Page 66 of Mountain Daddy

He studies my face for a long moment. Like he's deciding how much truth I can handle.

"I hurt people who try to take what's mine."

Simple. Direct. Honest.

And absolutely terrifying.

"Am I yours?" The question slips out before I can stop it.

His eyes darken. "What do you think?"

I think I'm in way over my head.

I think I should grab my son and run as far as we can get.

I think I'm playing with fire and pretending it won't burn me.

I think I want to be his anyway.

The realization hits like a physical blow. Despite everything, I want to belong to him.

I’m going crazy.

"I need to change and head out to get Chleo from daycare," I say, moving toward the front door.

He doesn't stop me. Just watches as I climb the porch steps on shaking legs.

I fumble with my keys, drop them twice before managing to get the door open.

To my shock, I hear voices.

Panic claws up my throat. "Chleo!"

"In here, Mama!"

His voice comes from the living room. Relief floods through me, followed immediately by confusion. He should be at daycare.

I follow his voice and freeze in the doorway.

My son is sitting on the floor, surrounded by toys. Nothing unusual about that.

Except for the man sitting across from him.

Tall. Lean. Dark hair. Wearing an expensive suit.

And when he looks up at me, I see the same predatory intelligence I recognize in Nikolai's eyes.

"Mama! Look, this is Maksim. He picked me up from daycare because you had to run an errand. He has the coolest cars!"

My blood turns to ice. A stranger picked up my son.

"You." My voice comes out as a croak. "You can't just—who are you? How did you?—"

"Breathe, Lilly."

Nikolai's voice behind me. Calm. Steady.

I spin around. "You did this. You arranged this."

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