Page 94 of The Mistake

There were still sticky notes on each door,and I didn’t want anyone to take them down. They were a reminder to Charlotte of every single room she had explored.

Rage arrived, alone, and looking at his face, I saw the black eye and the healing split lip.

“How?” I asked.

“Club business, that’s all. Where’s Charlotte?” he asked.

“She’s in the kitchen, but I’m warning you, if you upset her in any way, I will fucking kill you.”

Rage looked at me and then nodded.

“Hubert will see you to your room.”

With Rage, Cassie, and Ivan at my home, I hadincreased security as well. There would be a man outside of Rage and Cassie’s rooms. I was not going to run the risk of them trying to kill us in our sleep.

Ivan was the last person to arrive, but much to my surprise, hewas not alone. Nope. Slavik, Aurora, Andrei, and Adelaide were present, and in Aurora’s arms was her little boy.

Now,I’m pissed off. I didn’t invite them, but he had invited them. I expected Victor and Peter to arrive.

“Ive,” Ivan said, looking real fucking happy. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited some of our friends. Peter and Victor will be along shortly.”

I should have known.

Thanksgiving wasn’t until tomorrow, but I was already hating it. I avoided this kind of get-together on purpose. Slavik and Andrei didn’t look too happy about it. This was all for Charlotte. All for her.

I closed the door behind them and turned to see Charlotte coming toward me. The smile on her face was worth it. She looked so happy as she came forward.

First she embraced Ivan. Not a single moment of hesitation. She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “I’m so pleased you could make it.”

With Slavik and Andrei, she offered them a smile and her hand. Adelaide and Aurora got the hug, and of course, she swooned over the baby.

WatchingCharlotte with the little one made me think of her swollen, heavily pregnant with my child one day. I’d not been careful with her, but she hadn’t gotten pregnant yet.

The truth was, I wasn’t prepared for kids. I wanted my territory under control, where I was waiting for an attack by the Irish or thecartel.

“Are you happy?” I asked, as Charlotte came to stand with me.

“Very, very happy.”

****

Lottie

Preparing a Thanksgiving feast is not quite so easy, especially as I now had a vegan. Adelaide had said she could eat everything but the meat and she was happy to do so. I wouldn’t hear of it, and so Michael and I found a few recipes that we could make on short notice. A turkey using vital wheat gluten, tofu, and chickpeas. Sounded interesting, and we settled on one recipe and got to work.

We started that yesterday, and today we got to oven roast with a glaze.The turkeys were already in the oven.

I knew Ive struggled with our guests. I was introduced once again to Victor and Peter last night. I know Ive was pissed off.

He didn’t want them for our Thanksgiving dinner. Cassie had hit it off with Aurora and Adelaide, and she tried to help out in the kitchen, as did Aurora and Adelaide, but Michael had told them to leave. He only wanted me assisting him.

The dining room was already set up.

I had to keep making escapes to go and check on Ive. I felt so bad for leaving him to entertain our guests. I knew it wasn’t easy for him, but he did so well.

So far, other than a few cuts with the knives, no blood had been drawn.Victory. I kept going to him, checking to make sure they were happily refreshed. There were a few moments I walked in and there seemed to be silence, which was broken as I offered them all a drink.

Cassie, at times, wouldn’t even look at me. Ive did, as did Ivan. Victor, Peter, Slavik, and Andrei did as well, but they didn’t have pity in their eyes,no, it was something else that I wasn’t quite sure about.

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