nods, but tension creeps back into her shoulders. “We can't go back, can we? Not really.”

“Not yet,” I admit. “But soon.”

Chleo looks between us, sensing the shift in mood. “Can we go fishing?”

The question comes out of nowhere. Redirects everything.

“Fishing?” Lilly repeats.

“Yeah!” he nods enthusiastically. “Like on TV. Guy stuff.”

My chest tightens.

Guy stuff.

Father-son stuff.

The kind of thing I never had with my own father, who taught me to shoot a gun at eight but never took me fishing.

“I don't know if that's a good idea right now,” Lilly starts, glancing at me.

“I know a place,” I say before I can stop myself. “Private lake. Secluded. Safe.”

Her eyes narrow. Concerned. Protective. “Nikolai?—”

“I'll keep him safe,” I promise, and we both know I mean it. After all, I've already killed to protect him. Would do it again without hesitation. “No one will find us there.”

She hesitates. Torn between fear and the desire to give Chleo some normalcy.

“Please, Mama?” Chleo wheedles. “Please? I wanna do guy stuff with Nikolai.”

Something in her expression breaks. Softens. “Okay,” she says finally. “But you listen to everything Nikolai tells you, understand? No wandering off.”

“I promise!” Chleo pumps his fist in victory.

“I'll protect him with my life,” I tell her quietly when Chleo runs off to get dressed.

She touches my arm.

Light.

Brief.

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