Page 133 of The Payback

She’s within touching distance, but I keep my hands to myself. I don’t want to scare her off, so I wait until she makes the first move. It’s like the world’s longest chess game, waiting with bated breath until she lifts her arm.

“Dada,” she says, touching my stubbled cheek.

Her hand is warm, and she squeezes the flesh of my cheek in her tiny hand. “That’s right, baby. I’m your dada.”

“Dada!” she declares. Then she moves forward and grips both cheeks between her hands, kissing my nose.

Tears drip from my eyes, and Bella looks at me with concern. “No cry.”

“Oh, honey. These are happy tears. You are so beautiful.” I smile, my lips quivering, probably making it look more like a grimace than anything else. “I bet you’re super smart, too, aren’t you? Hopefully, you got your smarts from your mama. She’s brilliant and so good.”

“So, you must be the father,” a man says from beside Olivia. He’s dressed in the preppiest fucking clothes I’ve ever seen. He looks like he could have captained the yacht that brought us here.

“Can I pick you up, baby?” I ask Bella. She lifts her arms and repeatsUP!four times until I sling her into my arms and settle her on my hip. I turn towards the man, finally looking at the others in the stable and a curious horse peeking over the divider of the stables. Then... a zebra. What the hell?

“I’m Nik. Which of you is responsible for giving us all heart attacks?” I ask, letting the threat rip free but keeping my voice cheerful for the girl in my arms.

“That would be me,” Olivia answers. She shrugs. “Had to make sure you were dedicated.”

“Dedicated?” Dimitri seethes from Ellie’s other side. He’s been quiet until now, letting me meet my daughter with as much privacy as the situation allowed. But he’s still got the gun held up, pointed at the bearded and long-haired guy across from him.

“You can put that down,” the man says, his Irish accent reminding me of something. “It only shoots glitter.”

“Yeah, but did youseethe glitter? It’s dick-shaped!” Olivia laughs.

This girl is unhinged.

Ellie seethes, then in two steps, she crosses the line of demarcation between our two groups and punches Olivia in the stomach.

Olivia lets out an “Oof” and doubles over.

“That was a horrible thing to do!” Ellie shrieks. “Do you have any idea how fast my heart is racing?! I should kill you!”

Olivia recovers her breathing and slowly stands back to her full height. She throws her arms around Ellie. “I missed you, too.”

“I hate you, but my God, I missed you so much!” Ellie is a mix of tears, anger, and laughter, and it’s still undecided which one will be the most prominent emotion.

“I love you, too,” Olivia says. She pulls Ellie closer, and they whisper-shout at each other as the guys stare at me, Bella, and Dimitri.

Zach gives me a nod of recognition, and Dimitri steps closer to me.

“Can I meet her?” he whispers.

I turn my body so Bella can look towards him with me. “Bella, this is yourpapa,” I say, giving him the Russian title. He’s as invested in this unconventional relationship as Ellie and me, and I meant what I said down in the sewer. I want him to protect Ellie and Bella with me. He’ll be as big a part of her life as I am.

She looks from his face to mine. “Papa. Dada. Pa-da!” she shrieks, combining the words.

We chuckle, and she reaches for Dimitri. He checks with me first and then I let him take her from my arms. “Hi, pretty girl,” he coos, his face softening into something I’ve never seen before. He sticks out his tongue like he did with Anya after we found her in the junkyard.

She giggles in his arms and mimics his face.

“Papa,” she says, testing the word again.

The smile on Dimitri’s face makes him look about ten years younger. More like the carefree boy he used to be when we were young and had stars in our eyes before life crushed us under its merciless boot.

“Guys,” Ellie says, pulling our attention away from Bella, whom we’ve been staring at for the last few minutes. “These are Bella’s godparents.” She points out each of them as she goes down the line. The long-haired Irishman is Roark; the yacht captain is Max; the woman is Olivia; the quiet, seething one is Viraj; and finally, Bella’s scary-ass paediatrician, whom we already know, is Zach.

I focus on the angry guy beside Olivia. “Did we do something wrong?” I ask.

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