Page 136 of Diamond Angel

“I’ll join him,” Mila says when I hang up. “Give me the locations and I’ll meet up with Dima in the city and we can take it from there. I’ll take Mikhail and Franz with me, too.”

“Franz has other duties tonight,” I say. “He’s with Celine in the penthouse.”

Mila’s brows arch with surprise. “She moved out?”

“Not officially. But soon enough.”

“I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but…” She nudges me with her arm. “You seem relieved.”

“I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for the last five years.” I sigh. “I care about Celine, and I still want her to be safe. But now, maybe she can be happy, too. Maybe we both can.”

“Is happiness in the cards for you, brother?” Mila asks with a raised eyebrow.

I narrow my eyes at her. “Shouldn’t you be on your way to meet with Dima?”

“I’m going, I’m going,” she mutters. “You better get some rest. You’ve been on the go for the last three days and, no offense or anything, but it’s starting to show.”

I scowl at her as she leaves with a parting smile. Once I’ve got the den to myself, I fall into my chair with an exhausted sigh. My whole body aches. When all this is said and done, I’ll need a good chiropractor. I have knots in me that are starting to fucking calcify.

My eyes grow heavy and I allow them to close for a few moments.

Right up until I hear the creak of the door and they snap back open.

I’m met with a startled gasp that instantly feels like aloe on a sunburn. “S-sorry,” Taylor whispers. “I didn’t realize you were sleeping in here.”

“I wasn’t.” But when I glance out the window, I realize it’s pitch black. Maybe I was asleep after all. “Is everything alright?”

“Celine left a few hours ago.”

“I know.”

She looks like she’s on the verge of crying. It doesn’t take away from her beauty, though. Those soft green eyes of hers are conflicted, torn between what she wants and what she wishes she wanted instead.

Her silken blonde hair tumbles over her bare shoulders. I imagine kissing my way from those shoulders down to the valley between her breasts. But I keep my gaze firmly fixed on her face.

“Ilarion.” There’s a new cadence in the way she says my name. “Do you know anything more about Archie? Adam keeps asking for him and I have no idea what to say anymore.”

She hiccups as she finishes speaking and a tear rolls down her cheek. She wipes it away quickly.

“I’m doing my best to find him,” I assure her, rounding the table so that there’s nothing between us but a foot of empty space. “I have Dima and Mila out there right now, chasing leads.”

“Leads?” she repeats. “Is that all you have?”

I ignore the jab because I understand.Shit, having a family is making me soft. And I’m not exactly complaining. “It’s been enough before. Trust that it will be enough again.” She swallows, but it looks more like a gulp. “Taylor, listen to me: I will do everything in my power to get your father back safely.”

“Will you really, though?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“The obvious: he betrayed you to your worst enemy. If it was anyone else, you’d have killed him a long time ago.”

“All true,” I agree without mincing my words. “But he’s not anyone else. He’s Archie Theron. He’s my son’s grandfather. He’s the father of the woman I love. That’s you, in case you’re wondering. It’s always been you.”

She trembles in the in-between space for one moment that lasts lifetimes.

Then she throws herself into my arms and presses her lips against mine, taking the kiss as though she’s waited an eternity for it.

Fuck knows I have. GoodGod,I’ve waited so long for this. My mouth parts against hers and I slide my tongue between her sugary lips, needing to taste her more. More, more,more.I’m a starved man finally able to feast.

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