Page 66 of Vengeance

“Where are you running off to?” Adrian asks, still kneeling on the ground so he can be somewhat eye-level with her.

“Find my cup.”

She tries to dash pash him, but Adrian grabs hold of her before she can.

“No running in the house,” he says sternly, even though like every other time, Bella is going to forget as soon as her father is out of sight.

“Sorry, Daddy,” she says with a sunny smile.

Adrian doesn’t look impressed, but Bella giggles, kisses him on the cheek, and then darts around him to make her way down the hall while singing Leon’s name.

I’d worried about Adrian with Bella when she was born. I worried about him with all the children, but especially her. Not for one second did I believe he would hurt her or any of our children, but I did wonder if he had it in him to have the patience and temperament needed to raise children full-time. Especially one from infancy. I’d wondered if the extent of his fathering would end up being expensive gifts and protecting them when needed, but otherwise not spending much time with them or being very involved until he decided he wanted to.

Like most things with Adrian though, when he decides he wants to do something, he excels at it, and I had nothing to worry about at all. Just as easily as he draws a gun and kills, he can turn that off to be a patient, doting, and involved father.

“She never sits still for long, does she?” Adrian asks as he stands.

He approaches me and pulls me into his side before placing a kiss on the side of my head.

“Are you surprised? Just like her father.”

“I was going to say just like her mother.”

I set my coffee aside and turn completely into his embrace before welcoming his kiss.

A lot has changed in the last three years. Our business has grown. Our influence spread. Our power cemented after a turbulent first year of cleaning house and weeding out most of Pray’s supporters. We’ve settled into our relationship and have less and less misunderstandings and miscommunications as proximity—as opposed to our previous absences—have made us grow fonder of each other. But this? The way heat ignites in me every time he kisses me and makes me feel like the sixteen-year-old girl who desperately wished she could have him and never thought she’d be able to? That hasn’t changed.

He breaks our kiss and says, “How was work?”

“Same old thing I always deal with… except the Bratva is starting to annoy me.”

They’ve insisted for the last three years that I killed theirpakhan, despite my consistent denial. Now, they’re asking for retribution for the death.

“We’re going to have to meet with them about this,” I add. “They won’t let it go.”

“You’ll have to set it on the calendar for when I get back,” Adrian says.

As promised, Adrian has been my loyal enforcer. Just like he once was for Pray. That’s not to say that we don’t argue about how to deal with things behind the scenes. But we never give anyone ideas that they can come between us or that Viper won’t do exactly what I ask of him.

It’s been shockingly easy for Adrian to maintain that identity, even though he runs and makes quite a few decisions for our businesses. But despite all that, Adrian is still known to be extremely private and reclusive, if reformed from his previous playboy ways after amicably breaking off his engagement with Cres when news about Bella came to light. At least, as far as the public is concerned.

In reality, Cres happily gave Adrian back his ring and, not eager to go back to her father, joined on as a Creative Experience Director under the business name for my hair and beauty company,Bianchi’s Inc.,while still running her underground group of women seducers and spies. Periodically, Miguel Ferro, Cres’s father, tries to get Adrian to cooperate in getting his daughter back. Adrian and I have consistently responded that he knows where his daughter is and if he wants her so bad, he can come get her. Miguel has tried a handful of times and been thwarted every time. Sometimes by me and Adrian’s men, and sometimes by just Cres herself.

Adrian then says, “Or, Viper can make a pit stop for you on the way back from his first assignment.”

“Actually letting you kill one of the Russians without reason will cause more trouble than we already have with them.”

“We’d be doing them and us a favor. Alik is much more suited to run their family than his younger brother, and he believes you didn’t kill his father.”

“So his wife says,” I reply. But I haven’t had contact with Nadia Vorobev since she called to warn me that her family had helped smuggle Pray into the city away from the watchful eyes of the authorities I bought off to look for him at any turn.

“Come on. It could be fun,” Adrian pleads. “You could meet up with me and help.”

“I’m not starting another war over something that can be resolved without blood.”

“Why not? Not like they’d stand a chance.”

He’s right. Our resources far eclipse the Bratva. But Pray’s resources far eclipsed ours when we took his entire operation. I don’t need the personal lesson in hubris to know to be humble still despite our power.

---