Page 20 of Cold

He shrugged. "I don't know anything about it or why you'd want those things, but it’s not my job to decide what you should and shouldn't want. I said I'd take you out for a while and this is clearly what you're looking for." Vito glanced over me and I turned to see the manager jogging over. "He's going to open it for us."

The manager nodded at us and quickly slipped a key into the grate. He let in a tall, lanky man that clearly worked for the shoe store on the other end of the mall.

"Ring them up when they're done," he said. "I'm going back to finish my coffee."

The employee nodded and I looked at the name tag pinned on his shirt. Dave. When I looked up and met Dave's gaze, he wore a sour expression.

"Get what you want," Vito said.

"Where are you going?"

Vito walked over to a chair and sat down. "Right here. Like I said, you can get whatever you want."

I tugged at my bottom lip. "Are you sure?"

"Boy, if I have to say it again..."

I jolted and ran to the back of the store. The sound of chuckling followed me and when I glanced back, Vito had a smile on his face. When he saw I noticed, he went back to his normal stoic expression and pulled out his phone.

He's cute.

The thought was so sudden it smacked me in the face and snatched my breath away. Vito? Cute? He was the definition of hot, deadly, and mean, but cute? Why had that popped into my head?

He cleared his throat and cocked a brow. "Hurry up."

I practically squeaked. "Yes, D-" I stopped myself. The word Daddy was right there on my tongue.

But Sergei was Daddy. He always had been! How could I even think about saying that to someone else?

I distracted myself with the rows of adorable baby things. Bottles, pacifiers, rattles. It was the full gambit of all things cute. I ran my fingers over each item and my smile grew. It was an amazing variety of everything I could have ever thought up in my dreams.

I perused the aisles and picked out a cute cat pacifier. The cat on it looked just like Mr. Whiskers, all orange and white and adorable. I smiled as I held it tightly and picked out a bottle with more cats on it. I'd had a thing for felines since I was young. They were sweet and loving.

"Ro." My head shot up and Vito held his phone up. "I have a call. I'm stepping right outside this store, okay?" He pointed to the spot. "Right there."

I smiled at him. "Okay."

Ro. It was a dumb little nickname, but I liked it. I grabbed a few more things and cradled them in my arms. Vito wouldn't mind.

"Yeah I'm still at work. I know I'm late, but what the fuck can I do?"

I peered through the aisles to see who was talking. When I saw the cashier, I frowned. He was on his phone and the frown on his face had turned into a sneer.

"No, I'm stuck here because of some old man and his little toy. Tell me about it; age gaps are gross." He paced back and forth. "He's probably some old pervert. And the guy he's with is carrying around a stuffed animal like a weirdo. It's gross. Why can't these people just stay in their houses?"

My stomach turned and I dropped everything I'd picked up. Weirdo. That was what everyone would think about me if I was anywhere other than at Sergei's. And I couldn't get rid of Mr. Whiskers, not yet. He held me together when the rest of the world felt too big and raw.

I clutched him more tightly. And he called Vito an old pervert. Vito's not like that. He hasn't even touched me.

My blood boiled as I watched him walk around and talk shit. The soft part of me completely evaporated. He left his spot and walked into the back of the store. As soon as he did, I moved after him.

I slipped my pocket knife out of Mr. Whiskers. Vito had been nothing but nice to me and I hadn't hurt anyone. Why the fuck did the world have to be so cruel?

"What are you doing back here?" Dave scowled at me. "Get out!"

I plunged my knife into his chest. His eyes went wide, and as we sank to the floor, I yanked it out and struck again.

"You don't have to be mean," I growled. "That's not fair. It's not fair!"

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